What Democrats can learn from Ruben Gallego
Arizona was supposed to be a narrowly contested swing state in 2024, but President Trump carried it by a comfortable 5.5 percent margin. How, then, did Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) triumph in the state’s open Senate race against his Trump-aligned opponent?
The answer lies in his appeal to America’s commonsense middle. These voters tilted toward Trump but remain open to Democrats who will listen and speak their language. Gallego shows the way.
In his campaign and now in the Senate, Gallego has been both proudly Democratic and proudly independent in his style and message. He says he is not a repeat of his predecessor, Kyrsten Sinema, who won the seat as a Democrat but ultimately left the party. But he also isn’t afraid to rethink Democratic orthodoxy and work with Republicans when priorities overlap.
“We’re not going to just automatically knee-jerk and reject anything that comes from the White House,” he said before taking office.
Take immigration. Gallego, the son of Mexican and Colombian immigrants, has expressed willingness to collaborate with Republicans on increasing border personnel, constructing physical barriers where necessary and deporting individuals with criminal records — policies the commonsense middle supports. But he has also opposed what he believes are excesses in the Trump administration’s approach, such as family separations, the detention of children and disruptive mass deportations that put strain on law enforcement.
Gallego believes security is a core concern of the voters Democrats need to win back. His message to those voters was, as he put it, “We understand your security needs. You are unhappy about what’s happening at the border. You are unhappy about crime in the streets.” Those are areas where more Democrats need to admit their party has failed.
Another pillar of his message to commonsense voters was centered on promoting prosperity. Here again, he challenged the Democratic Party’s focus, criticizing its emphasis on the American Dream as a “nebulous message about justice” versus what most people care about: the chance to live well.
“Let’s help people become richer,” he told the Wall Street Journal last week. “There’s this problem that does happen with Democrats where we somehow feel it’s wrong to help people be more prosperous.”
Indeed, the hostility of many Democrats toward financial success — and capitalism itself — has put the party at odds with the hopes and aspirations of millions, especially men. “During my campaign,” he said, “I noticed when I was talking to men, especially Latino men, about the feeling of pride, bringing money home, being able to support your family, the feeling of bringing security — they wanted to hear that someone understood that need.”
Gallego’s willingness to speak common sense and work with both sides shouldn’t be groundbreaking, but today it is. It is a model for both parties, especially his own as it finds itself out of power and looking for a path back.
Leadership like Gallego’s is more than just politically smart; it is a patriotic imperative. Our nation is in a tumultuous time with little reprieve in sight. Challenges will inevitably arise that cannot be solved by a single party, whether a debt crisis or foreign turmoil. We need leaders of good judgement in both parties to build trust now so that they can work together effectively when the time comes.
Democrats seeking a path forward should look to those in their party who outperformed with key voter groups in 2024, and Gallego is at the top of the list. He not only won commonsense voters but is now showing how to lead with them in mind. The question is whether others in the party will take his cue.
Nancy Jacobson is a co-founder of No Labels.