Arizona will feature one of the country's most-watched Senatorial races, as is considered to be critical in determining who will control the chamber. As the much-anticipated contest nears between Democratic Rep. Rubén Gallego— who would be the first Latino to represent Arizona in the Senate— and Trump-ally Kari Lake, the former is seeking to appeal to Latino voters to propel him to victory.
Gallego recently sat down with Noticias Telemundo's anchor Julio Vaqueiro for an interview at a Mexican restaurant in Arizona, where an employee says the Representative is a regular with his son. As they drank coffee and ate Mexican Conchas, Gallego explained that while his "Latinidad" is always present at the time of making policies, he seeks to be a Senator for all Arizonans.
"Everything I do is in a way related to my Latinidad, because I am Latino. My mom is Colombian and my dad is Mexican and the community I grew up in was Latina," Gallego said. "But because I am Latino, that doesn't mean I will just work for Latinos, I will work for every person that is in this state."
The Democratic candidate says he doesn't believe in labels when it comes to ideology, which is why he is able to propose progressive, moderate and conservative-leaning policies to benefit his constituents. And claims to have taken that philosophy to the campaign trail.
Throughout the campaign cycle, Gallego has focused on issues that Latinos in Arizona have deemed as top priorities, namely the economy and the border.
When it comes to the economy, the Representative says he understands pocketbook issues, as he struggled with poverty growing up. He argues that lowering the cost of living is an issue Democrats have been working on, but still have a long way to go. To help, he is proposing to expand the Child Tax Credit in Arizona, which would benefit 424,000 children in the state in the first year, he has mentioned in previous interviews.
Similarly, being in a border state, Gallego has taken a tougher approach on immigration as he seeks a seat in the Senate, advocating for increased border patrol, larger investments on technology to stop fentanyl trafficking and a reform of the immigration system.
Gallego supported Biden's controversial executive action that essentially closed down the border after a certain daily threshold of migrant apprehension was met. He said his approval of the policy can be credited to "abuse of the immigration system."
But despite his views on this particular issue, he supports the protection of Dreamers, arguing it is unfair to send back immigrants who have been in the U.S. for decades to countries that they do not recognize as home.
Ahead of the November general elections, Gallego mentions his worries at protecting democracy. Being present at the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and representing a state that did not recognize the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections, Gallego says he understands first hand the threat Trump and his allies pose on national democracy.
"What will happen to our democracy if [Kari Lake and Donald Trump] win really scares me," Gallego told Vaqueiro. "What will happen to the Latino community, and Dreamers, also really scares me, because the Supreme Court could take away their protections next year."
Gallego is currently leading in the polls in his race against Lake. A study by HighGround shows Gallego with a double-digit lead over Lake, getting 49.6% of the support compared to 38.6% for the Republican.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
