Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said he could run for president in 2028, casting himself as a centrist candidate who can form a winning coalition for Democrats.
As a Democrat hailing from a state that leans red, Gallego painted himself as a centrist on matters pertaining to the border, immigration, and Israel, suggesting he holds views that fellow Hispanics could get behind. Democrats lost critical ground with the demographic in the 2024 election after President Donald Trump’s victory. The party will need to reconnect with such voters ahead of 2028, if it wishes to decisively reclaim the White House.
“No matter who runs, even if it’s not me, the candidate that wins in 2028 is going to have to get the Latino vote back to at least 62%. That is the ‘Pass Go’ line, collect $200 on the Monopoly board. We didn’t hit that in 2024,” Gallego told NBC News in an interview published Sunday.
“Obviously, like any other elected official, especially ones that won red states in 2024, we have to look at it,” the senator said of a presidential run after similarly declining to rule out a 2028 bid in August.
Gallego is one of many Democrats rumored to be considering a bid for the presidency in 2028. Many of them are gubernatorial leaders, including Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Andy Beshear (D-KY), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI).
While many in the Democratic Party leadership have moved to the Left on matters pertaining to Immigration and Customs Protection and Israel, Gallego stuck to more traditional rhetoric. In the NBC interview, he pushed back against the push to abolish ICE, calling it “ridiculous,” while conceding the agency does need reform.
On immigration, he said Hispanics broadly support deporting “bad people.”
“If you talk to working-class Latinos, we’re very, unfortunately, we have too much experience with immigration. We know there needs to be an immigration force that deports bad people. We want bad people out. We want bad people stopped from getting in illegally,” Gallego said.
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On Israel, which fringes on both the Left and the Right have increasingly abandoned, Gallego questioned those who want to defund defensive support to the Middle Eastern nation. As Iran and its terrorist proxies in Lebanon wage attacks on Israel, Gallego suggested there is a responsibility to stand by innocent civilians in the country.
“Like any other ally in this world, I can’t imagine stopping defensive weapons going to any of our friends, because in that situation, if they’re raining down bombs, you’re hitting people that are, especially in Israel, they’re Arabs, Christians, Jews, people that are pro-war, against war. It’s indiscriminatory,” he said. “I know that’s not a popular thing. I’m sure everyone wants to be on the other side, but I’ve seen civilians get hurt in war by both sides, and it’s not something you want to be responsible for.”