The latest Democratic primary battle between the left and center where Israel has emerged as a point of division is playing out in a special House election in Tucson, Ariz., later this month, as five candidates vie to replace former longtime Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who died in March.

The July 15 primary in Arizona’s dependably blue 7th Congressional District has kept a relatively low profile, even as it features ideological tensions over Middle East policy that could hold implications for the party’s increasingly fractious approach to Israel in the lead-up to next year’s midterm elections.

Adelita Grijalva, 54, a former Pima County supervisor, is viewed as the heavy favorite to win the seat in what is expected to be a low-turnout race, owing in part to her significant name recognition in the area represented by her late father for over two decades. 

She has also consolidated endorsements from top establishment Democrats, including Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), while securing the backing of progressive leaders such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), among other high-profile critics of Israel in Congress.

But her limited record of commentary on Israel has raised questions among pro-Israel activists rallying behind one of Grijalva’s chief primary rivals, Daniel Hernandez, a former state lawmaker who identifies as a pro-Israel progressive and claims support from Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and the political arm of Democratic Majority for Israel.

The 35-year-old Hernandez, recently named the board chair of the Zionist LGTBQ organization A Wider Bridge, has pitched himself as a “consistent champion” of pro-Israel causes, in contrast with the late Grijalva, who during his long tenure embraced hostile positions toward Israel — most prominently when he joined a small handful of House Democrats to oppose additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system in 2021.

Like her father, the younger Grijalva appears more skeptical of Israel amid its war in Gaza, even as she has yet to publicly clarify her own views on a range of key issues, such as continued U.S. security aid to Israel, which has faced vocal resistance from some of her supporters on the left.

Grijalva called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas 10 days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. In her role as a county supervisor, she also reluctantly voted for a resolution that condemned Hamas, while voicing frustration that she “couldn’t talk about peace and humanitarian aid” for Gaza.

More recently, Grijalva has struggled to clearly articulate her approach to Israel and the broader Middle East, suggesting in a recent discussion with a progressive organization that speaking candidly about her views could draw outside spending from pro-Israel advocacy groups such as AIPAC, which has targeted Israel critics in Democratic primaries, into the race.

“The frustration for me, and it will always be, I think, is that there were some things that my dad could get away with that a lot of these organizations that come in and try to influence races and stuff, he predated them,” Grijalva explained during a Zoom call in May with Progressive Democrats of America, an anti-Israel group that is backing her campaign.

Her father, who died at 77, “was like this mountain in the middle, like no one’s moving him one way or the other,” she continued on the call, some portions of which were recently reviewed by Jewish Insider. “But I do think that in this environment, when we are not in normal times and you can’t negotiate with terrorists, there is a difference here, where walking in, I know it’s going to be a different experience for me than it was for my dad.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC said on Wednesday that the group is “not involved” in the race. DMFI PAC, which has also engaged in several House primaries in recent cycles, has so far refrained from investing in the race, despite backing Hernandez. The group did not respond to a request for comment about its plans for the final days of the election, now less than two weeks away.

Elsewhere in the Zoom discussion, Grijalva dodged a question about her position on sending U.S. arms to Israel amid its war against Hamas in Gaza, which she called an “atrocity,” while echoing a section on her campaign site calling for “an immediate release of the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity” and “rapid and complete restoration of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip” to set “the foundation for a two-state solution.”

“The surest way to bring them home, defeat Hamas and begin the process of rebuilding Gaza for the Palestinian people,” Grijalva said on the call, “is through a long-term, just and peaceful resolution, which the United States has a responsibility to work towards.”

Still, she suggested that U.S. involvement in the ongoing conflict “has not been helpful at all,” and vaguely argued that “the United States has been a part of interfering with this process and trying to aid in different ways.”

Pro-Israel activists in Arizona, none of whom would agree to speak on the record over concerns of antagonizing a likely future member of Congress, have voiced apprehension about Grijalva’s comments on Middle East policy, pointing to a lack of general clarity on major issues.

During a Zoom conversation this week with the Arizona Democratic Party Jewish Caucus, for example, Grijalva was asked about her “understanding of the term ‘intifada,’” a recent subject of heated debate as Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, has faced backlash for doubling down on defending calls to “globalize” the Palestinian uprisings against Israel — which critics have interpreted as stoking violence against Jews.

