Rubén Marinelarena Gallego ( ; ; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States Senator from Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 2014 as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives and from 2015 to 2025 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gallego was elected to Congress in 2014 as a progressiveSources describing Gallego's progressive origins include: and drew attention for his combative social media presence, including criticism of Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema, who opposed efforts to abolish the Senate filibuster to pass Democratic legislation. Democrats and progressive organizations encouraged him to challenge Sinema in the Democratic primary. In 2023, Gallego announced his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. Senate election in Arizona. Sinema later registered as an independent and chose not to seek reelection. Gallego rebranded himself as a moderate Democrat and defeated Republican nominee Kari Lake in the general election.
Gallego is the first Hispanic to be elected to represent Arizona in the United States Senate. After taking office, he became one of the first two Colombian American U.S. senators, along with Republican Bernie Moreno of Ohio.
Early life and education Gallego was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is a first-generation American, with a Colombian mother and a Mexican father. He and his three sisters were raised solely by their mother, Elisa Gallego, who was from Antioquia Department, Colombia.
The family moved to the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, and Gallego graduated from Evergreen Park Community High School in 1998.
Gallego attended Harvard College, where he became a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and graduated in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in government.
Early career
Gallego served in the Marines from 2002 to 2006. After completing training in the School of Infantry (SOI), he was deployed to Iraq with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines. Gallego served as a lance corporal. 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.
In 2007, Gallego led District 7 Phoenix City Council candidate Michael Nowakowski's successful campaign before serving as Nowakowski's chief of staff.Tone of District 7 race leaves hard feelings. The Arizona Republic. November 10, 2007. In 2009, he stepped down as chief of staff to focus on his campaign for the Arizona State House in District 16, which he won in 2010.Wong, Scott (November 25, 2009). Nowakowski's top aide to run for House. The Arizona Republic.
In 2011, The Arizona Republic named Gallego a distinguished freshman lawmaker. His first successful bill granted in-state tuition status to veterans residing in Arizona. Gallego supported the repeal of Arizona SB 1070. In 2012, Gallego was elected assistant minority leader.
Gallego founded the group Citizens for Professional Law Enforcement to recall Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, citing Arpaio's immigration policies and his use of taxpayer money to investigate Barack Obama's citizenship. The recall failed; Arpaio remained in office until losing reelection in 2016. 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.
U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2014
On February 27, 2014, Gallego announced his candidacy for Congress in Arizona's 7th congressional district. 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.
Gallego won a five-way Democratic primary with 48.9% of the vote, defeating Mary Rose Wilcox, who was retiring congressman Ed Pastor's choice to succeed him and was backed by a number of progressive groups. Gallego went on to win the general election with 74.9% of the vote. He is the second Colombian American elected to the U.S. House, after Scott Perry.
2016
Gallego won the Democratic nomination unopposed and was reelected in 2016 with 75.3% of the vote.
2018
Facing a primary challenge from state senator Catherine Miranda, Gallego campaigned as the "real progressive" in the race. He won with approximately 74.8% of the vote, and was reelected in the general election with 85.6% of the vote.
2020
Considered a "rising progressive star" in the party, Gallego was encouraged by several progressive groups to run for Senate by challenging Mark Kelly in the Democratic primary. Although he expressed interest, he ultimately chose to seek reelection to his House seat, later endorsing Kelly.
Gallego won the Democratic nomination unopposed and was reelected to the House with 76.7% of the vote.
In 2019, Gallego served as the national chair of Eric Swalwell's presidential campaign. He endorsed Kamala Harris after Swalwell dropped out, and Joe Biden after Harris dropped out.
2021 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.
In the 117th United States Congress, Gallego voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.
2022
In 2022, Gallego ran in the newly redrawn Arizona District 3 and was reelected with 77% of the vote. Gallego, a major critic of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, was encouraged by several progressive organizations to run against her in the 2024 election. He announced his candidacy on January 23, 2023.
Committee assignments For the 118th Congress: 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 Congressional Arts Caucus Congressional Hispanic Caucus Congressional Ukraine Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus (until late 2023) Rare Disease Caucus Congressional Coalition on Adoption
U.S. Senate
Elections
2024
On January 22, 2023, Gallego announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024. The seat was then held by Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who was first elected as a Democrat in 2018, and who angered members of the party due to her opposition to filibuster reform and some major Democratic legislation. After Gallego entered the race, and with Sinema not polling well, she chose not to run for reelection. Gallego had raised more money than Sinema in the first two quarters of 2023.
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".
Although he had previously embraced his progressive background as "a fierce liberal combatant", he moved to the political center in his 2024 campaign to woo swing voters. He once called Donald Trump's border wall plans "stupid" and accused Trump of "scapegoating immigrants". His campaign emphasized his Marine Corps service and combat experience in Iraq, positioning him as a moderate voice on national security issues to appeal to independent voters. He distanced himself from progressive positions he had held in his House career, focusing instead on economic issues and border security. 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." Republicans in Arizona highlighted 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. 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.
On November 9, 2024, Decision Desk HQ projected that Gallego had beaten Lake in the Senate election in Arizona. On November 12, the Associated Press also projected that he had defeated Lake. Gallego significantly outperformed Kamala Harris, winning by 2.4% while Harris lost the 2024 United States presidential election in Arizona by 5.5%.
Tenure In February 2025, Gallego used $9,161 from his leadership PAC to pay for a trip to Miami to celebrate his wife's birthday.
In summer 2025, Gallego participated in an official CODEL to Bogota, Colombia, during which, despite being notified by the U.S. embassy of a credible death threat against him, he partied at a nightclub until 3 a.m. and invited multiple female embassy staffers to join him.
In 2025, Gallego was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.
During the 2026 partial government shutdown, Gallego used several thousand dollars of campaign funds to travel with his wife to Saint Barthélemy.
In March 2026, Gallego became a prominent early endorser of Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner. Gallego's endorsement came the week after Platner had retweeted a post by a neo-Nazi influencer, and Gallego stood by Platner during previous controversies, including a Nazi Schutzstaffel tattoo and the discovery of online comments that contained homophobic slurs and dismissed military sexual assaults. In July 2026, Gallego withdrew his endorsement of Platner following credible rape accusations.
Committee assignments Source:
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Digital Assets (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on National Parks Subcommittee on Water and Power Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Subcommittee on Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Caucus memberships
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Relationship with Eric Swalwell In early 2026, Gallego came under scrutiny when Representative Eric Swalwell, who had been his roommate and described as his best friend, was accused of sexual assault. Gallego and Swalwell, who denied the allegations but resigned from Congress and ended his gubernatorial campaign, were viewed as unusually close. When the allegations, which included harassment, assault, rape, drugging, and inappropriate conduct involving staff or former staff, came to light, Gallego initially defended Swalwell before distancing himself.
The New York Times described Gallego's actions as supporting a "culture of silence" around sexual assault. Semafor described it as his first stress test. Gallego said that, with "100%" certainty, he had never blacked out, but acknowledged his "reputation" for late nights and drinking.
After the allegations against Swalwell, Representative Anna Paulina Luna accused Gallego of sexual misconduct. He met with the Senate Ethics Committee to defend himself and hired former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates to deal with crisis communication from the fallout.
Political positions