Democrat wins Arizona seat, aiding Epstein drive

Democrat Adelita Grijalva wins House seat in Arizona

Grijalva has said she will provide the decisive signature on a petition regarding the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files

(Image credit: Rebecca Noble / Getty Images)

By Peter Weber, The Week US

published 24 September 2025

What happened

Democrat Adelita Grijalva won Tuesday's special election to replace her late father in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, further narrowing Republicans’ thin House majority. Grijalva, a former Pima County supervisor, beat Republican businessman Daniel Butierez in the heavily Democratic district. Rep. Raúl Grijalva died from cancer in March.

Who said what

Once Grijalva is sworn in, Democrats will have 214 seats to the GOP’s 219. Democrats will be “glad to have another vote in the House,” The Washington Post said, but she might also be “greeted warmly by an unlikely figure,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Grijalva has said she will provide the decisive 218th signature on Massie’s bipartisan petition to force a House vote to require the Justice Department’s release of all unclassified files on Jeffrey Epstein.

Rep. James Walkinshaw (D), who won a special election in Virginia earlier this month, was the 217th signatory. And the three other Republicans who have kept their names on the discharge petition — Reps. Nancy Mace (S.C.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) — are “solid. They're not moving,” Massie told Axios. The looming vote is a “tough reminder” for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) about the “limits of his power,” Axios said, and a “rare case in which GOP lawmakers openly defy” President Donald Trump’s “sustained pressure.”

What next?

Grijalva will be sworn in once the House returns from recess, likely in early October. Special elections to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) and retired Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) are scheduled for Nov. 4 and Dec. 2, respectively.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.