Rep. Gallego building team for potential run at Sen. Sinema’s seat

PHOENIX — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona is building a team of veterans from successful recent campaigns as he eyes a 2024 run for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat.

Gallego announced Thursday that he’s hired two consultants from Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly’s recent reelection victory. The Phoenix Democrat also brought in members of firms that worked on John Fetterman’s Senate win in Pennsylvania and Raphael Warnock’s in Georgia.

“Winning in Arizona will require a team ready to go on day one,” Gallego said in a press release. “We now have a team of Democratic operatives behind the biggest wins of 2022.”

Gallego added Danny Carroll as a finance consultant and Tim Tagaris of Aisle 518 Strategies to lead online fundraising and organizing. They both worked to help Kelly turn back a challenge from Republican Blake Masters.

Gallego also announced that Rebecca Katz of New Deal Strategies will lead his communications strategy. Katz worked on Fetterman’s 2022 campaign.

“The latest polling shows that Gallego is the strongest Democrat to hold this seat and the best candidate period for preventing Republicans from winning Arizona in 2024,” Katz told Politico in a story published Thursday.

Chuck Rocha of Solidarity Strategies, part of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, will serve as Gallego’s senior advisor.

Last month, Politico reported that Gallego hired GBAO Strategies, a Democratic polling firm that worked with Fetterman and Warnock.

Gallego still hasn’t officially throw his hat into the ring, but he’s long been considered a potential 2024 challenger to Sinema.

As an independent, Sinema can bypass the primary process by gathering enough nominating signatures, setting up a potential three-way general election race.

After Sinema made her switch, Gallego told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News he would make a decision about a Senate run “at the beginning of the year.”

Follow @kstonezone