{"id":14265,"date":"2024-07-30T15:24:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T15:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14265"},"modified":"2024-07-30T15:26:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T15:26:01","slug":"someone-to-believe-in-them-gallego-has-a-message-arizona-voters-must-hear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14265","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Someone to believe in them&#8217;: Gallego has a message Arizona voters must hear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>All of us have something in common, our humanity, our need not just for survival but to thrive. We need a U.S. senator who can look toward common goals, not tear us further apart.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>By <strong>Elvia D\u00edaz<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" src=\"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/74592341007-ruben-gallego-005.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/74592341007-ruben-gallego-005.webp 660w, https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/74592341007-ruben-gallego-005-300x200.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You can often tell when emotions are raw, real and from the heart \u2014 something of a rarity in today\u2019s poisonous political environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That moment came on Monday at the heart of a mostly Hispanic neighborhood in Phoenix where some of the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of Latino leaders gathered to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/07\/29\/rep-ruben-gallego-touts-latino-support-as-senate-primary-ends\/74583725007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">throw their support behind U.S. Rep. Rub\u00e9n Gallego<\/a> in his bid for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Democrat Gallego will almost certainly face Kari Lake, who\u2019s the favorite to win Tuesday\u2019s Republican primary against Mark Lamb. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Latinos can identify with Ruben Gallego<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AZCENTRAL-Embed Player\" width=\"540\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/uw-media.azcentral.com\/embed\/video\/74478678007?placement=snow-embed\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>The rally attracted some heavy hitters, like Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar, M\u00f3nica Villalobos of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and state and local elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were the likes of immigration lawyer Yasser Sanchez, a Republican, who choked up when talking about the immigrant experience and how there\u2019s no room in the Republican Party for folks like him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there was Luisa Yba\u00f1ez, who spoke of Gallego\u2019s struggles, which are multipled by thousands or hundreds of thousands of immigrants in Arizona and across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRuben Gallego is the son of immigrants just like me,\u2019\u2019 Yba\u00f1ez said of Gallego\u2019s experience as a poor kid, brought up by a single mom and who had to take odd jobs to help the family. \u201cHe listens to us and knows he needs to make life easier for working families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not necessarily what Yba\u00f1ez said that touched me. It\u2019s <em>how<\/em> she said it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ASU student makes an emotional plea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>She stood behind a podium covered with <em>Juntos con Gallego<\/em> (or, Together with Gallego) signs, head-down at first as if to compose herself from choking up, then lifted her face to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I bet many immigrants see themselves reflected in this 20-year-old Arizona State University student who is on the cusp of reaching her own American dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many of us, like Yba\u00f1ez, that dream isn\u2019t clich\u00e9 or a political slogan. It\u2019s real. It\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s what America offers, as Gallego himself reminded the crowd and the press gathered on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve known Gallego for years, but I haven\u2019t seen him light up like this as he reflected about that immigrant experience, talking about <em>la familia<\/em> (family) and proudly proclaiming his heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a husband, a father, a Marine combat veteran. Y soy, Latino,\u201d Gallego proudly told the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an immigrant myself, this was a touching moment \u2014 something I\u2019ve come to appreciate even more with time and as the political landscape changes to darker tones and deeper divisions tearing our country apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Arizona needs a senator who can unite us<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Latinos \u2014 those who appreciate their heritage or, at least, understand they can\u2019t hide it, whether they want to or not \u2014 should appreciate Gallego\u2019s pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Harvard-educated Gallego knows this election is about Latinos, who make up a third of Arizona\u2019s population, as much as it is about the rest of Arizonans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe Latinos can live the American dream, but we need to have somebody who can actually fight for us, who actually believe in us,\u201d Gallego said, quickly adding that extends to all Arizonans. \u201cEveryone needs someone to believe in them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arizona is home to nearly 7.5 million people of different ethnicities, cultural and political backgrounds. It\u2019s home to white, Native American, Black, Asian, Latino and many more residents. They\u2019re Republicans, Democrats, independents or not involved in politics at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But all of us have something in common, our humanity, our need not just for survival but to thrive. We need a U.S. senator who can look toward common goals, not tear us further apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Elvia D\u00edaz is editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.&nbsp;Reach her at 602-444-8606 or&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com\" target=\"_blank\">elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com<\/a>. Follow her on X, (formerly Twitter),&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elviadiaz1\" target=\"_blank\">@elviadiaz1<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>All of us have something in common, our humanity, our need not just for survival but to thrive. We need a U.S. senator who can look toward common goals, not tear us further apart. By <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14265\" title=\"&#8216;Someone to believe in them&#8217;: Gallego has a message Arizona voters must hear\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,70],"tags":[84,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-14265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-slider","8":"category-latino-vote","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-latino-vote"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14265"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14271,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14265\/revisions\/14271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}