Arizonans Ruben Gallego, Erika Kirk cited as emerging leaders on Time100 Next list

PHOENIX – Two Arizonans with very different backgrounds — U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego and Erika Kirk — have been recognized as emerging leaders on the 2025 Time100 Next list.

“The Time100 Next spotlights changemakers from around the globe who are shaping the next generation of leadership and redefining what progress, influence and impact mean in today’s world,” Time CEO Jessica Sibley said in a press release.

The annual Time magazine feature is divided by artists, phenoms, innovators, leaders and advocates. Gallego and Kirk were both included in the leaders section of this year’s list, which was released Tuesday.

Why did Ruben Gallego and Erika Kirk make Time100 Next list?

Kirk is CEO and chair of Turning Point USA, a role she was given after her late husband and co-founder of the conservative activist group, Charlie Kirk, was killed by a gunman in Utah on Sept. 10.

She was lauded by Time reporter Nik Popli for forgiving her husband’s killer during a memorial service at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium.

“Now raising two young children without her husband, what Erika Kirk models to America’s political leadership is the strength of resilience and grace,” Popli wrote in Kirk’s Time100 Next entry.

Gallego was cited as a bright spot for Democrats in the 2024 election, when he defeated Republican nominee Kari Lake.

“He’s even made buzzy visits to early primary states, stoking speculation about a possible future presidential run,” Charlotte Alter, a Time senior correspondent, wrote in the entry on Gallego.

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