Adelita Grijalva is a Democratic U.S. Representative for Arizona's 7th Congressional District, sworn in November 12, 2025 after winning a September 2025 special election to succeed her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva; she is the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress. She previously served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors (2021–2025) and the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board (2002–2022), and spent 25 years as director of the Pima County Teen Court juvenile diversion program. Her campaign emphasizes education access, economic opportunity, environmental policy, and protecting working families.
In an August 26, 2026 general-election debate for Arizona's 7th Congressional District, Grijalva said she supports extending subsidies for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. She also said Medicare for All is an option that should be considered, according to coverage of the debate.
Grijalva has endorsed the Working Families Guarantee, an economic agenda calling for lower housing and utility costs, a national jobs program placing workers in union jobs, guaranteed low-cost childcare, paid family and medical leave, and taxing the wealthy. In her congressional work for Arizona's 7th District, she has also pursued community-project funding for workforce training and other investments described as expanding economic opportunity, including $700,000 for skilled-trades training in South Yuma County and $1.8 million for mixed-income housing and commercial space in Tucson; the House appropriations funding was proposed and still required enactment at the time of her announcement.
Grijalva has called climate change "the biggest challenge this generation is facing" and pressed for federal action, including protecting Colorado River flows and opposing rollbacks of climate protections such as the EPA's greenhouse-gas endangerment finding. She has cosponsored the Ending Fossil Fuel Bailouts Act of 2026 (H.R. 9035), joined Sierra Club events urging climate action, and said corporations must be held accountable and that the federal government should help find local solutions to extreme heat and water issues in Southern Arizona.
Grijalva has publicly supported reproductive freedom and the right of individuals to make decisions about their bodies, including protecting and restoring abortion access. As Pima County Board of Supervisors chair, she led efforts to rebuke Arizona's reinstatement of the 1864 abortion ban and urged continued provision of reproductive-health services; in Congress, Reproductive Freedom for All records her voting against H.R. 6703, which it describes as an abortion-coverage ban.
Grijalva supports protecting DACA recipients and other Dreamers from deportation and advocates policies allowing them to live, work, and contribute without fear of removal. In a CD-7 general-election debate, she also called for comprehensive immigration reform, pathways for immigrants to become legal citizens, and abolition of ICE; she said a legal-status pathway would be a priority if reelected.
Adelita Grijalva supports gun-violence-prevention measures, including assault-weapons bans, universal background checks, stronger safe-storage requirements, and funding for community-violence-intervention programs, while emphasizing firearm-safety education and keeping guns away from children. On August 10, 2026, she signed a House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force letter urging ATF to withdraw proposed firearm deregulations that lawmakers said could weaken background checks, dealer accountability, gun tracing, and safeguards against access by prohibited persons.
Grijalva supports continued U.S. humanitarian and strategic assistance to Ukraine to resist Russia's invasion, while criticizing aid conditioned on access to Ukrainian mineral resources. On Israel and Gaza, she supports a two-state solution, restoration of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the return of Israeli hostages; she says the U.S. should oppose antisemitism and Islamophobia while distinguishing criticism of the Israeli government from antisemitism and condemning Hamas. As a member of Congress, she has supported Iran War Powers resolutions to end unauthorized U.S. hostilities and has called for Congress to reassert its constitutional war-making authority in favor of diplomacy. She also joined a bipartisan-supported congressional letter urging release of appropriated international-health funds and opposing proposed reductions to PEPFAR.
Grijalva has publicly supported broad civil-rights protections, including immigrant rights and LGBTQ+ equality. In June 2026, she introduced a bicameral Title IX resolution affirming that transgender students deserve equal dignity, safety, and educational opportunity and opposing the use of Title IX to exclude vulnerable students; she has also stated that protecting immigrant families and standing up for LGBTQ+ rights are legislative priorities.
Adelita Grijalva has opposed the unrestricted expansion of AI data-center infrastructure: she cosponsored H.R. 9442, the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would pause construction of new data centers until Congress enacts safeguards addressing their economic, environmental, and safety impacts. She also cosponsored the No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act, supporting a permanent ban on large AI data centers and related infrastructure on federally owned or managed land.
In an August 27, 2026 CD-7 debate, Grijalva opposed efforts associated with President Trump and the SAVE Act that she said would restrict mail voting, impose additional proof-of-citizenship hurdles, and increase federal control over election administration. She defended Arizona’s mail-voting system and argued that such measures could disenfranchise voters and create confusion, while expressing distrust of the federal government running elections.
In an August 26, 2026 debate for Arizona's 7th Congressional District, Grijalva criticized data centers' water demands, opposed a proposed 14% cut to Arizona's Colorado River allocation as inequitable, and pointed to Southern Arizona's conservation record. She also warned that federal healthcare funding cuts could threaten access in Tucson, including at St. Mary's Hospital, and advocated universal healthcare and expanded preventive care.
Grijalva supports prioritizing and funding public schools over private-school voucher programs. In June 2026, she joined the Keep Public Dollars in Public Schools Act, which would repeal the federal private-school voucher tax credit and direct taxpayer support toward accountable public schools; she has also sponsored the Right to Read Act of 2025, which addresses literacy and includes protections for teachers and school librarians.
In an August 26, 2026 general-election debate for Arizona's 7th Congressional District, Grijalva said she supports extending subsidies for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. She also said Medicare for All is an option that should be considered, according to coverage of the debate.
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Background
Career History
U.S. Representative2025 – Present
United States House of Representatives
Representing Arizona's 7th Congressional District; sworn in November 12, 2025 after a 50-day delay.
Member, Pima County Board of Supervisors (District 5)2021 – 2025
Pima County
Represented District 5 from 2021 to April 4, 2025; served as Chair in 2023 (first Latina in the role) and previously as Vice-Chair; focused on affordable housing, education, climate, and water resiliency.
DirectorUntil 2025
Pima County Teen Court
Ran the non-profit juvenile diversion program for 25 years.
Member, Governing Board2002 – 2022
Tucson Unified School District
Youngest woman ever elected to the board; served 18 years.
Education
University of ArizonaBachelor of Arts in Political Science (1995)
Top Donors
Raised approximately $2.29M through July 1, 2026 (FEC H6AZ07121), with a strong small-dollar base: over $1.0M in unitemized sub-$200 contributions and another $825K in itemized individual contributions. PAC/committee money totaled about $436K, dominated by organized-labor, progressive, and single-issue PACs such as EMILY's List, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Gabrielle Giffords' gun-safety PAC, and teacher unions; corporate PAC dollars were essentially zero (0% of PAC money per YourRepRecord). Earlier AZPM reporting (July 2025) also identified Progressive Voters of America among her top PAC donors.
Incumbent first-term House Democrat who has voted almost entirely with the Democratic caucus, missing only 6 of 363 roll calls (1.7%) from November 2025 to July 2026. Notable floor actions include voting against ICE detention and enforcement funding expansions (H.R.7147, H.R.7744, H.R.4371), voting to extend ACA premium tax credits (H.R.1834), voting against the FY2027 NDAA (H.R.8800) and an abortion-coverage ban (H.R.6703), plus cosponsoring Medicare for All (H.R.3069), a DREAMer/TPS citizenship pathway (H.R.1589), and the Block the Bombs Act (H.R.3565). Serves on the House Education & Workforce and Natural Resources Committees.