Democrat Adelita Grijalva has won a special election in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, and her victory could be the tipping point in the fight to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
The race was called Tuesday night, with early returns showing Grijalva more than doubling the vote count of Republican Daniel Butierez, who also lost in 2024 to her father, the late Rep. Raul Grijalva.
Democrat Adelita Grijalva right before winning a special election in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District.
This time, Grijalva cleared nearly 69% of the vote in a district that spans Arizona’s southern border with Mexico, including Tucson and parts of Phoenix. Her win makes her the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress and keeps a reliably blue seat firmly in Democratic hands.
“This is a victory not for me, but for our community and the progressive movement my dad started in Southern Arizona more than 50 years ago,” Grijalva said after her July primary win.
On Tuesday night, she thanked her supporters on social media.
“Now, let’s get to work,” she wrote.
Grijalva will serve the remaining months of her father’s term.
In 2024, Kamala Harris won Arizona’s 7th District by more than 22 points, making Grijalva’s landslide another Democratic overperformance—this time in an off-year contest.
Grijalva’s arrival on Capitol Hill also shrinks the GOP’s razor-thin majority to 219-214 with two vacancies still unfilled—meaning House Speaker Mike Johnson can lose only two GOP votes on party-line bills.
The next two special elections—one in Texas following Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death and the other in Tennessee after GOP Rep. Mark Green’s departure—could tighten the margin even further. An all-party primary for Turner’s seat is set for Nov. 4, and Green’s replacement will be chosen on Dec. 2, leaving every vote in Washington at a premium heading into 2026.
Democrats are counting on Grijalva to waste no time signing the discharge petition to force a floor vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release all unclassified Epstein files. The petition—spearheaded by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California—has been gaining signatures for months and now has the 218 votes needed to bypass GOP leadership.
A cartoon by Clay Bennett.
Massie secured the 217th vote earlier this month when Virginia Democrat James Walkinshaw was sworn in after a special election win. Both Grijalva and Butierez told the Arizona Daily Star that they supported the petition, making Tuesday night’s result the breakthrough that supporters had been waiting for.
“We are hearing from voters that they believe the survivors deserve justice, and Congress must fulfill its duty to check the executive branch and hold Trump accountable,” Grijalva told CNN.
Massie says that a vote could come as early as mid-October, calling the Arizona race the catalyst for reaching 218 signatures. Once Grijalva is sworn in and signs on, there will be a seven-day waiting period before the bill can be forced to the floor. House leaders then have two legislative days to take action.
House Republicans have spent months trying to avoid this moment, with Johnson even adjourning the chamber a day early in July to block votes on the issue.
Discharge petitions rarely succeed because rank-and-file members are reluctant to defy their leadership, but the Epstein case has sparked unusual bipartisan energy. Every Democrat and four Republicans have signed on, including Trump allies like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who argue that survivors deserve answers.
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Even if the petition succeeds, the bill still faces a steep climb in the Senate and would require President Donald Trump’s signature—an unlikely prospect. Still, Grijalva’s win gives Democrats momentum in a House where they’ve been searching for leverage against Johnson’s slim but stubborn majority.
On the trail, Grijalva campaigned on limiting immigration operations, protecting health care, and fighting for environmental justice. She also pledged to curb Trump’s power to impose tariffs unilaterally.
Trump’s allies may try to slow-walk the vote, but pressure is mounting.
For Democrats, Grijalva’s victory not only keeps her father’s seat in the family, but it also brings the House one step closer to forcing one of the most politically explosive votes of the year—and to holding Trump’s DOJ accountable.
