Arizona Democrat prompts presidential run rumors after revealing new border plan, visiting PA

First-term Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego from Arizona emerged as a potential 2028 presidential contender this month after unveiling his own border plan and traveling for an appearance in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

The newcomer has not formally announced plans to run for president, with the next election still over three years away, but he has begun making moves that presidential candidates normally make. One local news outfit, YourBasin.com based in Texas, says that an exploratory committee has been created. 

Gallego, who is considered by many a moderate Democrat, only recently stepped into the national spotlight. The border-state liberal defeated conservative firebrand Kari Lake for the Senate last year and has since shown a willingness to work across the aisle to pass legislation.

The 45-year-old senator, an Illinois native, served for 10 years in the House of Representatives before being elected to the upper chamber after which he became the highest ranking Latino Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. He is also a Marine Corps veteran who was deployed to the Iraq War, according to his Senate page.

Gallego reveals a moderate border plan

The senator unveiled his border security plan last week, which includes calls to increase the number of Border Patrol agents, reform the immigration and asylum system, and create pathways to citizenship for migrant children whose parents brought them into the country illegally.

Gallego’s reform plan also seeks to end the abuse in the immigration system, increase the speed that asylum requests are processed and streamline the system in general.

“This is a very moderate approach,” Gallego told Vanity Fair. “We’re not trying to make 12 million people US citizens. We’re saying, ‘hey, we understand where the American public is … The American public doesn’t want families separated. The American public doesn’t want chaos in our communities. They don’t want children to be deported. We can still fight for that, while also saying, You know what? I’m for a secure border.”

The senator said that the difference in his approach to the border compared to President Donald Trump’s is that he wants to hire more Border Patrol agents and immigration judges instead of sending military troops to the border.

“I’m saying, send the Marines back and hire more Border Patrol, hire more trained officials, hire more asylum judges to keep this going,” Gallego said. “Because he hasn’t solved the problem. He’s going to eventually run out of money. He hasn’t solved the problem if you’re still going to have 8 million to 12 million people hiding in the shadows.”

The Arizonan urged his fellow lawmakers to strengthen their message on the border, because it was one of the reasons that the Democratic Party as a whole lost in 2024. Republicans now oversee the executive and legislative branches of the government after flipping the White House and Senate red last year.

“Denying reality does not change reality,” he said. “The Democrats ran a campaign that they wanted to run that would make them feel good, but not necessarily win … Instead of showing that they are sincere about closing the border, they were afraid to piss off this imaginary voter base of Latinos that is for open borders, which doesn’t f***ing exist.”

Gallego also emphasized in his plan a secure border that expands legal pathways for people wanting to come to the U.S., which would help the country economically, because immigrants help with jobs, such as working in agriculture and construction. Some entrepreneurial immigrants also create new jobs by creating new businesses, he also wrote. 

Neither Gallego nor the Department of Homeland Security have responded to Just The News' request for comment.

Campaigning in another battleground state

The senator's border framework is not the only thing that has people wondering if a presidential bid is in Gallego's future. The moderate, who is already from a battleground state, flew to the swing-state of Pennsylvania earlier this month, where he emphasized the need for the Democratic Party to win back working-class voters.

Gallego said he believes he resonates with Pennsylvania voters because of his own working-class background. 

“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. "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 rent and everything else like that. And I think people want to hear from Democrats like me.”

The senator has acknowledged that he is considered a possible candidate for 2028, but said he was not thinking about running for the Oval Office immediately because his wife is about to give birth to their third child.

"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," he insisted. “I just told you about my third kid coming. I’m just a brand-new senator. I need to do both jobs well, and those are two very hard jobs. Being the father is the hardest one.”

He also recently went to Europe, where he met defense officials in England, Slovakia and Germany. The move could signal an interest in adding foreign policy to his resumé ahead of 2028. 

Other potential Democratic candidates in 2028

Gallego's emergence comes as other Democrats make similar moves. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently spoke in Iowa, a conservative state he won in the 2020 primaries when launching his first presidential bid. Also a former McKinsey consultant, he said any formal decision on another run is still a "long ways off."

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who has also had prominent roles in multiple Democratic administrations, also teased a potential 2028 bid, stating last week that he was "in training" for the next election but was not sure that he would make the cut. He has also considered running for Illinois governor or the Senate in 2026.

Several Democratic governors are also turning their eyes to 2028, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who said he would run for president in four years if he thought he was the best person to unite the country. 

“If you’d asked me a couple years ago if this is something I’d consider, I probably wouldn’t have, but I don’t want to leave a broken country to my kids,” the governor told WDRB, a local news outlet. “So if I’m somebody that can bring this nation together, hopefully find some common ground, it’s something I’ll consider."

Beshear is also reportedly meeting with donors, appearing at national conventions to get his name out there, and recording his own podcast to help transition from a governor of a red state to the national arena, according to Politico.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro represent the Democratic bench viewed as contenders for the Democratic nomination, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.