Ruben Gallego, 43, announced Monday he will run for the U.S. Senate to represent Arizona in 2024 – bringing the first major challenge to Democrat-turned-independent incumbent Kyrsten Sinema, 46.
Gallego, currently a Democratic representative for Arizona's 3rd congressional district in Phoenix, officially entered the 2024 Senate race with a video posted to his Twitter touting the American Dream.
The video included a clip of the Marine Corps combat veteran telling a group of other veterans that he is challenging Sinema for her Senate seat, and requesting their vote.
'You're the first group of people that are hearing this besides my family. I will be challenging Kyrsten Sinema for the United States Senate, and I need all of your support,' he told the group gathered in Guadalupe, Arizona.
It was the only direct mention throughout the three-and-a-half-minute of the current senator whose seat Gallego is vying to grab. He did, however, take several veiled swipes at the independent senator.
Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego released on Monday his video announcing his run for the U.S. Senate in Arizona
The announcement comes a month after Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent
Sinema, who has faced fierce criticism for opposing President Joe Biden's agenda, served six years in the House of Representatives and nearly four years in the Senate as a Democrat before announcing in December 2022 that she was switching her party affiliation to independent.
Before her switch, Sinema was often pegged as one of the most moderate Democrats in Congress, alongside Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The party swap means that Sinema won't have to face Gallego in a Democratic primary contest.
'I'm sorry that politicians have let you down,' Gallego said in his powerful announcement video. 'But I am going to change that.'
Other than veterans, Gallego also promised to work for the average American.
'Most families feel that they are one or two paychecks away from going under,' Gallego said in a voiceover in the video. 'That is not the way that we should be living in this country.'
'The rich and the powerful, they don't need more advocates. It's the people that are still trying to decide between groceries and utilities that needs a fighter for them. There is no lobbyist for working families.'
'We can argue different ways about how to do it. But at the core, if you're more likely to be meeting with the powerful than the powerless, you're doing this job incorrectly,' he concluded.
Before officially announcing, Gallego told a group of veterans in Arizona about his run for office, and requested their support. A clip of that was included in the announcement video posted to Twitter on Monday
Gallego served in the U.S. Marine Corp was a deployed to Iraq with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pictured: Gallego visits the graves in Arlington Cemetery of those lost in his company in Iraq
A clip from Gallego's announcement video noted that 23 men in his company died in the line of duty
Gallego did not touch on one of the biggest issues facing Arizona – the southern border migrant crisis.
Many lawmakers in border states, especially Republicans, have made this point a centerpiece of their campaigns, touching on ways they can help the communities deal with the crisis and ways they will hold the Biden administration accountable.
Rather, Gallego spoke openly in the first video of his Senate campaign about growing up poor, being a father figure for his three sisters and losing the people closest to him during a deployment to Iraq.
'Growing up poor, all I had was the American dream,' he said in the video. 'It kept me going.'
'Today, too many Arizonans see their dream slipping away. I'm running for the U.S. Senate to win it back for you!' he wrote in a Twitter post accompanying the announcement video.
During his six years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Gallego was deployed as a corporal to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where his company lost 23 men.
He said that his military service led him to seek other ways to give back to his country through public service.
Gallego promised to fight for people that have to 'decide between groceries and utilities'
Gallego talked about his struggles with PTSD after coming back from Iraq – and losing is 'brothers' during war
Starting his political career in 2009, Gallego served as the chief of staff for District 7 City Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski.
The next year, Gallego was elected to the Arizona State House to represent its 16th District, and in 2012 was elected assistant minority leader.
Gallego was elected to the U.S. House for Arizona's District 3 in 2014 and has served that post since January 2015. He is now seeking the upper chamber.
The representative was married to current Phoenix, Arizona Mayor Kate Widland Gallego from 2010 to 2017. They divorced just before the birth of their first and only child, Michael.
The congressman remarried to Sydney Barron in 2021 and they announced last month on Good Morning America that they are expecting their first child in July.
Arizona, a swing and battleground state in nearly all recent elections, has been veering blue since the 2020 elections, where President Joe Biden won the state by only 0.4 percentage points over Donald Trump.
The 2022 midterms saw the state go even further left, voting in Democrat Katie Hobbs to replace former Republican Governor Doug Ducey, and voting by 4.9 percent to keep Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over Trump-backed Republican challenger Blake Masters.
Sinema, before her party switch, was considered one of the most moderate Democrats along with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (left). The two have faced a lot of criticism within the party for their opposition to much of President Joe Biden's agenda