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Her two top opponents — Deja Foxx, a Gen-Z influencer, and Daniel Hernandez, a former state lawmaker — conceded less than an hour after early election results showed Grijalva with a sizable lead, about 62 percent of the early vote.

Grijalva, speaking to supporters at a watch party Tuesday night, said her campaign was about "the importance of giving voice to this community."

"It was not about social media likes. It was about knocking on doors, face-to-face with community members, having real conversations about what's important ... I stand on the shoulders of giants, and I am so thankful that my dad taught us all that this is how you do this work. This is how you get this done. And if you look at the results, that what that says," she said.

"Someone made me cry at least once a day, every day. And what it was is that, I would go up to doors, and people would say, 'your dad helped my dad,' or 'you came into my classroom and read to my kids.' I think being present in our community is important."

Ahead of results being released, Grijalva told the Star that while there are ups and downs in any race, this one was a little different.

"I've never run a race where I’m just like in mourning. So it's been an adjustment, that part . . . It's been very humbling. So many people have been so supportive,� Grijalva said.

After the results were clear, Grijalva imparted a lesson on her supporters that her dad gave her.

“You know, my dad said you have to hit the ground running, and you can cry later. So that's what we're going to do now," she said. "We're going to cry later, and I want to cry after I win, as my mom reminded me. So that would be September 23."

Eddie Barron, who volunteered for Grijalva, said the emotions swirling around Grijalva’s watch party “is fueled by community.�

“We were told that young people were not going to show up in this race, but we are seeing the numbers, and we are seeing that people who are who are rooted here, candidates who are rooted here, can win with a youth led coalition,� Barron said. “We were out every weekend, canvassing. We called. We were making phone calls until the polls closed. And there's so much excitement for what's happening right now, and this community should feel very proud of the person they just elected.�

Jenalyn Lazana, a National Guard veteran, said she is supporting Grijalva because she sees “hope and inspiration, and leadership and courage� in her.

Foxx collected just over 20% of the vote, early results released by the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Secretary of State's Office show.

Before the result was known, supporter Kyle Brantley, a fellow with the Institute for Common Power, told the Star he flew out from South Carolina to help the Foxx campaign.

“I flew all the way from South Carolina here to knock on doors with Deja. In fact, me and a couple of my other colleagues flew all across the country to come here to knock on doors for Deja, to get out the vote to turn a new page on the old everlasting legacy of how one type of party, and we get a new page of a new progressive,� Brantley said.

“I support Deja because she brings a new breath of life into this party, to the Democratic Party, and she has proven time and time again that she's a fighter, that she's willing to fight for the things that we and that all of us as a community see as a basic human right,� Brantley, one of dozens of people in attendance at Foxx’s results party, told the Star.

Daniel Hernandez had about 15% of the vote. In a statement, Hernandez congratulated Grijalva on her victory.

"I want to congratulate Adelita Grijalva on her victory tonight and encourage everyone who supported me to unite behind (her) in September," Hernandez said. "We must come together to protect ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ from the extremism of the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress."

"The fight doesn’t end here. As a lifelong ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥n, I’ll continue to work for the people of our state — for access to healthcare, strong public schools, and equal rights for all," he said.

Patrick Harris Sr. and Jose Malvido Jr., received about 1.6% and 1.1% of the vote, respectively, early results show.

Butierez wins GOP nod

On the Republican side, Daniel Butierez enjoyed an early lead in the three-candidate primary. He had over 58% of the vote, unofficial results show as of 9 p.m.

Dozens of people attended Butierez's watch party. After being wanded by security, supporters attending could find Delicias Mexican Grill draped in red, white and blue decorations, food and three cakes with “Hope,� “Unity� and “Community� inscribed on them.

Butierez, sporting an all-beige suit and cowboy hat, was confident with about an hour to go before initial results were released, telling the Star he felt he could win the whole thing because his appeal can cross party lines.

“There’s a whole lot of Democrats that align with Republicans and a whole lot of Republicans that align with Democrats," he told the Star. "There's little differences that separate people."

"When I walked out of prison, it felt like I had walked into a bigger prison. What they did in prison was divide us by race, by religion," Butierez said. "So when I walked out of prison, I saw our government was doing the same thing to the people out here in the community that the prisons were doing to the inmates in prison . . . So I realized we got to bring everybody together, or we’re never going to get anything done."

Butierez told the Star ahead of results that Grijalva should win the Democratic primary because "it should be the hometown boy against the hometown girl."

“It should be the hometown boy against the hometown girl,� he said. “Deja, she’s not hispanic. She’s caucasian and Filipino. She's got no hispanic in her, and we’re 60% Hispanic, so that’s going to hurt her . . . but other than that she’s got a high IQ.�

Eric Neilson, attending the watch party, said that he was supporting Butierez because his story is different.

“If he wins, it’ll be better for the community and his constituents will get better service in Congress,� Neilson said. “Grijalva occupied that seat for 22 years. Don't know the guy, but, you know, he passed away, God bless his soul. But I know Democrats that didn’t like him. He just took care of his family, plus, he was voted the most left-wing progressive politician in all of Congress a few times. So we don't need that as a community. We're all Americans.�

Jorge Rivas and Jimmy Rodriguez received about 27% and 15% of the early votes, respectively.

Nearly 439,000 people are registered to vote in Congressional District 7, according to the Secretary of State’s Office’s . As of Monday, 261,613 of those were in Pima County, the Pima County Recorder’s Office.

In Pima County, Democrats have a 2-1 majority compared to Republicans.

Of the 261,613 registered voters, 110,467 are Democrats and  54,323 are registered Republicans. But the second-largest voting bloc are in fact independent voters, of which there are 92,305.