TUCSON, Ariz. — Daniel Butierez's campaign is focused on change: it's on his campaign signs, his speeches and his debate statements.
Despite being redistricted twice, Arizona's Seventh Congressional District has never been represented by a Republican. Butierez says it's time for new leadership.
“I’ve built a business," Butierez said when asked why he's the man for the job. "I’ve been to prison. I’ve been homeless. I’ve been hooked on drugs. I’ve walked in the shoes of just about everyone out there except politicians.”
See KGUN 9's full interview with Republican nominee Daniel Butierez here:
This year, Butierez is hoping to take his cowboy boots to Washington D.C., bringing change back to Southern Arizona.
This is his second time running for the CD7 seat, just a few months after his first run against the late Raúl Grijalva. He says progressive leadership hasn't helped the district.
“We have a homeless crisis," he said. "We have a crime crisis. We have a drug pandemic that’s impacting this community.”
To Butierez, those problems start at the United States Southern Border. About 350 miles of that border is in CD7, making it a top focus in this race.
“I don’t think we need military on the border," Butierez said. "I think we need to finish the wall and keep an eye on the border.”
He says that finishing the wall will encourage migrants to enter the United States through ports of entry, curbing illegal immigration and slowing the flow of drugs into the country.
Those drugs, he says, end up creating more crime of Arizona's city streets.
“If I focus on stopping the drugs, and I get a program established that actually gets the homeless back on their feet, Tucson will—Arizona will become safe again,” Butierez said.
That's a passion of his, after experiencing drug addiction and homelessness himself.
Butierez says he supports President Donald Trump's policy to end crime on America's streets, including an executive order that threatens forced detox for unhoused Tucsonans experiencing addiction.
“I don’t see anything cruel about it," Butierez said. What I see as cruel is giving a guy a sandwich and giving him a bed to sleep in because essentially, you just gave him a full stomach to take his fentanyl and a bed to die in.”
The winning candidate of the special election will be up for reelection just a few months after their term begins. Butierez says that if CD7 constituents aren't happy with his results in Washington, they can vote him out, and he'll put his politician shoes back on the shelf.
