Ruben Gallego Rejects Considering Presidential Run Despite Pennsylvania Trip: 'That's a Land Mine'

Though he has been in the Senate for less than six months, Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego could be elevating his profile ahead of the next presidential elections with an upcoming trip to Pennsylvania.

Gallego is set to headline a town hall Saturday in Bucks County, a key swing area outside Philadelphia that Donald Trump flipped by only a few hundred votes in 2024.

"No one understands the struggles of working-class Americans like Ruben Gallego," said the Senator's chief of staff, Raphael Chavez-Fernandez, when asked about the trip. "He's heading to Pennsylvania to speak directly to voters about what it means to fight for working-class families— because he's lived their fight."

Gallego's message to Pennsylvanians is set to focus on immediate matters, like preventing cuts to Medicaid cuts pushing back against Trump's tariffs. However, his visit to a key battleground state is arousing speculation about a possible consideration for a White House run.

"That's a land mine," Gallego told NBC News when he was asked whether running for president has ever crossed his mind. "Has it ever crossed my mind? F—ing of course, I'm an elected official, it crosses my mind. Am I thinking about it right now? Absolutely not."

The Democratic rising star added that he has received encouragement from members of his party to pursue a White House bid in 2028.

"Big donors, big organizations, well-known political big Democratic operatives that have encouraged me to run. I'm not denying that," he said.

The Arizonian is not the only potential Democratic presidential contender to hit the road in what is transforming into an all-out shadow primary years. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is traveling to a town hall with a veterans group in Iowa this month following his success in the presidential caucuses there in 2020. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is headed to the early primary state of South Carolina to appear at a top Democratic dinner. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently visited New Hampshire, another primary state, to keynote a dinner.

Gallego's profile rose to national attention last year when he not only beat Republican and Trump-ally Kari Lake but also outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Arizona. At the same time, the congressman became a darling for Latino voters, particularly, men, who often cited his connection to the community as one of his most important attributes.

Gallego previously represented a Phoenix-area congressional district, and has a unique profile as a 45-year-old Latino Marine Corps veteran with a working-class background, which he thinks can help Democrats reach groups of Americans who have drifted from the party in recent years.

"They want to hear that there is a message that Democrats can deliver that can bring the party back to a winning situation— bring back working-class people, because that's where we're really getting f—ed and losing votes," he told NBC News of why Pennsylvanians want to hear from him.

"I think I can bring it, I guess, also more on the personal level— like, I'm the person that has worked those hard jobs and has had to figure out how to make ends meet, how to string a couple paychecks together, to pay rant and everything else like that. And I think people want to hear from Democrats like me."