Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is hitting a number of early-voting and swing states to pitch voters on how the Democratic Party should reset, fueling speculation he’s eyeing a 2028 bid.

Gallego, whose Senate victory last year was seen as a rare bright spot for Democrats, was most recently in New Hampshire and Iowa. Despite downplaying the idea that he might run in the next presidential cycle during an event in the Granite State, his travels have only spurred chatter over the first-term senator.

But while members of the party see Gallego as a rising star within the party, he still faces the tall task of building his national profile in the shadow of higher-profile figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

“Part of me wants to say, ‘Well, you know, a sitting senator running for president who's been in office less than two years has no chance,’” said Arizona Democratic consultant Adam Kinsey.

“But then I remember that I worked for Barack Obama back in 2007 and heard a lot of that same rhetoric, and he rose above it,” he added.

Gallego has seen his star rise in recent months after he defeated Kari Lake, now senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, in a tight contest to succeed former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

The Arizona Democrat, who had previously represented a Phoenix-area House seat for a decade, was among a handful of Senate Democratic candidates who won their contests in key battleground states despite former Vice President Harris falling short in each of them.

The first-term senator has been frank about his prescriptions for the Democratic Party, including urging members of his party to meaningfully engage with Latino and Hispanic voters, focus on the middle class and give reasons for key voting blocs like young men to vote for the party.

“We're just not ever going to be as cool as some of these Republicans, it’s just not,"........

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