Former Lawmaker Daniel Hernandez Will Run For Late Congressman Grijalva’s Seat
By Staff Reporter |
Former state representative Daniel Hernandez Jr. announced his campaign for late Congressman Raúl Grijalva’s open seat.
On Monday, Hernandez launched a campaign platform presenting a sweeping defense against the Trump administration: resisting Republican-led changes to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, voting, abortion, and gun ownership.
“America is in trouble,” said the announcement video from Hernandez. “I’m Daniel Hernandez, and I’m running for Congress because we need leaders who will stand up and do whatever it takes for working families, for veterans, and for seniors.”
Hernandez lost his last congressional race in 2022 against Kirsten Engel in the Democratic primary. Engel lost to incumbent Congressman Juan Ciscomani.
After his loss in 2022, Hernandez became the Government Affairs Director at Stand for Children in Arizona (SCA).
SCA is the Arizona hub for Stand for Children, the advocacy arm of the progressive education advocacy nonprofit Stand for Children Leadership Center (SCLC). Stand for Children has a presence in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. It focuses on advancing “educational equity and racial justice” in children.
Stand for Children took credit for Arizona’s $1 billion increase in education funding following the court overturning of Proposition 208. The organization cited its creations of “bipartisan” coalitions of legislators, school superintendents, and education groups, in addition to a digital advertising campaign resulting in over 26,000 Arizonans urging their lawmakers to use the state surplus to fund education.
“Throughout the effort, the coalition leveraged strategic lobbying resources that led to a key Republican ally in the Senate — where Republicans hold a one seat majority — committing to vote down any budget that did not include $1 billion funding increase for public education,” said Stand for Children’s 2022 annual report.
Stand for Children also took credit for the defeat of HCR 2001 in 2022, a bill to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion statements in the classroom.
Currently, SCA is advocating for abolition of the aggregate expenditure limit, eliminating fees from the state’s juvenile court system, lifting restrictions on what teachers can teach, improving the number of freshmen on track to graduate high school, investing in early literature expansions, and reforming the state’s school choice program.
SCLC operates the program Center for Antiracist Education (CARE).
Hernandez made a name for himself in politics in 2011 when he provided first aid to then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords after she was shot in the head during an attempted assassination. Hernandez was in his first week of an internship with Giffords’ office at the time. Later that year, Tucson voters elected Hernandez to the Sunnyside Unified School District governing board.
In 2016, Hernandez was elected to the Arizona House. Hernandez co-founded the LGBTQ Caucus.
Hernandez has also been the program manager for Planned Parenthood’s Latino outreach program and state director of Everytown for Gun Safety.
The primary election for Grijalva’s open seat is scheduled for July 15, followed by the general election on September 23.
Hernandez is one of 20 individuals who have filed statements of interest in the race: nine Democrats, nine Republicans, one Libertarian, and one Green Party member.
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