Daniel Hernández Jr. (born January 25, 1990) is an American politician and former member of the Arizona House of Representatives."A day of drama: Here is a rundown of who won, who lost in Tuesday’s election"
''

Arizona Capitol Times The ''Arizona Capitol Times'' is a non-partisan, weekly newspaper covering state politics and government published every Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. The paper focuses on the Arizona Legislature, the state's politicians, government agencies and ...

'', November 9, 2016. A member of the

Arizona Democratic Party The Arizona Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. Party organization The Arizona Democratic Party is organized into three parts: the state committee, the executive ...

, he served alongside

Rosanna Gabaldón Rosanna Gabaldón is an American politician serving as a member of the Arizona Senate from the 21st district. She previously served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from January 14, 2013, to January 11, 2021, and as a member of ...

in Legislative District 2. Hernández interned for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...

and was present when she was shot during a 2011 constituent meeting. He has been credited with helping to save Giffords's life after the incident.

Early life and education

Hernandez was born in 1990 to Daniel Hernandez Sr. and Consuelo Quiñones Hernandez, a working-class family in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, Arizona. He has two younger sisters, Consuelo and

Alma Hernandez Alma Hernandez (born April 11, 1993) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 20th district. Hernandez was elected in 2018 to succeed Macario Saldate, who was term-limited. She w ...

. In 2008, Hernandez volunteered for the

Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton, then junior United States senator from New York, was announced on her website on January 20, 2007. Hillary Clinton was previously the First Lady of the United States and First Lady of ...

and

' re-election campaign. He graduated from Sunnyside High School in 2008. Hernandez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a Master of Legal Studies from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Career

In 2011, while a student at the University of Arizona, Hernandez worked as an intern in the office of

. During the first week of his internship, Hernandez helped organize a "Congress on your Corner" event, which was the site of the

2011 Tucson shooting On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including feder ...

. After Giffords was shot in the head, Hernandez held her up and stanched the bleeding with his hand until employees from the nearby grocery store brought him clean smocks. In doing so, he is credited with saving the congresswoman's life. Later that year, he was elected to the board of the Sunnyside Unified School District."Meet the Candidates: Arizona's Daniel Hernandez"
'' The Advocate'', November 2, 2016.

Arizona Legislature

In 2016, Hernandez ran for the Arizona House of Representatives. He defeated Republican incumbent J. Christopher Ackerley in the general election alongside Democratic incumbent

. Together, Hernandez and Gabaldon won the two seats of the Arizona House's 2nd District, with Hernandez receiving 32,651 votes. Hernandez and Gabaldon had previously defeated Aaron Baumann in the Democratic primary. He was one of three openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

members of the Arizona State Legislature, alongside Cesar Chavez and

Robert Meza Robert Meza is an American politician from Phoenix, Arizona who served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from District 30 from 2019 to 2023. He previously served in the Arizona State Senate from 2011 to 2019, and also served fou ...

and is a co-founder of the LGBTQ Caucus in Arizona. Hernandez endorsed a 2016 ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona. On May 20, 2021, Hernandez announced his candidacy in the

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona were held on November 8, 2022, to determine the nine representatives of the state of Arizona. The elections coincided with the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, as well as ...

in the 6th congressional district. He lost to Kirsten Engel in the Democratic primary.

Political positions

Hernández has described himself as "pragmatic" and has expressed willingness to collaborate with Republicans. The Arizona Sierra Club gave Hernández's voting record an A rating from 2017 to 2019 and a B rating from 2020 to 2021. Hernández is strongly supportive of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and has described himself as a "pro-Israel activist." Hernández has expressed support for increasing government presence at the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border trave ...

through the use of drones, sensors, and law enforcement officers (such as those of the United States Border Patrol).

Personal life

Hernandez's maternal grandfather was a Mexican Jew. His family are members of a synagogue. Hernandez is openly gay.

References

External links

Campaign website

Biography
at Ballotpedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Daniel Jr. 1990 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American LGBT people American people of Mexican-Jewish descent Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Arizona American gay politicians Jewish American people in Arizona politics LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT state legislators in Arizona Living people Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Politicians from Tucson, Arizona University of Arizona alumni Hernandez family