12 Nov – 2024 (Index Treasure) PHOENIX — Ruben Gallego, a child of immigrants, went to Harvard, Iraq, and Congress. He projected himself to defeat Republican Kari Lake on Monday night. He is set to become Arizona’s first Latino U.S. senator in January.
The AP, NBC, and CNN called Gallego’s victory Monday. A new batch of Democratic-heavy votes from Maricopa County confirmed Lake could not catch up. This handed her consecutive high-profile statewide losses.
Gallego, 44, posted a message on X that said: “Gracias, Arizona!”
The former Fox 10 newscaster had not yet conceded the race. However, on Election Day, she told reporters she would accept the results.
Lake never conceded her 2022 gubernatorial loss. She spent years in court to overturn the election result.
In a challenging election for Democrats, Ruben Gallego made history as the only Democrat to flip a Senate seat, narrowly defeating Kari Lake in Arizona. While Gallego was expected to win easily, the race proved tighter, with critical support from Latino voters helping secure his victory. He will replace U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Independent who left the Democratic Party after her popularity plummeted during the Biden administration. Sinema eventually exited a reelection bid that struggled to gain traction. With Congress and the presidency under GOP control, Gallego’s win offers Democrats a rare bright spot in an otherwise tough cycle.
Though she never publicly endorsed him, Kyrsten Sinema acknowledged Ruben Gallego’s likely win on social media before the official call, urging him to attend Senate orientation as she had in 2018. Gallego’s victory capped off a series of close Arizona races that demanded extended vote counting. Leading up to Election Day, Gallego held an edge in 79 out of 87 public polls since Sinema’s March departure from the Democratic Party.
He also dominated fundraising since joining the race in January 2023, a factor that likely strengthened his chances. This close race highlighted Gallego’s resilience, his campaign’s strategic approach, and his appeal to key demographics, particularly as the only Democrat to flip a Senate seat in a tough cycle.
Lake, by contrast, received limited financial support from the national party and none from the allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Throughout, Gallego’s campaign cast him as a fighter whose success was borne of hard work and a product of the American Dream. Gallego will move to the Senate after five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms in the Arizona House of Representatives before that.
