TUCSON, Ariz (KGUN) — Democrat Adelita Grijalva and Republican Daniel Butierez will face off in September after they were projected to win their respective primaries.
The two candidates in the Congressional District 7 special primary quickly pulled ahead after the first batch of election results were released Tuesday night.
LIVE BLOG: Election results for Congressional District 7 primary election
Grijalva's campaign party at the El Casino Ballroom on the Southside quickly turned into a celebration Tuesday night, as it became clear the daughter of the late longtime Congressman Raúl Grijalva would move on to the special general election.
READ: Adelita Grijalva apparent nominee for CD7
“It was not about an individual. It was not about social media likes. It was about knocking on doors, face to face with community members, having real conversations,” Grijalva said.
Watch KGUN 9's Craig Smith's report on Adelita Grijalva's victory party:
It was a less celebratory atmosphere across town at Democrat Deja Foxx's campaign event at Zerai’s International Bar in Midtown.
Even as results starting coming in in Grijalva's favor, the 25-year-old activist talked about the positivity her campaign brought to Southern Arizona.
READ: Deja Foxx presumably loses Congressional District 7 Democratic primary
“I want to close by saying this, that not every candidate and not every campaign gets to say that the world was better because they ran, but we do,” Foxx said.
Foxx has not conceded the race.
Watch KGUN 9's Andrew Christiansen break down Deja Foxx's reaction to the election results:
Democrat Daniel Hernandez conceded the race early on election night, throwing his support behind Grijalva, encouraging his supporters to unite behind her in September.
“Most importantly, thank you to our incredible supporters, volunteers, and voters who believed in our vision for Arizona and stood with us every step of the way—especially through those hot days of door knocking. While tonight’s results weren’t what we hoped for, I am deeply proud of this campaign and our commitment to Arizona families and the resources they depend on."
The other two Democratic candidates, Patrick Harris Sr. and Jose Malvido Jr., both currently have less than 2% of the vote.
On the other side of the aisle, Daniel Butierez is projected to win the Republican primary.
The small business owner has run in the district before. He lost to Raúl Grijalva in November's election.
READ: Daniel Butierez likely CD7 Republican nominee
Butierez declared victory shortly after the first batch of results were released. While he lost by a wide margin last November, he says this year is different.
The Republican says he's expanded his reach by connecting with Democrats and third-party candidates and voters.
"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. We need to unite and come together and start fixing things because if we continue to fight, we're not going to fix anything," Butierez said.
Watch KGUN 9's Alex Dowd talk to Daniel Butierez after his victory:
Since its creation in 2003, Congressional District 7 has only ever been represented by a Democrat, even when it was redistricted to be up in Phoenix. In its current form, it's only ever been represented by Raúl Grijalva.
The special general election will be held on Sept. 23. The last day to register to vote is Aug. 25. Early voting begins two days later on Aug. 27. The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Sept. 12. It has to be mailed back by Sept. 16. The last day to vote early in person is Sept. 19.