Veteran Rep. Raúl Grijalva, one of Arizona’s longest-serving members of Congress,

died on Thursday, ending his decades-long career in public service and creating a vacancy in the state’s representation on Capitol Hill.

The state will soon hold special elections to pick his successor.

Under state law, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs must establish the date of the special elections within 72 hours after the office is officially declared vacant.

The primary election is to be held roughly four months after the vacancy happens, which puts it on track to take place during the summer of 2025.

The general election will be held two to three months later.

Grijalva, D-Ariz., represented Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, a bright-blue stronghold that includes much of Arizona’s border with Mexico. That means whoever wins the Democratic primary is overwhelmingly likely to win in the general election.

Who will run for the seat?

Candidates interested in succeeding Grijalva don’t have long to make up their mind: According to state law, they are required to file paperwork with elections officials within 30 days after the special election is called.

Several names have been circulating.

One of them is state Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, who publicly criticized Grijalva’s decision to stay in office as his cancer treatment kept him away from Capitol Hill. She and her siblings, Consuelo and Daniel, are a force in Tucson’s political establishment, and many expect that one member of the family will run.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, who is married to Grijalva’s longtime aide Ruben Reyes, is seen as another possible candidate. She recently appeared on local television to counter Hernandez’s charges that Grijalva should leave office.

Grijalva’s daughter, Adelita, also has long been seen as a natural successor to her father. She now serves on the Pima County Board of Supervisors in the same seat her father held decades ago.

Before Grijalva’s death, three other Democratic candidates — Andrew Becerra, David Bies and Abdul hadi Ghulam Habib — had filed paperwork indicating their interest in running for the seat in 2026.

Republican candidates Daniel Francis Butierez Sr., Jorge Rivas, Raul Verdugo and Jimmy Rodriguez had indicated their interest, too. Butierez unsuccessfully challenged Grijalva in 2024.

Remembered: Rep. Raúl Grijalva, one of Arizona’s longest-serving congressmen, dies at 77