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Ruben Gallego

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Ruben Gallego

Rubén Marinelarena Gallego ( ROO-bən ghy-EH-goh; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2015 to 2025 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona and from 2011 to 2014 as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives. Gallego was first elected to Congress in 2014. He was critical of Senator Kyrsten Sinema for her opposition to filibuster reform and some Democratic legislation. Democrats and liberal organizations encouraged him to run against Sinema, and in January 2023, Gallego announced his candidacy for the 2024 United States Senate election in Arizona. Sinema did not seek reelection. Gallego defeated the Republican nominee, Kari Lake, in the general election. Gallego is the first Latino to be elected to represent Arizona in the United States Senate. After taking office on January 3, 2025, he became one of the first two Colombian-American U.S. senators, along with Republican Bernie Moreno of Ohio.

Infobox

Preceded by
Cloves Campbell Jr.
Succeeded by
Norma Muñoz
Constituency
16th district (2011–2013)27th district (2013–2014)
Born
Ruben Marinelarena (1979-11-20) November 20, 1979 (age 46)Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Spouses
mw- Kate Widland (m. 2010; div. 2017) Sydney Barron (m. 2021)
Children
3
Alma mater
Harvard University (AB)
Website
Senate websiteCampaign website
Branch/service
mw- li United States Marine Corps Marine Corps Reserve
Years of service
2002-2006
Rank
Corporal
Unit
3rd Battalion, 25th Marines
Battles/wars
Iraq War
Party
Democratic

Tables

2010 Arizona House of Representatives Democratic primary, 16th district · Electoral history › 2010
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego
4,149
26.12
Democratic
Catherine Miranda
3,476
21.88
Democratic
Cloves Campbell Jr. (incumbent)
3,182
20.03
Democratic
Jim Munoz Jr.
2,281
14.36
Democratic
Sandra Gonzales
1,955
12.31
Democratic
Cristy Lopez
842
5.30
2010 Arizona House of Representatives election, 16th district · Electoral history › 2010
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Catherine Miranda
19,197
39.46
Democratic
Ruben Gallego
18,365
37.75
Republican
Michael Gular
8,551
17.58
Green
Angel Torres
2,532
5.21
2012 Arizona House of Representatives election, 27th district · Electoral history › 2012
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Catherine Miranda (incumbent)
28,683
40.98
Democratic
Ruben Gallego (incumbent)
27,522
39.32
Republican
Daniel Coleman
10,088
14.41
Green
Angel Torres
3,702
5.29
House Democratic primary, Arizona's 7th congressional district · Electoral history › 2014
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego
14,936
48.90
Democratic
Mary Rose Wilcox
11,077
36.27
Democratic
Randy Camacho
2,330
7.63
Democratic
Jarrett Maupin
2,199
7.20
House election, Arizona's 7th congressional district · Electoral history › 2014
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego
54,235
74.85
Libertarian
Joe Cobb
10,715
14.79
Americans Elect
Rebecca DeWitt
3,858
5.32
Independent
José Peñalosa
3,496
4.83
Write-in
150
0.21
House election, Arizona's 7th congressional district · Electoral history › 2016
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego (incumbent)
119,465
75.2
Republican
Eve Nunez
39,286
24.7
Write-in
60
< 0.01
House election, Arizona's 7th congressional district · Electoral history › 2018
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego (incumbent)
113,044
85.6
Green
Gary Swing
18,706
14.1
Write-in
301
< 0.01
House election, Arizona's 7th congressional district · Electoral history › 2020
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
215,732
Candidate
100%
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego (incumbent)
165,452
75.7%
Republican
Josh Barnett
50,226
23.3%
Write-in
54
0.0%
Total votes
215,732
100%
Democratic hold
House election, Arizona's 3rd congressional district · Electoral history › 2022
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
141,074
Candidate
100%
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego (incumbent)
108,599
77.0%
Republican
Jeff Zink
32,475
23.0%
Total votes
141,074
100%
Democratic hold
2024 United States Senate election in Arizona · Electoral history › 2024
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
3,348,814
Candidate
100%
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Ruben Gallego
1,676,335
50.1%
Republican
Kari Lake
1,595,761
47.7%
Green
Eduardo Heredia Quintana
75,868
2.3%
Write-in
850
0.0%
Total votes
3,348,814
100%
Democratic gain from Independent
· External links
Party political offices
Party political offices
Arizona House of Representatives
Party political offices
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Arizona House of Representatives
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Arizona House of Representatives
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Arizona(Class 1) 2024
Arizona House of Representatives
Most recent
U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate
Arizona House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Arizona House of Representatives
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Arizona House of Representatives
U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Arizona 2025–present Served alongside: Mark Kelly
Arizona House of Representatives
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Arizona House of Representatives
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byJohn Curtis
Preceded byJohn Curtis
Arizona House of Representatives
Preceded byJohn Curtis
Arizona House of Representatives
Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator
Arizona House of Representatives
Succeeded byJim Justice
Preceded byAndy Kim
Preceded byAndy Kim
Arizona House of Representatives
Preceded byAndy Kim
Arizona House of Representatives
United States senators by seniority 89th
Arizona House of Representatives
Succeeded byJim Banks
Arizona House of Representatives
Preceded byCloves Campbell Jr.
Member of the Arizona House of Representativesfrom the 16th district 2011–2013
Succeeded byDoug ColemanKelly Townsend
Preceded byOlivia Cajero Bedford
Member of the Arizona House of Representativesfrom the 27th district 2013–2014
Succeeded byNorma Muñoz
House of Representatives
Preceded byEd Pastor
Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Arizona's 7th congressional district 2015–2023
Succeeded byRaúl Grijalva
Preceded byRaúl Grijalva
Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Arizona's 3rd congressional district 2023–2025
Succeeded byYassamin Ansari
Party political offices
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Arizona(Class 1) 2024
Most recent
Senate
Preceded byKyrsten Sinema
Senator (Class 1) from Arizona 2025–present Served alongside: Mark Kelly
Incumbent
order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byJohn Curtis
Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator
Succeeded byJim Justice
Preceded byAndy Kim
United States senators by seniority 89th
Succeeded byJim Banks