Grijalva, who has condemned recent antisemitic attacks, indicated that she was unfamiliar with the term, according to a brief recording of the Zoom discussion shared with JI on Wednesday. “I don’t really know in this case what that means,” she said in response.

Grijalva’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Limited public polling on the primary has shown Grijalva leading the field, which includes Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old political influencer who says she has raised $500,000 as her campaign has continued to gain some traction. On Wednesday, Foxx notched an endorsement from David Hogg’s political action group, which said “she has translated her story to represent a new vision of generational change that speaks truth to” President Donald Trump’s “cruel policies.”

An internal poll commissioned by Foxx’s campaign and publicized earlier this week reportedly showed her in second place behind Grijalva with 35%, marking a major improvement over her standing in a previous survey, released in April, where she claimed 5% of the vote. 

Foxx has rarely addressed developments in the Middle East, but she has indicated that she would be among the more outspoken critics of Israel if elected. In a video she shared on social media late last month, Foxx is seen addressing voters about the war in Gaza, arguing that “this is the issue that has politicized my entire generation.”

“We have watched devastation unfold on our screens as we have come of age,” she said in her remarks, while adding, “I want to be really clear that in one of the richest countries in the world, it is unconscionable that we send money abroad for weapons that disproportionately hurt women and children and families when families right here do not have food or insurance or housing.”

Jose Malvido Jr., a longshot candidate who has appeared in debates, has for his part repeatedly called Israel’s military actions in Gaza a “genocide,” an accusation his opponents have at least publicly avoided.

In perhaps a rare moment of unity on Middle East policy, both Grijalva and Hernandez have suggested that they would support an impeachment inquiry on Trump’s unilateral decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities last month. Foxx forcefully condemned the attacks, saying that the U.S. “should not be dragged into another endless war by a reality TV president.”

Mike Noble, a pollster and political analyst in Arizona, said Grijalva is “in the driver’s seat” as the primary enters its final stretch, noting it is “her race to lose.” Foxx, he speculated, could potentially peel support from Grijalva’s progressive base, but said it is unlikely that even a split vote would amount to a meaningful change in the outcome. “I’m less bullish on Hernandez,” he told JI, even as he acknowledged that the former state lawmaker could “pull off some votes.”

Grijalva’s ambiguous comments addressing Israel, meanwhile, do not appear to have tangibly stunted her path to the nomination — particularly as recent political developments have shown that embracing firm pro-Israel positions may no longer be as strong a prerequisite for a winning Democratic campaign amid declining voter sympathy for the Jewish state.

Pro-Israel activists are also preparing for a Grijalva victory, while continuing to voice reservations over the direction she will take on key Middle East policy issues if she is elected to succeed her father in the House. 

No such questions surround Hernandez, said Alma Hernandez, his sister and a top campaign surrogate, who is an outspoken defender of Israel in the state Legislature. 

“His record speaks for itself,” she told JI, saying that he “will always fight for what’s right and bring principled leadership to Congress.”

Former Arizona state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, who is running for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who died last month after 22 years in office, grew up in a working-class home in Tucson, a child of the desert Southwest. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) was raised 2,500 miles away in a public housing complex in the southeast Bronx, a child of that borough’s notoriously mean streets.

As different as their sense of place might seem, the two are tied together in a tricky political project that spans their hometowns: trying to carve out a space in the progressive movement for pro-Israel voices in a changing Democratic Party. It’s a narrow needle to thread. 

But Hernandez, an outspoken supporter of Israel who was recently named the board chair of the Zionist LGBTQ organization A Wider Bridge, is betting that running as a fiercely pro-Israel progressive — in the mold of Torres, who endorsed Hernandez and called him “the embodiment of the American dream” — is both the right thing to do, as well as good politics.

At the same time, Hernandez knows that the issues of antisemitism and the war between Israel and Hamas are not top of mind for the voters he is trying to woo. He hopes to reach them with an anti-Trump message, pointing out how the president’s policies, such as shuttering large parts of the Education Department, will impact constituents who rely on federal resources.

