Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pays Respects To Late Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva At Tucson Event

4 days ago

At a 'Fight Oligarchy' event in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke about the late Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) who died on March 13, 2025 after battling lung cancer.

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Transcript

00:00Hello, Arizona! Hello, Tucson! How are we feeling today? Are we ready to fight? Are

00:16we ready to win? And we will never, ever, ever give up. Thank you all so much for joining

00:27me today and for taking the time. My name is Alexandria. And it's so great to be here

00:36in Tucson today. You know, my home is a ways from here, but in truth, the distance between

00:44us is a lot shorter than we think. And it's a lot shorter than we're told. Mi casa es

00:55tu casa. And this stop here in Tucson is particularly special to me. It has really special significance

01:08in my heart. I was very, very close with Raul Grijalva. And before I dive into it, I just

01:18kind of want to share with you a little bit about what he meant to me very briefly and

01:23what Tucson means to me by extension. And I know Bernie and Greg are going to say some

01:29remarks as well when we wrap up. But when I was first elected in 2018, I was a waitress

01:38and I had won this upset fight. I had challenged a very, very powerful member of the Democratic

01:45Party and we won in a totally upset primary election. And we won with no money, with just

01:56everyday people in our community coming together, outspent by millions of dollars. But people

02:03just coming together and believing that we deserved better somehow broke through. And

02:10it was a miracle, genuinely a miracle. And when I first got to the House though, by extent,

02:18when you kind of unseat someone that has a lot of power and a lot of relationships in

02:23Washington, the reception that I first got on Capitol Hill was very hostile. It was very

02:32cold and it was very, very, very lonely. And we all have our own experiences, but it

02:40was hard when you walk into a room every day and you're just met with so much contempt.

02:47But the first door that I walked into in Capitol Hill, the first door that I walked in was

02:54Raul's, Raul Grijalva. And when I was being attacked, not just by Republicans in the right wing,

03:07but honestly by a lot of members of my own party, it was—to find people who were kind

03:16and compassionate were very few and far between. And Raul Grijalva was the first person to

03:21open his door to me. The first. And he welcomed me. And he said, you belong here. You belong here.

03:32Raul Grijalva, your congressman is a reflection and was a reflection of Tucson's values,

03:44of you, of who each and every one of you were because you believed in him. You sent

03:51and picked a man like that. Raul became the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee

03:59in Congress. Huge, huge jurisdiction, control of all federal lands. And he came up to me,

04:09and not just me, but to so many other people, and he specifically wanted to hand women the

04:15gavels and the chairmanships of all the subcommittees of the Natural Resources Committee. And you

04:25know, maybe people not from Arizona and from far other places may not know who Raul was.

04:29I know that you all knew who Raul was. And he never would, you know, put out a press

04:37statement and say, oh, look at all these women. No, he just did it. And because he knew it

04:43was the right thing to do. And as a Latina, and as a Boricua, too. He was Puerto Rico

04:53en la casa siempre, no? Con mucho amor a mi Chicano y Mexicano. But Boricuas, you know,

05:01we're loud. I guess we're all loud. But, you know, and I think that's also a reflection,

05:09his work and commitment to public lands, to the public good, and also to making sure

05:16that chingonas have the keys, was a reflection of his love, not just for Tucson, but for

05:27his daughters Adelita, Raquel, Marisa, and his wife Mona. So I just want to send them

05:34so much love in this moment. And let you all know that because of Raul, I will always be

05:43loyal to the people of Tucson and fight for you the way he would have wanted. So as we're

05:52in this moment of grief, it's not just, I hope we all come together and ensure that

05:59we carry on Raul's vision and his commitment and legacy, and we continue to choose and

06:05send people that make Tucson proud and that are committed to the public good.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pays Respects To Late Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva At Tucson Event

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