Ruben Gallego Reportedly Planning To Tour Political Battlegrounds As Speculation Over 2028 Presidential Candidacy Mounts

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego is reportedly planning to visit political battlegrounds amid speculation about a 2028 presidential run.

Axios reported on Tuesday that the stops come as signs that Gallego is increasingly appealing to moderates and conservatives in his home state of Arizona, where his approval rating is higher than President Donald Trump and Governor Katie Hobbs.

Gallego has also doubled his favorability with Republican voters: now 37% of them have a positive view of him, the outlet added. He recently held a town hall in Pennsylvania, a battleground state. "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.

Gallego, however, denied thinking about running for president at the moment. "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 did say 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.

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.

In this context, Gallego introduced a five-part framework to address immigration and border security reform. The announcement took place days after Gallego called for Democrats to adopt stricter immigration policies and claimed that seeking to reduce unlawful border crossings should not depend on people's political affiliation.