Rubén Marinelarena Gallego (/ˈruːbən ɡaɪˈɛɡoʊ/ ROO-bən gy-EH-goh; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician and former U.S. Marine serving as the U.S. representative for Arizona’s 3rd congressional district. Gallego served and deployed as a USMCR Corporal during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A Democrat, he previously served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, where he was assistant minority leader from 2012 until he resigned to run for Congress. Gallego was first elected to Congress in 2014. His district includes most of southern, western, and downtown Phoenix, and part of Glendale. He served as the national chair of Eric Swalwell‘s 2020 presidential campaign.^[2]

Gallego is a candidate for the United States Senate seat currently held by Democrat-turned-independent Kyrsten Sinema in 2024.

Early life and education

Gallego was born in Chicago,^[3] and is a second-generation American, with a Colombian mother and a Mexican father.^[4]

Along with his three sisters, he was raised by a single mother.^[5] The family eventually moved to Evergreen Park, Illinois, and he graduated from Evergreen Park Community High School.^[6]

Gallego attended Harvard University, where he became a member of Sigma Chi^[7] and earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations.^[8]

Career

After college, Gallego joined the Marines. After completing training in the School of Infantry (SOI), he deployed to Iraq with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines. The 3/25 lost 46 Marines and one Navy Corpsman between January 2005 and January 2006. Gallego’s best friend died during combat operations in Iraq.^[5]

In 2009, Gallego served as the Chief of Staff for District 7 City Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski before he was elected vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. The next year, he was elected to the Arizona State House, representing Arizona District 16.^[9]

In 2011, The Arizona Republic named Gallego a distinguished freshman lawmaker.^[10] His first successful bill granted in-state tuition status to veterans residing in Arizona.^[5] Gallego supported the repeal of Arizona SB 1070.^{[citation needed]} In 2012, Gallego was elected assistant minority leader.^[11]

Gallego founded the group Citizens for Professional Law Enforcement with the goal of recalling Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, citing Arpaio’s immigration policies and his use of taxpayer money to investigate Barack Obama‘s citizenship.^[12]

Gallego worked for Strategies 360 as Director of Latino and New Media operations. He also worked for Riester, one of Arizona’s largest public relations firms.^[13]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

On February 27, 2014, Gallego announced his candidacy for Congress in Arizona’s 7th congressional district.^[14] Although not required to give up his seat under Arizona’s resign-to-run laws (since he was in the final year of his state House term), Gallego resigned from the Arizona House in March 2014.^[15]

Mayday PAC, a super PAC seeking to reduce the role of money in politics, endorsed Gallego in 2014.^[16]

Gallego won a five-way Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, majority-Latino district—with 48.9% of the vote. He won the general election with 74% of the vote. He has been reelected three times, never dropping below 70% of the vote. He faced only a Green candidate in 2018, and defeated Republican challengers in 2016, 2020, and 2022. He is the second Colombian American elected to the U.S. House after Republican Scott Perry.^[17]

Considered a progressive politician, Gallego, who has been very critical of U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, was encouraged by several left-wing organizations to run against her in the 2024 election.^[18] He announced his candidacy on January 23, 2023.^[19]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[20]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries

Caucus memberships

• Blue Collar Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• Congressional Equality Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus (formerly)^[21]
• House Baltic Caucus
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[22]

Political positions

In November 2020, the House of Representatives passed a bill introduced by Gallego and Markwayne Mullin that requires the federal government to reimburse healthcare provided for Native veterans, regardless of whether the healthcare was provided by, or referred by, the Indian Health Service or tribes.^[23]

In May 2021, the House passed a bill Gallego sponsored, the Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act, that would have provided more government funding for Native American veterans. The Senate did not take up the bill.^[24]

In July 2021, it was reported that a corporate lobbying group called the U.S.-Qatar Business Council paid for a $22,000 trip to Qatar for Gallego and his wife, who is a lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors.^[25] Commentators noted that Gallego had previously criticized Senator Kyrsten Sinema for allegedly being too close to business lobbyists.^[26]

Gallego opposed the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.^[27] He has called for enshrining abortion rights in the Constitution of Arizona.^[28]

In February 2022, Gallego called for expelling Russian university students from the United States, prompting commentators to denounce these remarks as bigoted and xenophobic.^[29]

On February 9, 2023, Gallego voted against overturning the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, which would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections in the District of Columbia.^[30][31]

In the 117th United States Congress, Gallego voted in line with Joe Biden‘s stated position 100% of the time.^[32]

In September 2023, the House passed Gallego’s bill, the Native American Child Protection Act, which aims to set up the National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center to assist and train tribes, tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations, and also aims to come up with state-tribe agreements to prevent, investigate and prosecute family violence.^[33][34]

Gallego voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[35][36]

2024 U.S. Senate campaign

On January 22, 2023, Gallego announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024.^[37] The seat is currently held by Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who was first elected as a Democrat in 2018, and who has angered some members of the party due to her opposition to filibuster reform and some Democratic legislation. Sinema is not seeking reelection. Gallego raised more money than Sinema in the first two quarters of 2023.^[38]

In 2022, Gallego bought a home near Capitol Hill using a special mortgage loan program for military veterans. He claimed the District of Columbia home as his primary residence although his campaign maintains that he resides in his Phoenix home. Gallego receives a homeowner rebate in Arizona that lowers the tax burdens for residents who primarily live in the state. Politico noted that Gallego “may have to explain why he declared he was primarily a resident of the nation’s capital.”^[1][39]

Gallego, who had previously embraced his progressive background as “a fierce liberal combatant”, has sought to strike a moderate tone in his 2024 campaign in order to woo swing voters. He once called Donald Trump‘s border wall plans “stupid” and accused Trump of “scapegoating immigrants,” but by 2024 Gallego was “delicately turning to the political center”. The New York Times wrote, “Gallego has built a reputation as a blunt-spoken liberal who is politically in tune with young progressives and lacerates his opponents with profane social media posts.” While Gallego seeks to move to the middle, Republicans in Arizona are highlighting his co-sponsorship of the Medicare for All Act, his support for ending the Senate filibuster, and his suggestion to “take a scalpel” to military spending.^[40] In 2018 Gallego rallied alongside Bernie Sanders and in 2022 he called himself “a true progressive voice in Congress.” By 2024, he no longer embraced the label “progressive”. He let his membership in the Congressional Progressive Caucus lapse, which he claimed was a financial decision.^[41]

Personal life

On August 7, 2008, Gallego changed his name from Ruben Marinelarena to Ruben Marinelarena Gallego to honor his mother, Elisa Gallego, who raised him and his three siblings on her own after his father abandoned the family in his childhood.^[42]

In 2010, Gallego married Kate Widland Gallego, who was later elected mayor of Phoenix. They divorced in 2017, just before the birth of their son.^[43]

Gallego married Sydney Barron in 2021.^[44][45] Barron is a lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors.^[4] They have a daughter who was born in July 2023.^[46]

Gallego wrote They Called Us “Lucky”: The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War’s Hardest Hit Unit, published in 2021, about his service in the Marines Third Battalion, Twenty-Fifth Marine Regiment, Lima Company, during the Iraq War.^[47]

Electoral history

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress

References

External links

• Representative Ruben Gallego official U.S. House website
• Gallego for Arizona campaign website
• Ruben Gallego at Curlie
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart