By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Democratic voters in Arizona’s deep blue 7th Congressional District soundly rejected the candidate being pushed by gun control activist David Hogg, and threw their support to Adelita Grijalva, daughter of late Congressman Raul Grijalva, who died in March.
Adelita Grijalva is the former Pima County Supervisor. According to Fox News, she “convincingly topped” four other Democrat contenders, including Deja Foxx, the “25-year-old social media influencer and progressive activist” backed by Hogg, who earlier this year stepped away from his post as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee after vowing to primary older Democrats with younger activists.
Hogg’s support for Foxx may have contributed to her failure at the polls, as his very public declaration about weeding out incumbent, established Democrats didn’t win him any friends in party circles.
As noted by Fox News, Hogg had touted Foxx as a potential come-from-behind candidate, comparing her to socialist Zohran Mamdani, now a leading candidate in the New York City mayoral race.
But for Arizona Democrats, their choice of Grijalva clearly signals they want a more establishment candidate. Grijalva had also received heavyweight endorsements from U.S. Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, state Attorney General Kris Mayes and former Congresswoman-turned-gun-control advocate Gabrielle Giffords.
Grijalva will face off against Republican Daniel Butierez, a contractor and small business owner, according to Fox News. He will have a steep uphill battle in the heavily-Democrat 7th District, located in southern Arizona along the U.S.-Mexico border. He is focusing much of his campaign on border security.
Voter rejection of Democrat Foxx could be a signal that Hogg, who leaped to national fame following the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where he was a student, is losing some appeal.. In the aftermath of that tragedy, Hogg capitalized on his instant fame as a media darling, helping found the March for Our Lives movement. He is also founder of Leaders We Deserve.
In addition to Foxx and Grijalva, Democrats Daniel Hernandez, Patrick Harris, Sr., and Jose Malvido, Jr., also were in the primary race.
