Here are some takeaways from her victory:
An already narrow Republican majority grows even slimmer
Once Grijalva is sworn in, Democrats will hold 214 seats in the House to Republicans’ 219. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has at times struggled to hold his conference together, facing some rebellion on issues such as the debt ceiling and the release of files from the investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Republicans can lose just two votes from their conference and still pass legislation.
Grijalva’s victory comes on the heels of Democrat James Walkinshaw winning a special election in Virginia, and two more special elections are scheduled for later this year to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), who died on March 5, and Rep. Mark Green (R-Tennessee), who resigned on July 20. The special elections will be held Nov. 4 and Dec. 2, respectively.
The House might have to vote on releasing the Epstein files
While Democrats are likely to be glad to have another vote in the House, Grijalva might be greeted warmly by an unlikely figure: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), who, alongside Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), is collecting signatures for a discharge petition to force a vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release all unclassified files related to the investigation into Epstein, who died in prison while awaiting trial in 2019. (A discharge petition is a method of bringing a bill to the floor when the House speaker refuses to do so.) The petition had 216 signatures before Walkinshaw won his special election this month, with all House Democrats and four Republicans supporting it. Walkinshaw signed on shortly after being sworn in, and Grijalva’s assent would be the final signature of support needed to reach the 218 it needs to force a vote….