'Go everywhere and talk to everyone': How Ruben Gallego is reaching out to tribal voters

Rep. Ruben Gallego, running for the Senate, has vowed to visit all of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes before Election Day.

Touting the goal as his “go everywhere and talk to everyone” campaign strategy, Gallego said his journey across Arizona has been a mission and highlight of his Senate campaign.

Gallego, a Democrat representing a Phoenix-area district in the House of Representatives, is preparing for a possible three-way race between incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.; Republican front-runner Kari Lake, a former TV newscaster; and himself.

As the campaign gears up, Gallego has been working on securing an important part of Arizona’s electorate, Indigenous voters.

"Far too often, politicians only visit Arizona's tribes in the run-up to an election," Gallego said in a written statement to The Arizona Republic. "Their voices deserve to be heard."

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According to the Brookings Institution, only 42% of Native American voters reported any contact with the 2022 campaigns, significantly lower than the 51% of Latino and 56% of Black voters contacted that year.

While Native Americans make up just over 5% of Arizonans, their votes had a large impact on Arizona’s presidential results in 2020, according to an analysis from the Associated Press. Higher rates of Native American voters came out to the polls in Arizona to support President Joe Biden than in past elections, possibly making a crucial difference in Biden’s tight win in the state.

In 2020, 60% of Native American voters reported voting for Biden, according to Latino Decisions, a political opinion research firm. Additionally, a higher percentage of Native American voters are registered as Democrats compared to Republicans, as 44% are registered Democrats while 32% are registered Republicans, according to the Brookings Institution.

Sinema has not officially said whether she is running for reelection this year. An aide provided The Republic with a detailed record of her work supporting tribal communities in Arizona.

That work included Sinema's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by Biden, that included $224 million to complete all Arizona tribal water rights settlements; $105 million for Indian Health Service sanitation infrastructure; $3.85 million for irrigation and power projects in the Colorado River, San Carlos and Gila River communities; $95 million Interstate 10 improvements that would benefit the Gila River community.

Sinema also was the lead author of legislation that Biden signed to create the Grand Canyon National Monument and takes credit for ensuring the passage of six bills related to tribal water rights, land and sovereignty.

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Lake's campaign did not respond to The Republic's request for comment on its outreach efforts to Indigenous voters.

With Election Day around 10 months away, Gallego is already halfway to his goal visiting Arizona's 22 tribes. For the last several months, he has been traveling throughout Arizona's Indigenous communities to discuss infrastructure, health care, voting, water rights and more with communities.

He has visited the Navajo Nation and met with members of the Tohono O'odham and White Mountain Apache tribes. As the 2024 election year gets going, his early outreach seems to be paying political dividends.

Gallego recently received endorsements from two of Arizona’s tribes: the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the San Carlos Apache Tribe, which Gallego said he was "honored to have earned."

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which is located in the Phoenix metropolitan area, just east of Scottsdale and north of Mesa, was the first to endorse Gallego for Senate.

Tribal President Martin Harvier said in a written statement that Gallego "was there for us when we needed it most."

"When our right to vote was under attack and the validity of our votes was being questioned, Congressman Gallego fought to protect our right, and the right of all Arizonans, to participate in our democracy,” Harvier said. “We need a leader like that in the United States Senate.”

Less than a week later, Gallego received his second endorsement from another one of Arizona’s tribes, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, which is located in southeastern Arizona.

In November, Gallego rode in their Veterans Day Parade with tribal Chair Terry Rambler and met with hundreds of tribal and Tribal Council members along the way. In mid-January — the same day he received the endorsement from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community — he also visited San Carlos Apache College to visit students and faculty.

“Ruben has been a champion for the issues that matter most to us,” Rambler said in his endorsement statement of Gallego, naming issues such as high-speed internet, supporting veterans and protecting native lands.

As Gallego continues to campaign in the Arizona's closely watched U.S. Senate race, he hopes to earn additional tribal support.

"I look forward to continuing to work with them for years to come as we continue to build a better future," Gallego said.

Reach reporter Morgan Fischer at morgan.fischer@gannett.com or on X, formally known as Twitter, @morgfisch.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Senate race: Ruben Gallego endorsed by two tribal communities