Democratic Rep. Gallego Announces Run for Ind. Sinema’s US Senate Seat for Arizona
US Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is seen in the U.S. Capitol in July 14, 2022.
InternationalIndiaAfricaUS Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) could face a challenger from her former party in the 2024 election campaign: Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego. The announcement comes weeks after Sinema, a moderate, left the Democrats after having long been at odds with party leadership.Gallego threw his hat into the ring for the 2024 election race on Monday with a post on his official Twitter account.“Growing up poor, all I had was the American dream. It kept me going: as a kid sleeping on the floor, a student scrubbing toilets, a Marine losing brothers in Iraq,” Gallego wrote. “Today, too many Arizonans see their dream slipping away. I’m running for the US Senate to win it back for you!”In the accompanying video recorded in both English and Spanish, the bilingual Gallego is seen talking to a group of US military veterans about how they “need a fighter for them” because of rising costs of living that don’t affect the “rich and powerful.”The comment is a direct swipe at Sinema, who has long positioned herself as the champion of Arizona’s Chamber of Commerce and has received millions in corporate campaign donations to fight progressive bills being championed by Democrats.In the video, Gallego accused her of “abandoning Arizona,” saying she has “repeatedly broken her promises, and fought for the interests of big pharma and Wall Street at our expense.”Gallego was born in Chicago to Colombian and Mexican parents and was one of four kids. He studied International Relations at Harvard and joined the US Marines after, and fought in the US war in Iraq. His unit suffered the heaviest losses of any USMC unit, and he wrote a book in 2021 about his experiences titled “They Called Us ‘Lucky’: The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War’s Hardest Hit Unit.”
AmericasTrump Reportedly Makes Bid to Regain Control Over Facebook Account for 2024 Campaign18 January, 18:40 GMTAfter departing the service, Gallego took up politics as a way to advocate for veterans, serving in the Arizona state legislature before winning his present seat in the US House of Representatives in 2015.
A Democratic challenge to Sinema was all but expected after she revealed last month that she was leaving the party due to frustration with what she called “party doctrine.” She described the move as authentically Arizonan, saying the state’s residents are people who “make our own decisions, using our own judgment and lived experiences to form our beliefs” and don’t “automatically to whatever positions the national political parties dictate or view every issue through labels that divide us.”
However, Sinema hasn’t yet confirmed if she will seek a second Senate term.In a statement on Monday, Philip Letsou, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, characterized the situation as a “Democrat civil war” in which party members will have to pick sides.“[Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer has a choice: stand with open borders radical Ruben Gallego or back his incumbent, Senator Kyrsten Sinema,” Letsou added.Although Republicans are salivating at the thought of infighting among their rivals, no GOP candidate has yet announced themselves. Arizonans considered likely to take up the challenge include several Donald Trump-backed candidates who failed to win their November 2022 races, including would-be governor Kari Lake and Blake Masters, who sought Arizona’s other Senate seat and lost to incumbent Mark Kelly.
