While Trump occupied the White House, Gallego pushed back against Trump’s border plans, calling them “stupid and detrimental.” As a Senate candidate and with public opinion squarely displeased with border conditions under President Joe Biden, Gallego has described it as a “crisis” that needs legislative action.

In the only scheduled debate for Arizona’s open U.S. Senate race, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego sought to cast Republican Kari Lake as having extreme views. Lake said Gallego had undergone an "extreme makeover" to make his liberal views more palatable to moderate and conservative voters.

At times, Kari Lake, the Republican candidate and close ally of Donald Trump, veered into personal attacks. Ruben Gallego, the Democrat, needled her over frequent visits to Mar-a-Lago.

The lone Arizona Senate debate between Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake highlighted national partisan divides on the border, abortion policy and more.