Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva died March 13 in Tucson after being diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2024, the congressman’s office said. He was 77 years old.

Grijalva ran for and won a 12th term in Congress in November. One month before the election, he vowed that if he won, he would be serving his final term. 

The longest-serving member of Arizona’s congressional delegation had cast just a handful of votes in 2025. Grijalva was absent for much of 2024, as well.

“Rep. Grijalva’s kind and humble nature was known to many. He was approachable by all because he believed people should be treated as equals,” Grijalva’s conngressional staff said in a prepared statement.

“He loved to give gifts, blare music in his office, and get to know people for who they are. The Congressman cared deeply for and was proud of his staff, the dedicated public servants who spent 22 years fighting alongside him for the people of Southern Arizona. Together, we helped families get back on their feet and remained a source of help and hope when people had nowhere else to turn. We are heartbroken in the face of this news but determined to carry on his legacy.”

Grijalva was an a old-school progressive — rooted in his community, dedicated to his causes, not afraid to mix it up. 

“I came of age admiring Democrats who fought for civil rights, for women’s rights, for clean air, clean water and for peace,” Grijalva said in a speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2016. 

Grijalva was the son of a bracero — a guest worker who emigrated from Mexico to Tucson. 

Grijalva was born in Tucson and would serve his community for 51 years – almost his entire adult life – on the Tucson Unified School District board, Tucson City Council, the Pima County Board and in Congress.

Grijalva made national headlines in 2010 by calling for an economic boycott of his home state after Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law. The so-called “show me your papers” law targeted undocumented immigrants. 

“I think it is absolutely worth it,” Grijalva said of the boycott. “The downside is… that we potentially are hurting some people that we shouldn’t hurt with these sanctions. 

“But at the same time, if we don’t take this issue on, on a very direct and high level, then it becomes this little problem in Arizona. And I don’t think it’s a little problem in Arizona. I think it’s a national issue and we’re trying to nationalize it as much as possible.”

The boycott ended after a judge blocked enforcement of the law. 

Grijalva conceded the boycott wasn’t changing any minds among Arizona’s business and political leadership.

Grijalva, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for 10 years, was the first member of Congress to back progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016. He got a speaking slot at the Democratic national Convention to endorse the party’s presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.

After Donald Trump took office in 2017 for his first term as president, Grijalva and two other Democratic members of Congress were arrested outside Trump Tower during immigration-related protests. 

The arrest was believed to be Grijalva’s third for civil disobedience, according to the Arizona Republic.

The congressman faced a House Ethics Committee investigation after the Natural Resources Committee paid $48,000 in 2015 to a committee staffer who alleged that his alcohol use had created a hostile work environment. The Ethics Committee concluded the payments were acceptable. 

Grijalva told a Tucson reporter in 2018 that he had a problem with alcohol years earlier and “beat the demons” after getting professional help.

In one of his final public acts in Congress, Grijalva urged President Joe Biden last July to abandon his campaign for president.

“What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat – and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race,” Grijalva told the The New York Times.

Grijalva was the second House Democrat to call on Biden to step aside. The president announced 18 days later that he would end his campaign.

It was Biden who delivered the capstone of Grijalva’s half-century career as an elected official.

For almost a decade, Grijalva had pushed the federal government to protect one million acres of ancestral tribal land near Grand Canyon National Park. 

The project married Grijalva’s advocacy for indigenous people with his abiding concern for the environment. In this case, he wanted to protect the land from uranium mining.

In August 2023, Biden designated the vast Grand Canyon site as a new national monument. The president handed Grijalva the signing pen.

Grijalva’s environmental advocacy went as far back as his time on the Pima County Board. He organized public hearings on drinking water contamination that largely affected communities of color. 

In Congress, he ascended to the chairmanship of the House Natural Resources Committee in 2019 when Democrats to back control of the House.

Grijalva’s majority Latino congressional district is a safe Democratic seat. 

The southern Arizona district includes parts of the west valley in Maricopa County, the western half of Tucson and nearly all of Arizona’s border with Mexico.

Under Arizona law, the Seventh District seat will be filled in a special primary and general election called by Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

The call and date of the elections must be set within 72 hours after the seat is declared vacant.

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