Arizona Special Election Results: Surprise Upset Shakes Key House Seat — Live Updates

Southern Arizona’s open U.S. House seat is one step closer to being filled after Tuesday’s special primary, where voters delivered decisive victories for two familiar names. Adelita Grijalva, daughter of the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, captured the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District with about 62 percent of the vote, outpacing progressive influencer Deja Foxx (20 percent) and former state representative Daniel Hernandez (14 percent). On the Republican side, small-business owner Daniel Butierez won roughly 58 percent, earning a second showdown with the Grijalva family after challenging the congressman’s father in 2024. Key numbers • Eligible voters: 438,930 across six counties • Early-ballot return rate: Pima 39%, Cochise 36%, Santa Cruz 30%, Pinal 21%, Maricopa 21%, Yuma 18% • Next election date: Sept. 23, 2025 special general election • Term length: Remainder of the 119th Congress, ending January 2027 Why the race matters The 7th District leans solidly blue, but the vacancy—created when Rep. Raúl Grijalva died in March—has contributed to the GOP’s slim 220-212 House majority. Democrats hope a quick flip in the September special will narrow that gap before November’s nationwide contests. How Grijalva won Powered by a 1,400-person volunteer network and nearly 40,000 door knocks, the Pima County supervisor framed her campaign as a community-driven “movimiento.” Financially, she entered July with the deepest cash reserves among Democrats despite raising less overall than Hernandez, who spent heavily early and faded down the stretch. Foxx leveraged 600,000-plus social-media followers to haul in more than $600,000 but could not convert online enthusiasm into votes. Butierez’s path Butierez self-financed much of his bid and courted bipartisan goodwill, inviting rivals from every party to his election-night watch party in south Tucson. He argues that cross-party collaboration resonates with border-district voters weary of partisan gridlock. Issues that will define the general election • Border security and immigration reform • Water rights and climate resilience in the Sonoran Desert • Veterans’ services at Fort Huachuca and Davis-Monthan AFB • Inflation’s impact on small businesses in Tucson, Yuma and Nogales What’s next • July 29: Deadline to register for the Sept. 23 special general election • Aug. 28: Early ballots mailed to voters on the Active Early Voting List • Sept. 23: Polls open 6 a.m.–7 p.m. local time; unofficial results expected after 8 p.m. How to follow the count Election-night live results will post at results.arizona.vote and be updated daily until all ballots—including late-arriving mail votes—are tallied. A recount would trigger automatically if the margin is within 0.5 percent statewide, though the district’s partisan tilt makes that unlikely. Bottom line With Tuesday’s landslide, Adelita Grijalva is favored to keep the seat in Democratic hands, but Daniel Butierez’s outreach to independents guarantees an active, issues-driven sprint to September. Turnout trends—especially in Pima County, where early participation topped 39 percent—will offer the clearest signal of which party can energize voters in a traditionally low-profile special election.