Last month, in a special election, voters in southern Arizona chose Adelita Grijalva to succeed her late father in Congress.
The outcome in the solidly Democratic district was never in doubt. The final tally wasn’t remotely close.
Grijalva, a Tucson native and former Pima County supervisor, crushed her Republican opponent, 69% to 29%.
The people spoke, loudly and emphatically, and normally that would have been that. Grijalva would have assumed office by now, allowing her to serve her orphaned constituents by filling a House seat that’s been vacant since her father died in March, after representing portions of Arizona for more than 20 years.
But these are not normal times. These are times when everything, including the time of day and state of the weather, has become politically charged.