On Monday evening, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced that he would not run against Republican Sen. Martha McSally next year, a somewhat surprising development seeing as Arizona Democratic Party chair Felecia Rotellini said just over a week ago that Gallego had told her he was "preparing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate."
The congressman, however, faced an enormous obstacle: former astronaut Mark Kelly, who unexpectedly jumped into the race last month with widespread support and raised $1 million on his first day. In fact, not long before the Gallego news broke on Monday, Kelly said he'd now raised $3 million, a possible warning shot and a sure sign that a bruising primary would have laid in wait.
In fact, Gallego cited exactly that in explaining his decision. “I don’t want to engage in a bitter primary all the way until the general election, and then turn around and try to run, whether it’s me or Kelly, against McSally in a year when the Democrats need to win the Senate seat and take the state,” he told the Arizona Republic.
That wasn't the only downside: Gallego, a Marine and Iraq veteran, would also have had to give up his safely blue House seat in the Phoenix area for a very uncertain crack at the Democratic nomination for Senate. However, he's only 39 years old and could seek other opportunities in the near future, including the Arizona governorship, which will come open in 2022.