Fifty-two House Democrats joined Republicans in voting to prevent non-citizens from casting votes in Washington, D.C. elections. One of them was Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who had previously voted to allow non-citizens to vote in the District of Columbia elections. Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake (R), who is running against him for Senator Kyrsten Sinema's (I-AZ) seat, ripped the incumbent in response, calling him "nothing but a career politician and political opportunist."
Last year, Rep. Gallego voted to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections for Washington, D.C. In his statement, Gallego argued, "I believe voting is a fundamental right reserved for the citizens of the United States, and I will oppose any effort to erode that right in Arizona and on the federal level. But Washington, D.C. is not Arizona, and I do not believe Congress should be in the business of telling the residents of Washington, D.C. how to hold their democratic elections. Today's vote, if anything, is yet another example of why we need D.C. statehood, so those living in Washington no longer find themselves at the mercy of a vindictive Republican House majority."
However, he changed his tune and voted to prohibit non-citizens from voting.
Does Texas have a constitutional right to defy Supreme Court on protecting its border?
The Kari Lake campaign quickly responded, stating, "Ruben Gallego is nothing but a career politician and political opportunist. Flip-flopping on the issues now won't trick Arizonans into thinking he's a moderate after we've watched him vote for open-borders policies time and time again over his decade in Washington, D.C. I'm running for Senate to stop career politicians like Gallego, and to be a true voice in D.C. for the everyday Arizonans who deserve a secure border, strong national security and safe communities."
Lake blasted Gallego's change of heart as insincere, saying, "Now that he is running for Senate and finds it politically convenient – Gallego flip-flopped and voted against allowing non-citizens to vote in D.C. elections."
Notably, the Senate had recently tried to reintroduce the heavily panned bipartisan border deal introduced by Sen. Sinema earlier this week. Still, a group of Republicans under Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), including Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), said they would oppose it, accusing Democrats of reintroducing the deal to save face before the November election.
