PHOENIX — Democratic Senator-elect Ruben Gallego of Phoenix declared victory late Monday night and made history: He will be the first Latino senator in Arizona's 112 years as a state.
With 99.55% of all ballots counted statewide, Gallego leads Republican Kari Lake by 79,000 votes, 51.1% to 47.7%.
Right after his victory speech, Gallego took a red-eye to Washington, D.C., for a new senators' orientation.
In a “Sunday Square Off” interview taped Friday, I covered a wide range of topics with the five-term congressman and Marine combat veteran, including: his success as a Democrat in a “red wave” election in Arizona, his view of President-elect Donald Trump’s likely Cabinet nominees, whether he’s rethinking his opposition to the filibuster, and whether Lake has conceded.
Here are three takeaways:
Trump’s potential Cabinet nominees:
- “I will say there are some questionable nominees so far,” Gallego said.
- “There are some … very hopeful nominees that I look forward to talking to. But we're going to have a very clear and transparent process so that Arizonans will know who and why I'm supporting them or not supporting them.”
- Among the “hopeful” nominees: “Though I don't agree with (them) 100% on everything,” Gallego said Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador, and Florida Congressman Mike Waltz for national security adviser “are probably decent picks.”
- Gallego said he knows them all personally - Stefeanik was a Harvard classmate.
What Democrats can learn:
Gallego and Trump both pulled in votes from Latino men.
- “The one thing that we did, very different from maybe all campaigns across this country, is that we recognized that Latino voters were swing voters from Day 1."
- “When we started the campaign 23 months ago, we started talking to especially. Latino men, and we did it in very creative ways. Boxing, you know, watching boxing, watch parties, Loteria, games, concerts … even emphasizing reaching them on YouTube more than on TV…You have to start talking to them early and often."
- “You have to talk to them not necessarily just about immigration, the border, but you should also be talking about the future, right? Because the Latino community, much like every other community in Arizona, wants to have the American dream… Until we can focus on that and be the party that shows them that we're the ones that can do that, then we're going to have a tougher time winning those votes.”
Has Lake called to concede?:
“No calls and no tweets and no Snapchats at this point, but you know, for me, it's time to move on. This election is over. It's time to focus on Arizonans and not past elections. And I don't need the phone call.”
Lake leaves the political stage, for now, having never acknowledged losing two statewide races two years apart.