Rep. Reuben Gallego (D-AZ) made it official. He is running against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024, and he has hired staffers from the John Fetterman and Raphael Warnock campaigns.
Here is Rep. Gallego’s campaign launch video:
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.
Today, too many Arizonans see their dream slipping away. I’m running for the U.S. Senate to win it back for you! pic.twitter.com/ofUvUYRcTP
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) January 23, 2023
The New York Times reported on some very interesting early hires for the Gallego campaign, “Democrats in Arizona previously made motions that they intended to rally behind Ms. Sinema’s Democratic challenger. Mr. Gallego’s campaign team includes veterans from Senator Mark Kelly’s re-election bid in Arizona, as well as Democratic consultants who served on the successful 2022 Senate campaigns for Raphael Warnock in Georgia and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania. Mr. Gallego’s campaign also has taken on Chuck Rocha, a longtime Democratic strategist focused on mobilizing Latino voters.”
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When an unpopular incumbent like Sen. Sinema gets a challenger, the kneejerk reaction by some Democrats is to donate heavily, but it is important to look at the sort of team the challenger is putting together to see if they can win.
The lowest Senate incumbent reelection rate in any given election year over the last two decades is 79%. Beating a Senate incumbent is difficult, which is why campaigns that are serious about winning need quality staff who have won Senate races before.
Rep. Gallego has hired people from Mark Kelly’s campaign, Raphael Warnock’s campaign, and John Fetterman’s campaign. All three of those campaigns were Democratic success stories in purple states.
Sinema has yet to announce her intentions for 2024, but she may find herself to be a candidate without a constituency. Democrats have already rallied around Gallego, and Kari Lake is rumbling from her Mar-a-Lago hideout that she may run for the Republican Senate nomination.
It looks like Rep. Gallego is building a potentially winning team that should be taken seriously no matter what Sen. Sinema decides to do.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association