Arizona's Sen. Gallego backs Chuck Schumer for Democrats' Senate leader

Published November 11, 2026 at 10:27 AM MST After last week’s sweeping wins for Democrats, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York faces questions about whether he’ll get enough support to continue leading his party in the U.S Senate. Arizona Sen.

Ruben Gallego says he’s backing Schumer. Gallego’s endorsement comes after Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he wouldn’t support Schumer as Senate majority leader.

Sanders said there needs to be debate at the capitol for the party’s direction and that it’s time for a new generation of leadership. Meanwhile, Gallego said Schumer is the best path forward after helping Democrats win across the country during the midterm elections. “When the manager takes you to the World Series, you give him another contract.

And this has been a really good election cycle for us," Gallego said. Gallego claimed that unifying behind Schumer would also help push Democrats' legislative agenda. "We’re going to work together as a caucus to put a plan together about how to move forward for what the country wants us to do and I think we have the person who is going to lead us there," Gallego said.

Schumer endorsed Gallego in his 2024 Senate bid against Republican Kari Lake. Schumer’s principal campaign committee also helped raise money for Gallego in that election cycle. Follow Arizona and Maricopa County results for the 2026 general election.

Associated Press will continue to update returns as data is made available. A 0.2 percent sales tax to pay for jails, juvenile detention, correctional healthcare and probation in Maricopa County appears to have been approved by voters. The recent election also marked a turning point for Native American women, whose leadership in their families and communities has rarely translated to formal political power.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office has referred a campaign finance complaint against Republican lawmaker Ralph Heap to the Attorney General’s Office for further investigation. The Department of Homeland Security could pay the city of Surprise $8 million for water and related services, according to a draft report released by the agency that concluded a proposed ICE detention center would “substantially increase” water demand.