Democrat Ruben Gallego touts Republican support in his Arizona Senate campaign against Kari Lake

WILMINGTON, Del. — Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego is drumming up Republican support for his Senate campaign as the congressman works to build a winning coalition in the swing state.

A list released Sunday of 39 Republicans and independents supporting his campaign includes moderate Republicans and some former Republicans who held elected office or other roles in business or politics. Several are former aides to the late Sen. John McCain, the famed Arizona Republican and former prisoner of war who was known for occasionally bucking his party.

Gallego’s Republican opponent, Kari Lake, has criticized McCain in the past and once suggested he was a “loser.”

Democrats have made gains in Arizona after decades of Republican dominance. While Republicans have more registered voters in the state, President Joe Biden, Sen. Mark Kelly, Gov. Katie Hobbs and other Democrats have scored narrow victories by holding their party together, dominating among independents and winning support from an outsized share of Republicans who dislike the direction the GOP is taking under Donald Trump.

According to AP VoteCast, about 6 in 10 independent voters and about 1 in 10 Republican voters supported Biden in 2020. Similar percentages supported Kelly in 2020.

In 2022, about two-thirds of independents and 13% of Republican voters supported Kelly, according to the survey of the American electorate. Similarly, about 6 in 10 independent voters and about 1 in 10 Republican voters supported Hobbs that year.

Gallego announced her campaign to promote her campaign within the Republican Party on the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris launched her own group, “Republicans for Harris,” to seek support from conservatives who are discouraged by Trump’s candidacy. Her campaign released the names of nearly three dozen supporters in Arizona who somewhat matched Gallego’s list but were not a copycat.

Lake is a former television news anchor and a leading Trump defender. Like Trump, she has promoted false and debunked theories about election fraud.

Lake says Gallego is a liberal Democrat who is out of step with Arizona’s moderate voters. He says the congressman votes in sync with Biden and Harris, supported legislation that worsened inflation and wants to eliminate the Senate filibuster to enact a liberal agenda.

Gallego, who served as a Marine in Iraq, is emphasizing his military service and humble economic upbringing as he seeks to expand his stature beyond the safe Democratic district in Phoenix he has represented since 2015. He says he is not afraid to push Biden when he disagrees with the administration’s policies, particularly around the U.S.-Mexico border. Gallego sees the filibuster, which requires 60 Senate votes to pass most legislation, as a barrier to efforts to protect voting rights, abortion rights and other priorities.

Among the Republicans backing Gallego is Mesa Mayor John Giles, who has been a vocal supporter of Democrats running against Trump and his allies, including Biden and Kelly.

“I cannot, in good conscience, stand by as extremists like Kari Lake, who have hijacked our party for personal gain, undermine the very fabric of what makes America exceptional,” Giles said in a statement released by Gallego’s campaign.

Gallego highlights his military service as a marine who faced difficult battles in Iraq, a biography with the potential to be attractive to all parties.

“Like my former boss, Ruben has spent decades serving his country and his state,” Paul Hickman, a former McCain state director who described himself as a lifelong Republican, said in a statement released by Gallego’s campaign.

Lake’s rival in the Republican primary, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, got about 40% of the vote Tuesday despite Lake outspending him 5-to-1, giving Democrats hope that his Republican support remains weak.

As she conceded her primary victory, Lake made efforts to reach out to those who voted against her — a stark contrast to her 2022 gubernatorial campaign, when she attacked McCain and other Republicans who ran afoul of the right.

“Republicans may have differences, but they agree far more than they disagree,” a Lake spokesperson said in response to Gallego’s announcement on Sunday. “Ruben Gallego supports Kamala Harris 100 percent of the time.”

___

Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this report.