Key takeaways from special elections in Arizona and Georgia
by Caroline Vakil - 09/23/25 11:34 PM ET
Former Pima County supervisor Adelita Grijalva easily won a special election on Tuesday in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District to fill the seat held by her late father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
Grijalva beat Republican Daniel Butierez to represent a House seat in the Grand Canyon State that spans most of the state’s southern border and includes part of Tucson; the seat opened up after her father died of complications related to his cancer treatment in March.
Grijalva’s win also means that enough Democrats and Republicans will be able to force a vote on the House floor over the Justice Department’s release of Jeffrey Epstein files.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, Republicans were able to keep a state Senate seat in their hands during a special election runoff. But the election is still giving Democrats reasons to feel good too.
Here are key takeaways from the Arizona and Georgia special elections:
Final Epstein vote secured
Grijalva’s win on Tuesday night means lawmakers pushing for the release of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein now have enough votes in the House to move forward.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) will clinch enough signatures on their discharge petition once Grijalva is sworn in, which will force a vote on the House floor over the Justice Department’s release of the files.
The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files has angered Republicans and Democrats alike, particularly after the Justice Department determined earlier this year that Epstein didn’t maintain a “client list” — a departure from what some Trump allies had originally alluded to — and that Epstein had died of suicide.
House Republican leadership had sought to stave off some of that turmoil by releasing some documents from Epstein’s estate and having the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hold a closed-door meeting with some of Epstein’s accusers. But the moves did little to shake several of the Republicans who signed onto the discharge petition.
The duo had every Democrat on board, in addition to GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.) — but they were shy one signature. Grijalva is set to deliver that critical vote for Massie and Khanna soon.
Adelita Grijalva takes up father’s progressive mantle
The late Grijalva was a progressive icon who co-chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus as well as the Natural Resources Committee; he was known as a major environmental justice advocate who also went toe-to-toe with the Trump administration on environmental regulations and rollbacks.
Adelita Grijalva is expected to continue those progressive politics herself, emphasizing on her website how she has “developed a reputation for bringing people together to address the biggest issues facing Southern Arizona, including affordable housing, environmental protection and climate resiliency, and healthy and safe communities.”
Grijalva also enjoyed endorsements from prominent progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5518904-adelita-grijalva-wins-arizona-election/
