Amid all the talk of which prominent Democrat figures may throw their hats into the ring and run for president in 2028, the usual names get thrown into the mix: California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Former Vice President Kamala Harris. Former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
But there's another one out there who also has admittedly been testing the waters: The junior senator from Arizona, Ruben Gallego.
He's only been in the Senate for a year and a half and served in the House of Representatives for 10 years. For Gallego, apparently, that's enough time to establish your presidential qualifications, with the senator indicating in April he was considering a possible bid. A trip he's making to South Carolina later this month for Juneteenth activities would seem to confirm it.
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Naturally, with such a big decision up ahead for Gallego, he'd hate for any skeletons to come out of the closet, whether they belong to him or people with whom he has closely associated during his time in public life. But as RedState readers are well aware, one such skeleton belonging to his (now former?) bestie, disgraced former Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14), came out of the closet in a big way back in April, which involved allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
It's a scandal in which Gallego himself has found himself immersed, not just because of their infamous "bromance," which started when they were congressional roommates in D.C., but also because sexual harassment allegations against Gallego were referred to the U.S. Senate for investigation by the Ethics Committee shortly after Swalwell's resignation.
Gallego has, of course, denied any knowledge of Swalwell's alleged behavior and, through a spox, has called the allegations against himself nothing more than a "right-wing conspiracy theory." Naturally, the whole sordid situation has seen Gallego lawyering up. But his latest move is raising more eyebrows, with one former Biden official calling it "not a great first step" for Gallego to make:
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has hired former Biden deputy press secretary Andrew Bates to focus on crisis communications, including any dealings with the Ethics Committee or fallout from Gallego's friendship with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, Axios has learned.
[...]
The senator wanted to bring Bates on to focus specifically on crisis communications, a source told Axios. But the hire has caused a rift among those in his political orbit, with some wondering how Bates will fit into Gallego's current communications team, the source added.
SEE ALSO: Ruben Gallego Is Still Trying to Run Away From Eric Swalwell, and It's Still Not Working
Why is this not a great look for Gallego? Michael LaRosa, who was a special assistant to then-President Joe Biden and also worked as a spokesman for then-First Lady Jill Biden, explained it on X:
Senator @RubenGallego, if your goal is to repair your reputation or earn the benefit of the doubt from national political media, hiring a crisis manager most associated with one of the Democratic Party's biggest self-inflicted political crises in modern American political history is certainly a choice.
Hiring someone who lost their credibility for attacking, berating, and lying to reporters, gaslighting the public, or manufacturing excuses like "cheap fakes" before, during, and after that unparalleled political crisis may not be best suited to help repair your own credibility.
If you're trying to avoid renewed scrutiny of your own past, hiring someone infamous for mishandling a crisis and reviled by legacy/digital media outlets isn't the obvious place to start.
Not a great first step, Senator.
"The epitome of bad judgment is a U.S. Senator hiring disreputable people who are notorious for their own considerable bad judgment," LaRosa also wrote.
Some would say that standard also applies to Gallego's judgment in picking besties. Just sayin'.
gallego doesn’t seem to be an individual who makes good decisions https://t.co/3x2yU94wWp
— zeke, Resident Winter General (@hedeedit) June 9, 2026
Understatement of the year, but yeah.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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