References

  1. The Hill
    https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4969256-ruben-gallego-defeats-kari-lake/amp/
  2. Associated Press
    https://apnews.com/article/arizona-senate-ruben-gallego-kari-lake-ea364326c93f9a8a32b7b9ca7ca696d4
  3. "Guide to the New Congress"
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  4. They Called Us Lucky
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  5. "Una inmigrante colombiana crio sola a Rubén Gallego, quien logró coronar como Senador de EE. UU"
    https://www.las2orillas.co/una-inmigrante-colombiana-crio-sola-a-ruben-gallego-quien-logro-coronar-como-senador-de-ee-uu/
  6. Phoenix Magazine
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  8. The Harvard Crimson
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  10. USNI News
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  12. Tone of District 7 race leaves hard feelings. The Arizona Republic. November 10, 2007.
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-arizona-republic-tone-of-district-7/153178927/
  13. Wong, Scott (November 25, 2009). Nowakowski's top aide to run for House. The Arizona Republic.
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  14. South Mountain District News
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  16. Cronkite News
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  17. My Fox Memphis
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  20. HuffPost
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ruben-gallego-ed-pastor_n_4869759
  21. Arizona Capitol Times
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  22. TheHill
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  23. Washington Post
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  24. The New York Times
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  25. Politico
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  26. CNN
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  27. Washington Post
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  28. KJZZ (FM)
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  29. Business Insider
    https://www.businessinsider.com/eric-swallwell-ruben-gallegos-shirtless-in-qatar-riding-camel-2021-7
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    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/08/3rd-congressional-district-arizona-election-results-ruben-gallego-jeff-zink/10652931002/
  32. Newsweek
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  33. The Guardian
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  34. "Ruben Gallego"
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  35. "Members"
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  36. "Members"
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  38. "Rare Disease Congressional Caucus"
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  43. Politico
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  44. The Arizona Republic
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  45. The New York Times
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  46. The New York Times
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  47. NBC News
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  57. Intelligencer
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  58. "Ruben Gallego Is More Than Just an Alternative to Kyrsten Sinema"
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  59. POLITICO
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  60. Arizona Daily Star
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  61. The New York Times
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  62. "Republicans' shutdown strategy: All 'illegals,' all the time"
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  63. CNN
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  64. "Series of U.S. House votes aim to help Native American veterans"
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  67. KNAU
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  70. The Hill
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  73. Arizona Central
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