凤凰城-民主党人鲁本·加莱戈(Ruben Gallego)周六举行了他的美国参议院竞选活动的首次公开活动，目标是独立的现任参议员凯尔斯滕·西内马(Kyrsten Sinema)，并将他的候选人资格视为对美国梦的爱国诉求。
这位第五任国会议员讲述了他从芝加哥的一个贫困家庭到哈佛学生时代打扫厕所以及作为美国海军陆战队队员在伊拉克的艰苦战斗部署的旅程。
“我知道如果我努力工作，洁身自好，这个拉美裔孩子会在美国取得成功。我做到了，”加莱戈在格兰特公园对数百名支持者说，格兰特公园是凤凰城拉丁裔政治组织的中心。
加莱戈周一开始了他的竞选活动，他在社交媒体上发布了一段视频，并在返回亚利桑那州之前开始了全国媒体之旅。除了周六的凤凰城集会，他还在图森和卡萨格兰德进行了类似的露面，他计划周日在弗拉格斯塔夫、纳瓦霍部落和白山阿帕奇部落保留地停留。
加莱戈正面临着他政治生涯中最艰难的竞选。自从2014年在民主党占绝对优势的国会选区赢得艰难的初选以来，他从未面临过严重的反对。他现在必须向凤凰城选区以外的选民介绍自己。
他吹捧自己的军旅生涯和他的逆境传记，说在很多方面他都是“美国梦的产物”。但他指出，Tyré Nichols死于五名孟菲斯警察之手，证明还有更多工作要做。
“美国梦必须包括像泰勒·尼科尔斯这样的人，”加莱戈说。“它必须包括生活在恐惧中的黑人，并且能够生活下去，就这样。他们也应该拥有美国梦。”
西内马在2018年当选为民主党人，但在去年年底离开该党，在多年与该党日益疏远后注册为独立人士。她没有说她是否会竞选连任。
“Kyrsten的问题不在于她离开了民主党，”Gallego说。"问题是她离开并抛弃了亚利桑那州."
Sinema没有直接评论Gallego的参赛，但是推特上周，她吹捧她帮助协商的两党协议，并建议竞选活动可以等待。
“亚利桑那州刚刚经历了一场残酷的选举“赛季——我想我们都可以休息一下，”西内马写道正如我在基础设施、部落用水安全、抗旱救灾、LGBTQ+权利、芯片等方面所做的那样，我将继续兑现我的承诺，为我们的州带来实实在在的成果。"
Gallego holds first events of Arizona Senate campaign
PHOENIX --Democrat Ruben Gallego held the first public events of his U.S. Senate campaign Saturday, taking aim at independent incumbent Kyrsten Sinema and casting his candidacy in a patriotic appeal to the American dream.
The fifth-term congressman recounted his journey from a poor family in Chicago to cleaning toilets as a Harvard student and a tough combat deployment as a U.S. Marine in Iraq.
“I knew if I worked hard and I kept my nose clean, this Latino kid was going to succeed in America. And I did,” Gallego told a crowd of several hundred supporters in Grant Park, a Central Phoenix hub of Latino political organizing.
Gallego began his campaign on Monday with a video posted to social media and embarked on a national media tour before returning to Arizona. In addition to his Phoenix rally on Saturday, he made similar appearances in Tucson and Casa Grande, and he planned stops Sunday in Flagstaff, the Navajo Nation and the reservation for the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
Gallego is facing the toughest campaign of his political career. Since winning a tough primary for his overwhelmingly Democratic congressional district in 2014, he's never faced serious opposition. He now must introduce himself to voters outside his Phoenix district.
He touted his military service and his against-the-odds biography, saying that in many ways he's “the product of that American dream.” But he pointed to the death of Tyré Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers as evidence there's more work to do.
“The American dream has to include people like Tyré Nichols,” Gallego said. “It has to include Black men living without fear, and being able to live, period. They deserve the American dream, too.”
Sinema was elected as a Democrat in 2018 but left the party late last year, registering as an independent after years of growing estrangement from the party. She has not said whether she will run for reelection.
“The problem with Kyrsten isn't that she left the Democratic Party," Gallego said. “The problem is that she left and abandoned Arizona.”
Sinema has not directly commented on Gallego's entrance in the race, but onTwitterlast week she touted the bipartisan deals she's helped negotiate and suggested campaigns can wait.
“Arizona just got through a brutalelectionseason — I think we all could use a break," Sinema wrote. “As I did with infrastructure, tribal water security, drought relief, LGBTQ+ rights, Chips, and so much more, I’m going to keep making good on my promise to deliver real results for our state.”
