Arizona’s 7th Congressional District is nearly 2,400 miles from New York City. Still, the New York Times found a way to take shots at NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani over a recent primary election in the border-hugging district.
Like Mamdani, Adelita Grijalva won the Democratic nomination for an upcoming election in the district. The seat in the House was previously held by her late father, Raul Grijalva. Tuesday’s primary pitted the younger Grijalva against progressive activist Deja Foxx. Grijalva won the endorsement of left-of-center stars like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Foxx garnered the support of former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg.
Foxx raked in just 21% of the vote, compared to Grijalva’s 62%. The Grey Lady painted Grijalva’s victory as an establishment victory.
“The Mamdani momentum withered in the deserts of southern Arizona on Tuesday night,” Jack Healy, the Times’ national correspondent, wrote.
Throughout his campaign, the Times was especially critical of Mamdani. Prior to the June primary, the Times’ editorial board went as far as to print an “anti-endorsement” of the assemblyman.
Much like Mamdani’s NYC mayoral campaign (and subsequent win) Foxx’s campaign has been rooted in social media campaign efforts and appeals to Gen Z voters. Still, paralleling the two races is a bit like comparing apples to oranges.
For one, Grijalva is established in the district. She served as a member of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board for 20 years, then as a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors for District 5 from 2021 to 2025.
As Intelligencer columnist Ed Kilgore points out, voters in both NYC and Tucson are worried about the issues in their own districts, not those in a city on the opposite side of the country.
“Voters there had their own preoccupations, and should not be burdened with responsibility for shaping the future of New York City any more than Mamdani should be expected to campaign on solving long-term water supply problems for Arizonans,” Kilgore wrote.
