Levittown, PA — Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona encouraged the Democratic Party to return to its roots as the “big tent” party during a town hall meeting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
“What happened the last election is that we got so pure, and we kept so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent,” according to Gallego. “It ends up there aren’t enough people in the tent to win elections.”
Gallego used podcast host Joe Rogan as an example of someone “kicked out” of the tent because his message did not fully align with the party’s.
“I’m sure you guys heard like, ‘Oh, well, the Democrats need to have their own Joe Rogan,'” said Gallego. “We had Joe Rogan.” We canceled Joe Rogan years ago. Democrats do not want to admit this. We did, and then it became unclear whether we should go on Joe Rogan or not. “We did it to ourselves.”
The first-term Democratic senator from Arizona used his own success in a battleground state to demonstrate how Democratic candidates can win in the future. Gallego narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake in the Arizona Senate race last year.
“I represent a state that has 330,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats,” according to Gallego. “You have to get a lot of votes, and that means we’re going to have to have alliances with people that we may not agree with 100% of the time, right?”
This success has fueled speculation that Gallego is considering running for president in 2028. He’s one of a few Democrats making stops across the country to speak with voters, alongside Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Of course, I’ve thought of it, but I’m also, you know, about to… have my third kid coming June 12, and I don’t want to get divorced, and I just became a US senator,” Gallego told CBS News on Wednesday. “I enjoy my job, and I need to make sure I do both well. That is not what I am thinking about right now.
When asked if he believes it will take a moderate like him to win Pennsylvania in 2028, Gallego said it will take someone who can empathize with voters on issues that affect them.
“I believe it will require someone who has a thorough understanding of the situation. People were hurt during the last election. “I think the Democrats made a mistake by not focusing on that,” Gallego said. “This person will be able to express that, yes, things are bad. The economy suffers. “You’re hurting, and I’m here to help.”
Gallego spoke in Bucks County, a crucial battleground north of Philadelphia that President Trump won by a few hundred votes in 2024.
Distrust and anger toward the Democratic party were palpable at the town hall when one participant asked Gallego how Democrats should change their messaging moving forward.
“People don’t vote for a party, correct? We’re running as Democrats. We need to be the face of the party, and we need to be out there,” Gallego said. “The problem is that we are too effing safe all the time.”