New allegations against Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) have surfaced, claiming he had relationships with Congressional staffers, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) is calling on Democratic Congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza to disavow him.
The Allegations
Sen. Gallego is alleged to have had two romantic dalliances with women working as aides to Texas Democrats. While the relationships were consensual and occurred while Sen. Gallego was unmarried, concerns center on him being an elected official dating staffers, and one woman was allegedly in her 20s, while the Arizona Senator was significantly older than her.
While Gallego is certainly not the first member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, to have personal baggage such as this under the microscope, the Republican National Committee is pressing the fact that Gallego has also been friends with men such as the disgraced former Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), political advisor Morris Katz, and endorsed Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner until last week, when Platner was accused of sexual assault.
Additionally, the RNC previously attacked Gallego in April for alleged instances of behaving inappropriately with women in the past, and Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) called for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate allegations brought forth by four women that were dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
"Self-described best friend of a rapist Ruben Gallego has been handsy, gross, and borderline violent towards women for years," said RNC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar, adding, "It's no surprise that he abused his position to have sex with staffers, and he should resign in disgrace."
Will Mendoza Disavow Him?
Democratic Congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza, who is running against Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) in Arizona's 6th Congressional District, had received Gallego's endorsement, but with these new allegations, the RNC is calling on her to disavow Gallego.
"Mendoza keeps finding herself connected to the weird, the bizarre, and the downright disgusting," said RNC spokesman Nick Poche, referencing the recent discoveries of Mendoza's two-week marriage to a Syrian national in 1998 and her official campaign Instagram following explicit accounts. "If she refuses to condemn Gallego and reject his endorsement, Mendoza is endorsing his behavior."
