Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona announced on Monday (23) his campaign for the U.S. Senate, setting up a possible showdown in 2024 with Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who recently changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent.

Gallego, who is a Navy veteran and has served in the House since 2015, announced his candidacy in a video in English and Spanish.

Gallego's campaign plans to focus heavily on mobilizing the state’s Latino and youth vote. Descended from Colombians and Mexicans, he would be Arizona's first Latino senator if elected.

And in his ad video of his candidacy, he described the difficulties and financial instability his family faced when he was growing up:

“Most families feel that they are one or two paychecks away from going under. That is not the way that we should be living in this country. The rich and the powerful, they don’t need more advocates. It’s the people that are still trying to decide between groceries and utilities that need a fighter for them”.

Gallego said his mother, an immigrant, would “cry, like, every night, being stressed out about how she was gonna raise, like, four kids on a secretary’s salary, you know, with an absent father”,

Gallego also took direct aim at Sinema in a statement, saying she “abandoned Arizona” and has “repeatedly broken her promises, and fought for the interests of big pharma and Wall Street at our expense”, according to The Washington Post.

Kyrsten Sinema, who was in the middle of several bipartisan senate agreements last year, has not yet announced whether she will try for re-election. Her office declined to comment on Gallego’s announcement, according to the same publication.  She faced harsh criticism from Democrats for being opposed to key elements of President Joe Biden’s agenda.

Gallego was first elected to the House in 2014. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and also chaired the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, BOLD PAC, during the 2022 cycle.

Several Republicans are considering running for Sinema’s seat. Defeated Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is considering a Senate bid, according to CNN.

“Lake lost the Arizona governor’s race in November to Democrat Katie Hobbs by less than 1 point and has not conceded, falsely claiming […] that she won the election. An Arizona judge in December rejected Lake’s lawsuit attempting to overturn her defeat, concluding there wasn’t clear or convincing evidence of misconduct. […] The source told CNN that Lake will not make a final decision on a Senate run until after her court case is completed”.

Also according to CNN, Republican Blake Masters, who lost a challenge in November to incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly by almost 5 points, is also “strongly considering” running for Senate in 2024, according to a spokesperson. Masters has also denied the outcome of the 2020 election but, unlike Lake, conceded his race to Kelly.

According to The Post, Gallego's candidacy creates a dilemma for national Democrats because they may need  to choose where to apply resources, whether in support of a Democrat or the seat holder  who is  independent  and who votes broadly for  Democrats, but very unpopular among basic voters. “In past races, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has backed independents who caucus with Democrats. The 2024 map to keeping the Senate majority is brutal for Democrats, who are defending 23 seats, and a three-way race in the must-win state would add to their headaches”.