WILMINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona is drumming up Republican support for his Senate campaign as he works to build a winning coalition in Arizona, a key swing state in the upcoming elections.
A list released Sunday of 39 Republican and independent supporters of his campaign includes moderate Republicans and some former Republicans who held elected office or other roles in business or politics. Several are former aides to the late Sen. John McCain, the famed Arizona Republican and former prisoner of war who was known for occasionally bucking his party.
Gallego’s Republican opponent, Kari Lake, has criticized McCain in the past and once suggested he was a “loser.”
Democrats have made gains in Arizona after decades of Republican dominance. Although Republicans have more registered voters in the state, President Joe Biden, Sen. Mark Kelly, Gov. Katie Hobbs and other Democrats have scored narrow victories by holding their party together, dominating among independents and winning support from an outsized share of Republicans who dislike the direction of the GOP under Donald Trump.
What you should know
- Gallego announced his Republican campaign on the same day Vice President Kamala Harris launched her own group, “Republicans for Harris,” to seek support from conservatives discouraged by Trump’s candidacy.
- Lake is a former television news anchor and one of Trump’s most prominent supporters. Like Trump, she has promoted false and debunked theories of election fraud.
- Among the Republicans backing Gallego is Mesa Mayor John Giles, who has been a vocal supporter of Democrats running against Trump and his allies, including Biden and Kelly.
- Gallego sees the filibuster, which requires 60 Senate votes to pass most legislation, as a barrier to efforts to protect voting rights, abortion rights and other priorities.
- Gallego is emphasizing his military service as a Marine who faced difficult combat in Iraq, a biography with the potential to appeal to all parties.
- As she conceded victory in the primary, Lake made sure to reach out to those who voted against her — a stark contrast to her 2022 gubernatorial bid, when she attacked McCain and other Republicans who clashed with the right.
- Lake’s rival in the Republican primary, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, got about 40% of the vote Tuesday despite being outspent 5-to-1 by Lake, giving Democrats hope that his Republican support remains weak.
- Gallego, who served as a Marine in Iraq, is emphasizing his military service and immigrant family background to expand his electoral reach beyond the Democratic district in Phoenix he has represented since 2015.
According to AP VoteCast, about 6 in 10 independent voters and about 1 in 10 Republican voters supported Biden in 2020. Similar percentages supported Kelly in 2020.
