TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN). — The Congressional District 7 Primary Election takes place today, Tuesday, July 15.
This special election is happening to fill the vacancy left after U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva passed away in March.
58 Election Day voting centers will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Check the closest voting centers by entering your address here.
There are two congressional districts in Pima County: CD6 and CD7.
CD7 covers most of Pima County, all of Santa Cruz County, and stretches into Cochise and Maricopa counties. It also runs more than a hundred miles of the southern border.
There are live ballot-counting feeds that citizens can watch at any point while the ballots are being processed and prepared for tabulation.
Kathleen Winn, Chair of the Pima County Republican Party, explains she wants to see some change this election.
"I’m hopeful that the democrats don’t just pick someone because of their name, but pick them because they would have a willingness to serve and to bring change to this district," Winn says. "We need change. It’s time for change. It’s time for CD7 to improve and get better.”
Eric Robbins, Chairman for the Pima County Democratic Party, explains his hopes for this election.
“The person who earns the right to represent CD7 is going to do so because they connect with the range of communities and the range of cultures that CD7 represents and embraces them all equally and serves them all equally,” Robbins says.
If you plan on voting in person today, double-check that you have proper identification and make sure no documents are expired.
No Republican has ever won CD7 in Pima County.
“It’s a shortened term, so this, for me, is a way for people to try out the policies and see what happens. It helps the republicans back in the Congress, though, to give President Trump a bigger majority to get the work done that they’ve been doing," Winn explains.
Robbins says this election is bringing lots of attention to Pima County.
“From leadership to grassroots, organizations are looking at what’s happening in CD7 and seeing what democrats can do to stem the tide that’s happening in this country right now and to push back on some of the more egregious abuses of the Trump administration,” he says.
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
