TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Congressional District 7 Special Election Primary night ended with Daniel Butierez as the apparent Republican nominee with over 60% of the vote, over 5,700 ahead of the second place finisher.
The small business owner claimed victory in the Republican primary race less than 15 minutes after results started trickling in, putting him in a strong lead.
"Well, we kind of were already expecting this," he said as he stepped up in front of the small crowd chanting his name. "It should be the hometown boy that gets the hometown girl."
This isn't a new position for Butierez and his supporters. In 2024, he challenged Raúl Grijalva for the CD7 seat, a race Butierez would lose after gaining just over 36% of the vote.
This year, he says it will be a different race.
"“I had a lot of Democratic support last time, and I have even more this time," Butierez told KGUN 9. "South Tucson’s talking about Mr. Butierez has done more for South Tucon than all the politicians combined. So more and more Democrats are looking at me and realizing that I’m the man that’s going to implement change, and they’re taking my signs to heart: it’s time for change.”
That slogan repeated throughout the primary night as the Republican candidate worked to set himself up as a candidate not just for Republican voters, but for Democratic and third-party voters too.
He went as far as inviting his Republican challengers and candidates from the Democratic and Green Party to his election night event.
"The R and the D mean nothing, and we need to get away from that and realize the values that we hold as a people." he said. "We need to unite and come together and start fixing things because if we continue to fight, we’re not going to fix anything.”
Change, he added, is what will fix CD7. He's especially focused on homelessness, crime and border safety within the district.
"I've been out there talking to people, and they do not want another 22 years of Grijalva," he said.
Butierez, his supporters and voters left the watch party with a mission, already asking for more donations and for more volunteers to join their ranks as they turn towards the General Election in September.
