As Arizona prepares for the special election set to fill Congressman Raúl Grijalva’s (D) open seat in the 7th Congressional District, three Republican candidates—Daniel Butierez, Jorge Rivas, and Jimmy Rodriguez—have emerged as contenders in the primary. The seat was left vacant following the longtime Democrat’s passing on March 13, 2025. Given the seat’s relative safety for Democrats, whichever Republican wins the runoff and becomes the nominee will be seen as a “Hail Mary” play.
Daniel Butierez, a Tucson native and small business owner, is making his second bid for the CD7 seat after running against Grijalva in 2024. His campaign emphasizes election integrity and accountability. Butierez has raised concerns about the validity of his opponents’ nominating petitions, alleging significant infractions and an insufficient number of valid signatures. He asserts that the state is disenfranchising approximately 844,000 constituents by allowing candidates with questionable petition signatures to remain on the ballot.
Butierez granted an interview with the Arizona Globe shortly after the petition challenging the signatures of his Republican opponents was dismissed (allegedly due to expedited deadlines that his attorney wasn’t aware of).
He said, “I originally wasn’t going to challenge, but the fact that neither lived in the district and both barely had the number needed forced me to check their integrity. There wasn’t any point in checking the Dems, as they, like myself, had double the number needed, and one had them verified through E-QUAL. Trump ran on integrity in our elections, and we therefore hold a responsibility to hold our own party to these standards.”
He continued, “In the end, we have two candidates who lack the integrity to represent our party. The majority of their signatures came from the wrong districts and the wrong party. Jorge Rivas only had 168 valid signatures out of the required 554. Jimmy Rodriguez had just 249 valid signatures out of the 554 required. Neither were nominated by the district to be on the ballot. We need a representative who will not only work for everyone but also has integrity and will protect election integrity.”
One of his two Republican competitors, Jorge Rivas, a restaurant owner from Yuma, took exception to Butierez’s allegations on social media. In a fiery post on Facebook, Rivas wrote the following:
“As many of you know Butierez For Congress, Jimmy Rodriguez for Congress, and myself are running for the 7th Congressional District of Arizona. However, Mr. Rodriguez and I received a summons at the start of week saying that we must appear in court and legally fight for our right to stay on the ballot! It wasn’t a Democratic competitor who did this; it was Daniel Butierez! He claimed that our petition signatures were invalid and we had no right to be on the ballot. He even proudly made this post showing the official paperwork he submitted to eliminate us, his fellow Republicans, and be the sole candidate in our Party! He even tagged all the major Arizona news outlets, including my old VIP customer, President Donald J. Trump. I don’t know why he would think Trump would be impressed by this, considering he’s using the exact same tactic the Democrats used on our President. He’s using unjust legal action to force Mr. Rodriguez and me to spend an absurd amount of money on legal fees to either take us out of the race or exhaust our campaign funds! Thankfully, Mr. Rodriguez’s legal team proved without a shadow of a doubt that our signatures are valid and we are eligible to run in the Congressional race! Who would you rather have as your Congressman? A man like Butierez who’s willing to stab his fellow Party Members in the back and take away your option to choose your preferred candidate. Or would you rather have a man like me? A family and businessman who will stand against injustice and ensure you all have the right to make your own decisions! Have your voices heard and not forcefully taken away! Butierez’s slogan is, “It’s Time For Change,” but it should be up to all of you to decide what kind of change Arizona needs, not him!”
Jimmy Rodriguez, the builder-turned-custom-automaker, rounds out the trio of Republican candidates. Rodriguez has largely stayed out of the social media spotlight.
Q1 campaign finance numbers show that Butierez has a healthy lead over Rivas and may have the momentum. Rodriguez has yet to report his fundraising numbers.
The three Republicans are set to debate on June 9, 2025, nine days before early voting starts. The Globe requested responses from Rivas and Rodriguez, but as of posting, has yet to receive a reply.