2024 Arizona Election: Ruben Gallego wins Democratic nomination for Kyrsten Sinema's Senate seat
Ruben Gallego
PHOENIX - Ruben Gallego has won the Democratic Party nomination for Arizona's open Senate seat, unofficial results from the Arizona State Government show.
Gallego, who faced little opposition from his own party, will now campaign for a seat that was previously blue. The incumbent, Kyrsten Sinema, was elected as a Democrat in 2018, but became an independent in December 2022. Sinema announced in March that she will not be running for re-election.
"In the 554 days since we launched this campaign, Arizonans in every corner of the state have made clear that they want a U.S. Senator who can bring people together to defend abortion rights, cut costs for families, protect our water future, and take care of our veterans — and that’s exactly what I intend to do," read a statement Gallego released. "From now until November, I welcome all Arizonans — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike — to join our team and help defeat Kari Lake and her dangerous plan to ban abortion and hurt Arizonans."
Veteran was first elected to congress a decade ago
Gallego, who the Associated Press called in 2023 a "liberal firebrand and prominent Latino lawmaker," was first elected to Congress in 2014.
The son of immigrants from Mexico and Colombia, Gallego was raised in Chicago by a single mother, after his father was imprisoned for dealing drugs. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Reserves while he was on a break from Harvard, where he struggled with culture shock. He wrote in a 2021 book, "They Called Us Lucky," that he was asked to leave during his sophomore year, when he partied too much, his grades slipped and he broke unspecified rules. He was later allowed to return.
He fought in Iraq in 2005 in a unit that sustained heavy casualties, including the death of his best friend, and he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning. He moved to Arizona to join his Harvard girlfriend, who had become active in Democratic politics in the state. The couple married in 2010 and divorced in 2017, a month before their son was born. His ex-wife, Kate Gallego, is now the mayor of Phoenix.
Both Ruben and Kate have said little publicly about their decision to split, as they publicly deemed it a "private matter." However, Ruben received the endorsement of his ex-wife in late 2023.
Gallego was elected in 2010 to the state Legislature, where Sinema also served for one of his two terms. In 2014, he won a bitter congressional primary, toppling a dynastic figure in the Phoenix Latino community. In Congress, he has focused on veterans and military issues.
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Gallego announced Senate run in 2023
When Gallego launched his Senate campaign, Sinema had yet to announce her intentions for the seat.
At the time, Gallego said he and Sinema both came from "modest to poor means" but have taken different paths in Congress.
"I’m better for this job than Kyrsten Sinema because I haven’t forgotten where I came from," Gallego told The AP. "I think she clearly has forgotten where she came from. Instead of meeting with the people that need help, she meets with the people that are already powerful."
When Gallego announced his Senate campaign, he said he’d fight for normal people struggling to make ends meet and losing faith in politicians.
The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.