By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez | Arizona Republic
Rep. Ruben Gallego will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2020’s special election, he told The Arizona Republic on Monday, clearing the path for retired astronaut Mark Kelly to take on incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally without a potentially bruising primary fight.
Gallego’s decision will disappoint progressive Democrats, who represent the left flank of the party and are especially hostile toward President Donald Trump.
Those voters wanted Gallego, 39, to wage a fight against Kelly, who is presenting himself as a centrist Democratic candidate who will make decisions based on data and science, not partisan politics or ideology.
By removing himself from running, Gallego, D-Ariz., also dashes GOP hopes of a competitive Democratic primary race that could have freed McSally, R-Ariz., to focus on her own campaign message while Gallego and Kelly battled it out for their party’s nomination.
