VET RUBEN GALLEGO WINS AZ SENATE RACE, PLEDGES STRONG SUPPORT FOR VETS
After the tremendous campaign comes the casting of votes and the announcement of winners. All candidates did a great job laying out their visions for how they can make the lives of the American people better. Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego broke the barriers by being the first Latino Senator to be elected. He defeated his opponent, Republican Kari Lake, despite a protracted vote count in one of the key swing states. He is set to replace Democratic-turned-independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who decided to retire after serving only one term.
This is the fourth time a Democrat won the Senate election in Arizona, which shifted sharply after the Donald Trump era. The voters in Arizona seem to reject those candidates that Trump endorsed in every election, but surprisingly, he won Arizona this year over his opponent, Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Closer Look at the New Senator
Ruben Gallego was born on November 20, 1979, in Chicago, and he is a second-generation American with a Colombian mother and a Mexican father. He had three sisters, and they were all raised by their mom.
During his early studies, the family moved to the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, and he went to Evergreen Park Community High School. During his college years, Ruben Gallego decided to attend Harvard University and became a Sigma Chi fraternity member. He finished his studies in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations.
He joined the Marines from 2002 to 2006 and was deployed to Iraq as a Lance corporal with the Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines. During their time in Iraq, his best friend lost his life. In 2007, he led the 7th District of Phoenix City Council candidate Michael Nowakowski, and the campaign was successful. He then served in the party as his Chief of Staff.
In 2009, he decided to focus on his campaign and stepped down from his position; he then won in the Arizona State House in District 16.
Aside from this, since 2015, he has served as Arizona's 3rd Congressional District Representative. In 2020, he served as the national chair for the presidential campaign of Eric Swalwell. He was often called a progressive politician but decided to distance himself from that label when he ran for office.
Ruben Gallego and the Race for a Senate Seat
Now that he has won a seat in the Senate, Republicans officially have 53 seats out of 100 members of the Senate in the 119th Congress. Throughout the election, Gallego led the polls over his opponent, Kari Lake. Despite this, the Democrats are still wary and trying not to feel overconfident given the state's firmly purple politics.
On his X account, formerly known as Twitter, Ruben Gallego wrote, "Gracias, Arizona!" He added a heartfelt message to all the Democrats, Republicans, and Independents parties who supported him in his journey.
Gallego even has a message to those who did not vote or support him, saying that he will still fight for them, treat them with respect, and do his utmost to serve the people.
He even mentioned his mother, who had raised him and his sisters several times, crediting her for his success.
How Will Gallego's Time in Senate Affect Arizona Veterans?
As a Veteran himself, Gallego is fighting to fulfill the needs of all Veterans, advocating for better financial, medical, and social support for Vets. In the past, Gallego has been very vocal about supporting programs that give Veterans access to housing, education, mental/physical healthcare, etc.
Ruben plans to help Arizona Veterans through the PACT Act, and his Restore Veterans' Compensation Act. The Compensation Act will allow Veterans to keep their separation pay, should they qualify for VA disability.
Gallego is also an advocate for getting Veterans access to the mental health resources that they need. As such, he has plans to pass more legislation around this issue, and plans to work on legislation that will improve VA oversight, as he largely wants to improve the VA for all those who have served.
Gallego Promises to Fight for Vets and Reproductive Rights
After the Ruben Gallego won the Senate race, he promised to fix the issue of the country's broken immigration system, He also explained how he would continue to fight for the Vets and women's reproductive rights.
Additionally, he is supporting the end of filibuster and wants to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. He did not stop there; he wants to raise the taxes of corporations and billionaires to "pay their fair share."
Lastly, Ruben Gallego supports the need for a secure border. He consistently voted for funding to increase the number of patrol agents who are manning the border. He also supports the Bipartisan Border Bill that failed in Congress in early 2024.
After the first results of the votes, he led comfortably, but then, as the more significant ballots were coming in, the gap narrowed as he led the senatorial race against Lake. He de-emphasized his progressive voting record and shared more about his personal story and military career to build a pragmatic, moderate image.
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