Raúl Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona, passed away at 77 years old.
According to the office, the congressman passed away Thursday morning as a result of complications from cancer treatments. Grijalva declared in April 2024 that he had received a cancer diagnosis and had started treatment. At the time, he described the diagnosis as “difficult to process.”
“Rep. Grijalva fought a long and brave battle,” the congressman’s office said in a statement late on Thursday.
Grijalva was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2002, and during his time there, he held important roles on the House Natural Resources Committee, including ranking member and chair. Throughout his time in Congress, the congressman was well-known for his support of the environment.
In addition to being a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Grijalva served as chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
“Rep. Grijalva’s kind and humble nature was known to many,” the statement from his office said. “He was approachable by all because he believed people should be treated as equals. He loved to give gifts, blare music in his office, and get to know people for who they are.”
Grijalva served in a firmly Democratic district near the US-Mexico border in southern Arizona. In November, he defeated his Republican opponent by over 25 percentage points to win a twelfth term in the House of Representatives.
The vacancy will have to be filled by a special election.
Just last week, Texas Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, passed away at the age of 70, leaving House Democrats without another member.
Grijalva, said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), was “a real giant of the House and of the progressive movement … a champion of the environment and environmental justice … and he was a real mentor and friend to me.”
“Really as a young Latino in politics, there were not that many Latino progressives with a real national profile to look up to,” Casar said. “And he’s somebody who I was just so proud to call somebody that I looked up to — and was able to serve with far too briefly.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a former CPC chair, said: “I remember when we had the conversation about it — I was the first vice chair — he said, ‘It is so important that we have somebody who has been fighting in the movement already.’ And I said, ‘Well, we’re just following in your path, Raúl.’”
“You never had to wonder where Rep. Grijalva was going to be on a critical vote. He was always going to be in the place of the people, and he was an incredible support to me personally,” Jayapal continued. “He was a champion on so many big issues. I was sleeping in church basements for SB-1070 when he was fighting as an elected official. … It is an immense loss, and my thoughts go out to his family. And I hope they know how strong his legacy will be for a very long time.”
Following Grijalva’s death on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hailed the Arizona veteran for his long career in public service and said that he was “a progressive warrior who always fought for the least, the lost and the left behind.”
“He was a mentor to many and a friend to all,” Jeffries said, “and we will miss his principled presence and wisdom greatly in the Congress.”