Arizona
What to know about the race to replace the late Arizona House Democrat
Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly dies after fight against esophageal cancer
Rep. Gerry Connolly, 75, died after a battle with esophageal cancer and was remembered by his family for his advocacy, democracy defense, and service in Congress.
Scripps News
Voters in southern Arizona will have a good sense of who might succeed the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva – one of three septuagenarian Democrats who died while serving in Congress since the start of this year – after July 15.
The Democratic and Republican primaries on Tuesday come two months before the special election on Sept. 23. But, in the deep blue stronghold, whoever comes out on top among the handful of candidates on the left will have the general upper hand.
Adelita Grijalva, the late congressman’s daughter and former member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, is the leading contender for the Democratic nomination, in what has become a microcosm of an ongoing national debate about the future of the party.
Also in the mix in Arizona is a more moderate former intern for former Rep. Gabby Giffords, as well as a Gen-Z social media savant.
On the Republican side, three candidates face off in hopes they can defeat more than two decades of precedent.
Grijalva, a staunch progressive, champion of environmental issues and congressman of over twenty years, died in March at the age of 77 following a battle with lung cancer.
The special election to fill his seat is one of three that will be held this year to fill House vacancies prompted by the death of a congressmember, all Democrats.
Grijalva’s daughter leads three-way Democratic contest
Adelita Grijalva, 54, is the expected frontrunner leading in the special election’s limited polling.
Taking up her father’s progressive mantle, Grijalva said in a debate on June 10 that his work in office “is the legacy that shaped me.”
Her campaign has garnered a slew of endorsements from prominent groups and figures, in and out of the state, including both Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, and fellow progressives Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Her main competitors include former state legislator Daniel Hernandez, 35, who had been working for one week as an intern to Giffords when a gunman opened fire at her Tucson constituent event in 2011. Hernandez, then a 20-year-old college student, has been credited with saving Giffords’ life by rushing toward her when she was shot in the head and staunching the bleeding.
The race in Arizona is a three-way contest between Hernandez, Grijalva and 25-year-old Deja Foxx, a popular social media strategist and activist.
While Grijalva has the political establishment’s backing (and Hernandez has his own endorsements from lawmakers like New York Rep. Ritchie Torres), Foxx has attracted support from some Democratic disruptors seeking a major shift in the party.
David Hogg, activist and former co-vice chair of the Democratic Party, and his political group, Leaders We Deserve, have endorsed Foxx’s grassroots campaign.
Democratic primary winner has the upper hand
Tuesday’s Democratic primary will be a good indication of who will ultimately win the seat and provide insight into voters’ hopes for the party.
Whichever Democrat comes out on top will be in the prime position to win in September, given the 7th district’s historically liberal leaning.
Three Republicans – Daniel Butierez, Jimmy Rodriguez and Jorge Rivas – hope to buck the region’s longstanding tradition of going Democrat. All are businessmen with thin political resumes.
The winner of the July 15 Republican primary faces a steep general election battle, regardless of opponent.
Aid for House Democrats
Congressional Democrats are counting on a Democrat to win in southern Arizona.
The outcome of this special election will help them tighten the margin in the House and put extra pressure on Republicans, who are already working with a narrow majority.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s intraparty tightrope was evident early in July during the passage of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax, spending and policy legislation.
In a campaign video on July 4, the day Trump signed the bill into law, Foxx, one of Arizona’s trio of Democratic candidates, said Republicans won “not because Democrats didn’t fight hard enough, but because three Dem congressmen died, while in office, and handed MAGA Republicans the advantage.”
Grijalva’s death came a week after former Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died at 70. In May, Virginia’s Rep. Gerry Connolly, 75, was the third Democrat to die in office.
A special election to replace Connolly will be held in northern Virginia on Sept. 9. Texas’ 18th Congressional District, in the Houston area, will select Turner’s successor later on Nov. 4.
Arizona
NAU launches first-of-its-kind engineering degree to fast-track Arizona’s future workforce – The NAU Review
As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.
Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.
The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.
Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce
Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.
“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”
Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.
Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.
Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.
PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.
“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.
Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.
The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.
Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.
Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.
Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.
Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.
His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.
Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.
Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.
Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.
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