Ruben Gallego

Ruben Gallego (born November 20, 1979, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American Democratic politician who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives (2015– ). In 2024 he was narrowly elected to the Senate seat that was being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Childhood, education, and military service

Ruben Marinelarena grew up in working-class Black and Latino neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. He was the son of immigrants: his mother from Colombia and his father from Mexico. He also lived with his family for a time in the Mexican state of Chihuahua—his father’s home state—during his youth. He and his three sisters were raised by their mother after their father was imprisoned for drug offenses. While in high school and college, Marinelarena worked a variety of jobs to support himself and his family. These included working for a pizzeria, in construction, and at a meat-packing plant.

The first in his family to attend college, Marinelarena enrolled in Harvard University, where he experienced what he has described as “culture shock.” He struggled academically and faced disciplinary action for infractions including underage drinking. He was asked to leave during his sophomore year but was told he could reapply the following year. During this break, Marinelarena joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves as a mortarman in 2000. Following his service, he later returned to Harvard, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international relations in 2004.

Marinelarena remained in the Marine Reserves and was among the reservists deployed to Iraq in 2005. His unit, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, was initially nicknamed “Lucky Lima” after not seeing any casualties for the first several months of deployment. However, Lima Company later saw some of the highest American casualties of the Iraq War. He reflected on his time in Iraq and the post-traumatic stress disorder that followed his deployment in a book titled They Called Us “Lucky”: The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War’s Hardest Hit Unit (2021; with Jim DeFelice). His military service informed his dedication to veterans’ and military affairs in his political career.

Entry into politics

Marinelarena relocated to Arizona following his military deployment, where he joined college girlfriend Kate Widland, who was there working on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. In Arizona Marinelarena worked first in public relations, and he got his start in politics running the election campaign of Phoenix City Council member Michael Nowakowski. He then continued in politics full-time after Nowakowski’s campaign, serving as the councilman’s chief of staff, and then the vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party.

In 2008 Marinelarena legally changed his last name to his mother’s maiden name of Gallego, a decision he said was to honor his mother. Gallego was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010 and served from 2011–14, including a term as assistant minority leader (2012–14). Gallego and Widland were married in 2010. They were divorced in 2016, the same year that their son, Michael, was born. Kate Gallego retained her married name, and in 2019 she became the mayor of Phoenix.

Ruben Gallego was first elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, serving Arizona’s 3rd congressional district, in 2014. He took office the following year and was reelected in each congressional election through 2022. In Congress Gallego advocated for causes including Indigenous rights, water resources, and veterans’ and military issues. He served on the Committee on Natural Resources and the House Armed Services Committee, where he was a member of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. He drew from his training as a Marine when the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a violent mob of supporters of Pres. Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, when he combed through the House chamber and helped to guide his fellow legislators and staffers to safety.

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In 2021 Gallego married lobbyist Sydney Barron. Gallego, an advocate for working families and paternal leave, announced that he would himself take paternal leave following the birth of their daughter, Isla, in 2023.

2024 Senate campaign

Gallego announced in 2023 that he would run for the U. S. Senate seat occupied by Kyrsten Sinema, who had been elected as a Democrat in 2018 but changed her party affiliation to Independent in 2022 after moving further to the right of her party. Sinema announced that she would not seek reelection in 2024, and Gallego faced MAGA Republican Kari Lake in the election for the open seat. Among Gallego’s reasons for running for Senate included his desire to influence his core issues of veterans’ and military affairs, tribal issues, reproductive health care access, housing affordability, and Arizona’s water supply.