The Disconnect Between Political Backing and What LGBTQ+ Voters Want

Former candidate and state Rep. Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson) lost this summer’s special primary election to represent the people of Southern Arizona’s 7th Congressional District at the United States Capitol.

After the primary votes were tallied, Hernandez called to congratulate Adeljita Grijalva, daughter of the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Tucson), and conceded. He then encouraged his supporters to unite around Grijalva in this week's general election.

It’s the second time in four years Hernandez failed to capture enough of the vote to advance to a general election for a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives, though this cycle he was defeated by a much greater margin.

In a 2022 primary race to represent the state’s 6th Congressional District, a seat currently held by Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Tucson), Hernandez was runner up to former state Sen. Kirsten Engel (D-Tucson), who won with a 24.3 percentage-point lead. This year, Hernandez took third, trailing Gen-Z political organizer Deja Foxx by 8.8 percentage-points and former Pima County supervisor Grijalva by 47.9 percentage-points.

LGBTQ+ people have since been posing questions about how Hernandez, an out gay man, used his identity as a political platform, and whether his campaign actually represented the views that LGBTQ+ people living in western Tucson and parts of Yuma, Nogales, Avondale, and Tolleson share on governance.

Hernandez ran to the right of leading candidates Grijalva and Foxx, who spoke to more progressive ideas that reflect the district’s voter base.

A LOOKOUT review from April found that transgender and gender-diverse residents in Tucson overwhelmingly support initiatives like reduced police funding in favor of investment in social services, childhood programs, and harm reduction strategies for drug users.

In a March poll on Tucson’s $28 million budget shortfall, nearly 4,000 residents responded, including 190 who identified as trans and gender diverse. Overwhelmingly, the trans and gender-diverse respondents cared about community investment, less law enforcement, and sustained free bus fares.

Hernandez’s campaign platform didn't reflect a similar need for a strong social safety-net. Instead, he took a pro-business stance that landed him to the right of his progressive opponents.

In contrast, the campaign of 25-year-old first-time candidate Foxx focused heavily on social services and health care access, human rights, and a generational shift in public office leadership. On the campaign trail, Grijalva held firm to her father’s roots as an environmental advocate, and spoke out with demands for affordable housing and immigration equity. 

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Both Grijalva’s and Foxx’s platforms appeared to be more directly aligned with the issues LGBTQ+ people in Tucson said they cared about.

Yet this spring, LGBTQ+ political action committees (PACs) gave Hernandez their money, in addition to groups rooted in the progress of Israel, labor unions, and moderate Democrats.

In total, Hernandez’s campaign received about $1.09 million in donations, with more than 15% coming from non-individual donors, such as PACs. 

Mission-driven PACs with a tie to LGBTQ+ rights, such as the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Equality PAC, and Honor PAC sent in nearly a quarter of that non-individual donor money.

Honor PAC is an organization focused on “helping facilitate the dialogue on LGBTQ+ and Latina/o/e issues throughout California and beyond.” 

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, a national organization that operates to elect LGBTQ+ candidates; Equality PAC, the political arm of the nation’s Congressional Equality Caucus; and Equality Arizona, one of the state’s longest-running LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, all announced their support for Hernandez the same week he entered the primary race. 

After, they gave Hernandez’s campaign thousands of dollars.

The only lesbian and nonbinary political action committee, LPAC, endorsed Foxx, and the Christopher Street Project, a newly established national trans electoral advocacy organization, backed Grijalva as its frontrunner.

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Another $19,675 was posted to Hernandez’s campaign reserves by LGBTQ+ leaders in business and advocacy positions. LOOKOUT identified about 93% of those individual donors as having local roots.

Equality Arizona President Michael Soto, for example, donated $3,500 into Hernandez’s bid. Former state lawmakers Cesar Chavez (D-Phoenix) and Robert Meza (D-Phoenix), an LGBTQ+ Victory Fund board member, each contributed $3,500.

The day Hernandez announced his candidacy, former Tempe mayor Neil Giuliano, an LGBTQ+ Victory Institute board member, spent $2,000.

“I made a personal contribution because he’s a friend,” said Giuliano, who said he worked alongside Hernandez during his time in the statehouse. “I found him to be open to listening to ideas and views that we were putting forth” related to education, transportation, and workforce development.

Of his “litmus test” for political donations, Giuliano said, “I want someone who's going to work with everyone to get solid public policy accomplished on behalf of the people that they serve.”

“It's not any one particular issue or one particular viewpoint or one particular position they may have taken on something,” Giuliano said.

Former Republican state Rep. Steve May said he has known Hernandez “since he entered public life,” and also collaborated with Hernandez at the Legislature.

While there, Hernandez co-founded the LGBTQ+ Caucus, advocated for legislation to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace, and managed to pass Arizona's now-defunct lower-income housing tax credit. “He was able to accomplish some of his objectives, because he learned the system and worked through the system,” said May, who gave $500 to Hernandez’s campaign.

However, May said, Hernandez faced an uphill climb against Grijalva, who previously served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board for 20 years. She was also endorsed by establishment and socialist Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Grijalva is a leftist, and I think that's what they want,” May said. “I don't know if he ever had a chance in a Democratic primary anywhere, but especially down in that district, unless he were to flip-flop and become someone who really he wasn't. He didn't do that.”

Despite the election results, May said, “We need people to run.”

“I'm glad we had an openly gay guy speaking openly about being gay and running for public office. That matters,” May said. “Just because you can't win the election doesn't mean you shouldn't run.”

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Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber of Commerce President Michael Mazzocco contributed several small amounts throughout Hernandez’s campaign that totaled $450, and volunteered to door knock on some weekends. Mazzocco is a candidate to represent Phoenix's 4th City Council District.

“His pragmatism is much aligned with mine in just approach: community driven; being pro-business but also supporting workers’ rights; and first and foremost, LGBTQ+ representation and voice matter so much,” Mazzocco said, adding that he’s “personal friends with Daniel.”

“Being a southern Arizona born and raised person, Hispanic and LGBTQ were the top three reasons that I thought he was the perfect candidate,” Mazzocco said.

Now, Mazzocco said, he stands behind Grijalva.

LOOKOUT reached out to Hernandez via email, text message, and left a voicemail for him to discuss his campaign. Hernandez said he couldn’t speak to press because he’s a finalist for a new job.