Arizona senator weighs in on what he thinks Democrats should do to win in 2026

Buoyed by recent off-year election victories, state and local Democrats gathered in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to discuss where the party should go, even if it’s not backed by the national brand.

Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, one of the party’s promising names, said that Democratic candidates should show their originality to voters.

Gallego, who was a member of the US House of Representatives between 2015 and 2025, currently serves in the upper house of Congress in Arizona. He was one of the few bright spots for Democrats in 2024, winning a highly contested Senate seat in a volatile state.

He advised Democrats who plan to run in the 2026 midterm elections to visit as many voters as possible.

“Arizona is a big state… It’s called the Grand Canyon for a reason, because it’s really big, but if you want to reach some of these communities and don’t want to be surprised, you have to show up,” Gallego said. “We hit the road and went everywhere.”

The senator noted that during the campaign he visited nearly every Native American tribe in the state, including the Havasupai Tribe, which lives at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Gallego said he came down and asked for their votes. He went to the farthest rural corners of the state and made sure voters knew he was focused on the issues they cared about.

Gallgo is an alumnus of the NewDEAL Coalition, a group of center-left state and local elected leaders from across the country. He made the remarks at the organization’s 15th annual conference to energize and inspire state and local Democrats ahead of next year’s elections.

The goal of the coalition is to elevate and unite the ideas of Democrats who achieve “sustainable progress.” The group labels Gallego as an MP who is “fundamentally” shaping the future of the party.

After brutal election losses in 2024, it looked like the Democratic Party was actually “down.”

Since then, the party has examined where its message went so wrong with voters. NewDEAL believes it can learn from lawmakers like Gallego, who performed at the top of the ticket and had messages that resonated more with voters than former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Gallego, Arizona’s first Latina senator, defeated Republican opponent Kari Lake in 2024, 50.1% to 47.7%. She became the leading Democrat to win in the state last year, following President Donald Trump’s 5.5 percentage point victory over Harris.

He said he achieved this victory because he knew what was important to voters and applied that to his campaign in a unique way.

“I needed to bring a lot of my own experience and override the hive mind of DC,” Gallego said. “You know your district better than the people running your campaign. You may not think about it, you may not feel it, but you do. And you have to go with your instincts.”

Gallego’s instinct told him he could embrace different aspects of his identity.

He said he felt he could win over suburban and working-class voters, as well as white and Latino voters, while also appealing to veterans, people concerned about affordability and those concerned about immigration along the state’s Mexican border.

“You have to be yourself,” he said. “You have to trust what you know about your government.”

Gallego said too many Democrats fail in 2024 because they focus on keeping Washington-based donors or those in the political bubble happy, not voters.

While Democrats have their eye on the 2026 midterm elections, candidates are also likely looking at what their winning messages are in 2025. Democratic candidates Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, respectively; Voters said they cast their votes based on the economy, cost of living and affordability.

Gallego argued that their wins are proof that Democratic candidates can do something new and resonate with voters more than in recent years.

“When you’re out there and you’re campaigning, No. 1, be authentic,” he said. “If you’re a geek, be a geek. If you’re a technocrat, be a technocrat… but don’t be afraid to throw problems away and see where they land, and if they don’t land, move on.”

“Voters are actually more forgiving than you think,” Gallego added.