Arizona was supposed to be a narrowly contested swing state in 2024, but President Trump carried it by a comfortable 5.5 percent margin. How, then, did Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) triumph in the state’s open Senate race against his Trump-aligned opponent?

The answer lies in his appeal to America’s commonsense middle. These voters tilted toward Trump but remain open to Democrats who will listen and speak their language. Gallego shows the way.

In his campaign and now in the Senate, Gallego has been both proudly Democratic and proudly independent in his style and message. He says he is not a repeat of his predecessor, Kyrsten Sinema, who won the seat as a Democrat but ultimately left the party. But he also isn’t afraid to rethink Democratic orthodoxy and work with Republicans when priorities overlap.

“We’re not going to just automatically knee-jerk and reject anything that comes from the White House,” he said........

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