Democratic special election win makes life even harder for Republicans on Capitol Hill [View all]

Democratic special election win makes life even harder for Republicans on Capitol Hill
Adelita Grijalva’s victory in Arizona doesn’t just narrow the GOP’s majority in the House, it also makes disclosure of the Epstein files more likely.
Sept. 24, 2025, 8:52 AM EDT
By Steve Benen

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Once sworn in, Grijalva will be Arizona’s first-ever Latina congresswoman, and she’ll narrow the GOP majority in the U.S. House: Republicans will hold 219 seats to the Democrats’ 214, with two vacancies remaining.

Also of interest was the congresswoman-elect’s margin of victory: Last fall, Kamala Harris carried this Tucson-area district by 22 points, but based on the latest vote tallies, Grijalva appears to have won this week’s special election by nearly 40 points.

That level of Democratic over-performance, which has been common in elections throughout the country this year, is what should worry Republican officials as much as the defeats.

But as Grijalva prepares to take the oath of office on Capitol Hill, there’s another dimension to this that will add to GOP leaders’ headaches.

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers — Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California — have spearheaded a pending discharge petition to force disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein files, currently being held back by Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Proponents of the effort are currently one member short of 218 signatures, which would trigger a process House Speaker Mike Johnson would be largely powerless to stop.

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https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/grijalva-arizona-election-republicans-discharge-petition-epstein-rcna233381?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwY2xjawNA4NFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHk5LnstfJ8sHr1v2_wLdDLOjoKaC72eF47KJiAk5QtZd9unh0TW1iQixA5ad_aem_omTiGfb5oncYYBHDtGi60w