“When we’re looking at what the needs of this district are, it’s going to be a high focus on cost of living,” Hernandez, 35, said in an interview with Jewish Insider this week. “When we’re looking at this district, it’s one where it’s predominantly working class and it’s predominantly Latino, and that’s my background.”

Yet as he goes door-to-door in the vast district that spans much of Arizona’s southern border with Mexico, pitching himself to voters as a champion for the working class, Hernandez is not shy about the fact that he is also making a play to win over pro-Israel supporters who could have the financial firepower to make a difference in a close primary.

“It is a lot easier to invest in a champion right now, in an open seat and special election in July, where we will have a strong, consistent champion, than having to go after and unseat an incumbent who has been anti-Israel,” Hernandez told JI. “We spent tens of millions of dollars going after anti-Israel voices in the last election. We don’t need to do that here.”

“I keep hearing folks referring to it as this progressive district. It’s a Democratic district where, for many years, it had a progressive member of Congress,” said Hernandez. “But the reality is, the voters in [this congressional district] are asking and needing representation that’s going to work on these kitchen-table issues.”

The strongest opponent Hernandez faces in an already crowded field is Adelita Grijalva, a Pima County supervisor and one of three daughters of Rep. Grijalva. Like her late father, Adelita Grijalva is casting herself as a true-blue progressive, appearing at a March rally with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). 

Grijalva has not previously spoken much about Israel or the war in Gaza, but she called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas 10 days after the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023. Her father was one of eight Democrats to vote against additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system in 2021.

Hernandez isn’t concerned that his pro-Israel views diverge from those held by his predecessor. He considers himself a progressive — and he also argues that Grijalva’s brand of progressivism isn’t necessarily what’s desired by local constituents.

“I keep hearing folks referring to it as this progressive district. It’s a Democratic district where, for many years, it had a progressive member of Congress,” said Hernandez. “But the reality is, the voters in [this congressional district] are asking and needing representation that’s going to work on these kitchen-table issues.”

“We are going to meet with all of the candidates to learn their positions, but we know that Daniel would be a strong champion if elected,” Rachel Rosen, chief communications officer at Democratic Majority for Israel, said. 

When he was 20 years old, Hernandez interned for former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), and he is credited with helping save her life after a gunman attempted to assassinate her at a political event, killing six people and wounding Giffords with a bullet to the head. He later went on to lead Everytown for Gun Safety’s Arizona branch and worked at Planned Parenthood. Hernandez also served on his local school board and spent six years in the state Legislature, which he left in 2023 after losing a congressional bid in a nearby district in 2022. 

“The biggest thing that I learned is: Run in a district where people know you. That’s the biggest benefit,” said Hernandez. His campaign raised $300,000 in its first eight days, Hernandez shared with JI, a figure he intends to tout to donors and outside groups.

“It showed that I am a strong and viable candidate. So I’m going to be talking to everybody and continuing to engage with different groups and stakeholders,” he stated. “But I think for me, it’s important to show people that I’m able to run a strong and winning campaign in a district that I have lived in my whole life and that I’ve represented for a large part of my life.” 

Less than two weeks into the race and with time until the July 15 primary, major pro-Israel organizations are so far holding their endorsements. AIPAC’s political arm has not yet decided whether to enter the race, a spokesperson told JI. Rachel Rosen, chief communications officer at Democratic Majority for Israel, said the group is also undecided.

“We are going to meet with all of the candidates to learn their positions, but we know that Daniel would be a strong champion if elected,” Rosen said. 

“It shouldn’t just be on the few members of the Congress that are Jewish to be the ones standing up for Israel and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to support this relationship,” Hernandez said.

The Mexican-American activist has two sisters, Conseulo and Alma, who are both Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature. Conseulo and Alma converted to Judaism after learning their maternal grandfather was Jewish. All three have emerged as rising stars in the world of pro-Israel Democratic politics. 

While Hernandez did not follow his sisters’ path to Judaism, he said Jewish elected officials cannot and should not be the only ones who care about antisemitism and the Jewish state.

“It shouldn’t just be on the few members of the Congress that are Jewish to be the ones standing up for Israel and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to support this relationship,” he explained.