A race in Arizona raises a harder test for the democrats youth movement

Adelita Grijalva is a veteran of the Tucson School Board and the Pima County Supervisors Board. She is also the 54 -year -old daughter of the progressive representative of the Raúl Grijalva icon, whose death in March began the special elections for her seat of the United States House in Arizona who now has a favorite to win.

Grijalva has consolidated the institutional support of the entire ideological spectrum of the party, winning the support of local sensors Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, national progressives such as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Dn.y.), many of the unions of the region and national organizations such as the party of working families. She promises to continue with her father’s legacy as a progressive willingness to resort to party leadership.

“When you grow up to Grijalva, you learn to fight and who you are fighting for,” he says in one of his ads.

But as the special election approaches Tuesday, Grijalva has been nervous and bewildered by the attacks of his opponents that labeled the selection of the “establishment” in the race, and by traction the attack seems to have won. He helped Depa Newsx, a 25 -year -old social networks influencer, to move at a surprising distance from Grijalva.

Grijalva is still favored to defeat his opponents: in addition to Newsx, the former 35 -year -old state representative, Daniel Hernández, is also in the race.

The race shows how the flourishing youth movement of the Democrats may not find all leaders as flat standing and bad suits for the second Trump administration such as Andrew Cuomo, the 67 -year -old archirbentrista, former New York governor. (Grijalva, for example, has had a political career free of scandal and the support of many groups that supported Zohran Mamdani, a democratic democratic socialist, who defeated Cuomo in the primaries of the Democratic Mayor’s Office of New York City last month).

But the simple fact that Newsx seems to have made the race too close to comfort, enough to make extremely imperfect comparisons with the battle mentioned above between Mamdani and Cuomo, also shows that charismatic candidates, media experts and young people attract attention, even when they are not running in the capital of the world.

“The fact that he leaves is the main challenger here is enough to say that the formula of young candidates has a lot of attraction for the primary Democratic voters at this time,” said a Arizona Democratic strategist who supports Grijalva and requested the anonymity to speak frankly about the race. “If Newsx carries out a victory, every 50 -year -old holder needs to understand that they are in political danger.”

Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg through Getty Images

Even more confusing for Grijalva are the comparisons between its contest to represent this very democratic majority and Hispanic district that covers much of South Arizona and the primary mayor last month in New York.

“Am I cuomo in this situation?” He asked incredulously. “It’s ridiculous.”

“All this idea that we need someone new,” he said at another time of the interview, referring to an argument presented frequently by his two younger opponents in the race. “Well, that’s why people voted for Trump. How do we feel about that decision at this time?”

There was no guarantee that Newsx arose as the main alternative to Grijalva when the race began. Arizona’s Democrats initially thought that Hernández, who runs as a more moderate candidate, could benefit from external groups that have shown the will to spend millions supporting the pro-Israel candidates. But money never came, and the knowledge of social networks and Newsx’s debate actions have helped her to raise enough money so that the race is at least something competitive.

To Drago/Bloomberg through Getty Images

There are few ideological differences between Grijalva and Newsx, both, for example, support “Medicare for all” and agree that the cost of living remains the central problem in the race. But they have deeper disagreements about the best way to fight against the policies of President Donald Trump and how to succeed as a member of Congress in the 2020s.

“The role and work of a Congress member have changed under this administration,” Newsx said in an interview, pointing to members who have been arrested who protest with the application of immigration and customs. “Who does he trust to defend himself between Donald Trump and his fundamental rights?”

With most other prominent progressives that support Grijalva, Newsx’s most prominent national ally has been David Hogg, Parkland, Florida, shooting survivors who now directs leaders who deserve, which supports young candidates for office. Newsx, which grew depending on food coupons and Medicaid, regularly makes generational change an explicit part of its tone.

“This is a preview of the future of politics, and it is a test for the Democratic Party about whether they will comply with this moment or not,” said Newsx. “We cannot afford to give a single seat, even these safer seats, to the people who are only going to mark the boxes. We need champions.”

Grijalva has a more traditional vision of coalition construction and suggests that Newsx’s policy style is more about promoting itself than moving forward.

“It’s not about getting attention,” he said about the elected position. “It’s about ensuring that decisions are made in collaboration with their community. And that is something that I have been doing all my life.”

Sometimes, Grijalva sounds like a disappointed mentor when he talks about the youngest candidate, whom he remembers encouraging when Newsx began in activism when he was a teenager, speaking in front of a school board, Grijalva herself was a member.

“It has really been disappointing in this choice that has reduced more to personality attacks instead of talking about our policies,” Grijalva said.

Hernández is now seen as the third man in a career of two people. And although he seized being labeled as moderate, pointing out his past work for weapons control and abortion rights, his campaign shows how progressives are not the only candidates who can defend generational change.

“We are having manifestations of ‘No Kings’,” Hernández said in an interview. “So, why would we decide that we are going to have a situation in which the race decides as if it were something hereditary?”