Union Leader: Running for president or not, Sen. Ruben Gallego hopes to connect with NH voters
By Dave Pierce
Union Leader Staff
If you drew a Venn diagram of people who’ve attended the Iowa State Fair a couple weeks before being the keynote speaker at “Politics and Eggs” at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, you’d get a pretty exclusive group.
Likely all of them would be testing the waters for a presidential campaign.
So, without giving a definite “yes” or an absolute “no” on possible White House aspirations, U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., came to the Granite State on Friday morning to talk about reviving the Democratic Party by returning to its working-class roots. His populist pitch and non-denial denial echoed past candidates workshopping their message while coyly leaving the door open to running.
“I’ll be here to support, you know, Chris Pappas, Maggie Goodlander, Democrats in general,” Gallego said, referring to the state’s two Democratic House representatives at the Goffstown event hosted by the New England Council and Saint Anselm College’s NHIOP. “I don’t know where my future goes. I don’t see it happening, largely because I have three kids and a new one, and my wife is a saint. My poor wife started the last campaign pregnant and ended the campaign pregnant — with two different kids.”
Gallego’s youngest son was born in June. His daughter was born in July 2023, more than six months into his 2024 campaign for Senate.
How many new dads just happen to pose for pictures with the butter cow and hold a town hall discussion in Davenport, Iowa? Then scoop ice cream with Manchester’s Pappas the night before handing out doughnuts to union workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard? Let alone headlining a “Politics and Eggs” Q&A followed by a town hall with fellow Democrat Goodlander in Nashua the very next day.
The only thing Gallego didn’t do is reverse course on his opinion of the status of the first-in-the-nation primary here. Though he already started hedging on that stance July 30 while speaking with Chris Ryan on “New Hampshire Today.”
“The fact that (New Hampshire) is so heavily independent that it actually should be one or as close as possible and here’s why: Because t’s a very good weathervane about where independents are on the upcoming election. Right?” Gallego told Ryan on the radio program.
Gallego’s message to NH
The next thing a potential presidential candidate might do in a purple state is bash their own party, be self-deprecating and talk about how unifying they aspire to be.
“Everything that we have been taught as Americans, everything that we were ever promised — if you work hard, keep your nose clean, be a good family man, be a good citizen, you’re going to be able to provide for that future for your kids. That is, it seems to be broken. That social contract that we have in this country seems to be broken,” he said, placing much of the blame on out-of-touch Democrats.
He said unlike President Donald Trump, Democrats suffer from “analysis paralysis” and end up being too late with a too-muddled message.
What should Democrats do? Stop talking at voters, start interacting with them. That’s how he beat Republican Kari Lake in Arizona, a state Trump won, he said.
“We threw a meal for Mexican rodeos to be able to talk to Latino men. We did boxing watch parties. We did low-rider shows. Notice a theme here?” he asked rhetorically. “We tried to reach out to white, suburban men and women. We did a pickleball tournament. I don’t even play pickleball, but I put on my headband and I went.”
Finally, Gallego spoke about his service as a Marine in Iraq and his connections to the state. From 2001-04, Gallego served with the Marine Corps’ Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, a reserve force based out of Londonderry.
Ready or not?
Former state Attorney General Tom Rath, a Republican, said Gallego’s message should resonate with voters here.
“I come from a different place than he does, obviously, but I thought there was a degree of reason and compromise, which I think is not a dirty word,” Rath said. “He came across very practical but he wasn’t patronizing. I think that’s who he is.”
Having worked for Democrats and Republicans, Rath said he misses the norms and decorum that came with two parties working together more.
Former Massachusetts House member and New England Council CEO Jim Brett, a Democrat, said Gallego clearly understands the wake-up call the 2024 election should be for his party.
“He’s got a message that says, ‘Look, I had Republicans vote for me for Senate. I did better than Vice President Harris did in my state. That’s because I had different constituencies that ordinarily would not vote for a Democrat.’ But they resonated with his message.”