Ruben Gallego officially launches bid

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) attends a House Armed Services Committee hearing on July 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley were scheduled to testify about the role of the Department of Defense in civilian law enforcement. Active duty troops aided local law enforcement around the country at protests last month in the wake of George Floyd's death. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images) — Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) attends a House Armed Services Committee hearing on July 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley were scheduled to testify about the role of the Department of Defense in civilian law enforcement. Active duty troops aided local law enforcement around the country at protests last month in the wake of George Floyd’s death. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 5:44 PM PT – Monday, January 23, 2023

Representative Ruben Gallego has officially launched his bid for Senate in 2024. As a result, Gallego (D-Ariz.) is potentially set to challenge incumbent Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

“The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she abandoned Arizona,” Gallego said. “She’s repeatedly broken her promises, and fought for the interests of big pharma and Wall Street at our expense.”

Last month, Sinema had changed her political allegiance from Democrat to Independent. Nonetheless, she was included in the 51-seat Senate majority held by the Democratic Party.

So far, no Republican has formally declared their intention to challenge Sinema, but leading candidates include former Senate hopeful Blake Masters and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

The Democrat has hinted at running for the Senate in the past. If elected, the 43-year-old former Marine who served in Iraq, would be Arizona’s first Latino senator.

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

Sinema has not yet declared if she will seek office again. However, a three-way general election contest with Gallego and a yet-to-be-chosen Republican contender may rank among the most well-known contests nationwide.

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