With a trip to Pennsylvania, Sen. Ruben Gallego enters the 2028 conversation

The Arizona Democrat says he has a message that can help his party reach voters it has lost ground with in recent elections.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is used to taking his message on the road in a swing state. But now Gallego, a first-term senator fresh off his hard-fought win last year, is heading far from home to speak to voters in Pennsylvania, the quintessential presidential battleground state.

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

It’s the type of move that will fuel speculation about Gallego as a presidential contender as the Democratic Party desperately searches for its way forward. And while he said his message in Pennsylvania will focus on more immediate matters, like preserving Medicaid and pushing back against Trump’s tariffs, Gallego didn’t close the door on the possibility down the road.

“That’s a land mine,” Gallego said in an interview 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.”

Gallego said he has received encouragement from members of his party to pursue a White House bid in 2028.