The Importance of the 2024 Arizona Senate Election

Article by Farrah Renfroe, TPT Staff Writer

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) during a campaign event at Hotel Congress on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (Cassidy Araiza for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

On January 23, Arizona Democrat Congressman Ruben Gallego formally announced his bid for Senate after the idea was teased in December of 2022. As of January 11, Senator Sinema had a 59% disapproval rating among Democrats and even with Independents, 43% disapprove of her. So, who is Ruben Gallego and could he win in Arizona? 

Congressman Gallego currently represents the 7th District of Arizona, which includes parts of Phoenix, Glendale, and Tolleson. Before being elected in 2014, he was in the marine corps. While enlisted in the marine corps, he was deployed to Iraq in 2005 as an infantryman, serving with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines. After leaving the Marines, he served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2010 until being elected to Congress in 2014. When he served in the Arizona House, he led on issues like Medicaid expansion and ecuring in-state tuition for veterans. Now that he’s in Congress, he has been focusing on US National Security which is why he has been serving on the House Armed Services Committee and chaired the Intelligence and Special Operations subcommittee.  With Gallego being a Marine Veteran and spending a number of years in elected office, many wonder if he could unseat Kyrsten Sinema. 

Gallego told Politico “Let’s be clear about one thing. Sinema is not going to split the Democratic vote. She’s even more unpopular with Democrats than she is with Republicans, and actually has a better chance of taking votes away from their side if they nominate another MAGA candidate — which they likely will.” In Arizona, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans. Assuming that he wins the Democratic nomination, the challenge is when the GOP primary occurs in August 2024. Several Republicans are considering entering the race. Republicans Blake Masters, Karrin Taylor Robson, and Kari Lake are all rumored to enter the race. 

First, there is Blake Masters. Masters is a venture capitalist and 2022 Republican Nominee in Arizona. He got his start in the tech world when he co-founded PayPal and became a Trump ally. He entered politics in 2019 when he publicly said that Former Senator Martha McSally could not beat Senator Mark Kelly. He won Trump’s endorsement in 2020 when he agreed with the right wing logic that the 2020 was stolen and that Former President Trump was the rightful winner. He is described by AZCentral as blunt and proactive. 

Next, there is Karrin Taylor Robson. Robson is a developer and prominent Republican donor in Arizona. She was appointed to the Arizona Board of Regents in 2021 after being appointed by Former Governor Doug Ducey. Aside from Politics, she is the founder and president of Arizona Strategies, a land-use strategy company based in Phoenix. As far as working in politics, aside from being appointed to the Arizona Board of Regents, in her early twenties, she was a staff assistant in the White Houses of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Lastly, there is Kari Lake. Lake was catapulted into the mainstream news when she became the Republican nominee for Arizona Governor in 2022. A rising star in the Republican Party, she won the endorsement of Former President Trump, although she doesn’t have a background in politics. Immediately before running for office, she predominantly anchored the nightly news at Phoenix's Fox 10 news for 22 years. Before working at Phoenix’s Fox 10 news, she studied journalism at the University of Iowa and briefly worked in Albany, New York. While in Albany, she interviewed Former Presidents Obama and Trump. 

CNN recently published an article naming Arizona as one of the top 10 states to flip in 2024. Meanwhile, NBC is reporting that in this potential three way race, some Democrats are worried about this election. In such an important state, a magnifying glass will be placed on them. As we enter such an impactful election cycle, we all need to pay attention and assist in electing Democratic candidates in such key states. Our Democratic Majority in the Senate depends on it.