Representative Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, speaks during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, DC, USA, Thursday, July 9, 2020.
Greg Nash Bloomberg Getty Images
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona on Monday launched his 2024 campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who recently left the Democratic Party and faces an uncertain political future.
“I’m going to challenge Kyrsten Sinema for the United States Senate, and I need all your support,” Gallego, 43, said in a video posted Monday morning.
The announcement makes Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran who has represented the Grand Canyon State in the US House since 2015, the first candidate in what could be a three-way race for Sinema’s seat. The incumbent has yet to say whether he will seek re-election in 2024.
Formerly a centrist Democrat, Sinema switched to independent after the November midterms, when Democrats suddenly exceeded their advantage in the Senate. The result shifted the balance of power from moderate Democrats like Sinema and Sen. West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, who held sway when the upper chamber was split 50-50 between the two parties and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris held the tie-breaking. choose.
The center has drawn frustration from some Democrats who see him as an obstacle to passing President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda ahead of the midterms, when Democrats hold both chambers of Congress. Republicans won control of the House in that election.
Sinema announced his decision to leave the Democratic Party in December, saying he renounced “party politics.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, Gallego said Sinema “obviously has forgotten where he’s from.”
“Instead of meeting people who need help, they meet people who are already strong,” Gallego said.
A Sinema spokeswoman declined to comment on Gallego’s announcement, but pointed to a recent radio interview in which the senator said he “will remain focused on the work I look forward to.”
“There’s a lot of important work that’s still on the table for Arizona to do,” he said in an interview Friday.
Gallego’s campaign is kicking off a battle for a sought-after seat in what is an important swing state. Arizona is one of the battleground states that helped Biden secure a 2020 presidential victory over former President Donald Trump.
In the November midterms, Arizona voters rejected Republican candidates for Senate and governor, helping crush the predictions of a dominant election for the GOP.
Democrats face a tough road to holding a 51-49 Senate majority next year. Democrats and independents who caucus with them – which now includes Sinema – must defend seats in red or swing states including Montana, West Virginia, Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.