EXCLUSIVE — An Arizona county sheriff who has seen the border crisis firsthand is endorsing Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) for Senate in a state where the border and high rates of illegal immigration have become a flashpoint.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway, a Democrat who represents a dark blue county in the battleground state, endorsed Gallego on Wednesday, calling the Democratic congressman a friend to law enforcement.
“Ruben Gallego has been a longtime ally to Arizona’s border law enforcement agencies and communities, working to deliver the funding we desperately need to have a secure but profitable border — where other politicians simply use the idea of the border for personal political gain. Ruben is different,” Hathaway said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “Arizona’s border communities and law enforcement need Ruben Gallego in the U.S. Senate. I am proud to endorse his campaign.”
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Hathaway, a former head of the local Drug Enforcement Administration office, was elected in 2020. The sheriff oversees a county that includes Nogales, a critical point of entry with Mexico. Santa Cruz County is considered a Democratic stronghold in the Grand Canyon State, and voted overwhelmingly for President Joe Biden in 2020 and Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Hathaway’s county is within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Tucson sector, which includes Nogales and runs from the Yuma County line to the New Mexico State line. This region has recently seen the largest rise in migrant traffic, according to monthly statistics released.
From October 2023 through January 2024, Tucson sector border patrol agents encountered more than 250,000 migrants crossing into Arizona, exceeding the sectors of Del Rio in Texas and San Diego in California.
“Keeping Arizonans safe will always be my top priority, which is why I’m honored to have Sheriff Hathaway’s support,” Gallego said in a statement. “A proven leader committed to increasing public safety and reducing crime, he knows the importance of both securing our border and maintaining a beneficial trade relationship with Mexico.”
Hathaway’s endorsement comes a day after Gallego’s campaign released the first television ad of his Senate run, an attempt to introduce himself to Arizona voters. Gallego is likely to face Kari Lake, who is the front-running Republican candidate, in a race now considered a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. The race to replace retiring Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) could decide control of the Senate, where Democrats have a narrow majority of 51-49.
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National polling continues to show the public believes immigration is one of the most important problems facing the country. A Monmouth University poll released in late February found eight in 10 people across partisan lines saw illegal immigration as at least a somewhat serious problem. Sixty-one percent of all respondents say it’s a very serious problem. Among Republicans, 91% see illegal immigration as a very serious issue, compared with 58% of independents and 41% of Democrats.