Democratic Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for Senate as a populist critic of Wall Street, has accepted more than $100,000 from investment bankers, lobbyists, consultants and corporate attorneys, according to his campaign’s Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
Gallego, who considered a primary challenge to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema before she left the Democratic Party in December, has repeatedly inveighed against Arizona’s senior senator. He accused Sinema of being narcissistic and not a team player in 2022, and insinuated in his campaign announcement that she is an “advocate” for the “rich and the powerful.” Gallego blasted Sinema for accepting $483,000 in combined donations from employees of Blackstone and the Carlyle Group, while claiming that his campaign received the most money from teachers.
Kyrsten Sinema raised $287,000 from employees of the investment firm Blackstone and $196,000 from private equity firm the Carlyle Group.
Our top donor occupation was a school teacher.https://t.co/N0zo4e9K8C
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) April 15, 2023
Despite his everyman claims, Gallego accepted more than $106,000 in campaign funds from Wall Street employees, a Daily Caller analysis found. In particular, he accepted maximum $6,600 donations from at least two big law attorneys, five institutional investors, one lobbyist, one big tech employee, a McKinsey consultant, and a public relations executive.
Notably, Gallego raised more money from lawyers than any other profession, the Daily Caller found, despite his claims that his donors’ top occupation was teacher.
Even after Gallego filed his campaign finance report, he continued to attack Sinema and her donors. (RELATED: ‘Answers To Corporations And Billionaires’: Dems Blast Kyrsten Sinema After She Leaves The Party)
“Why does Kyrsten Sinema raise so much money from Wall Street hedge funds?” he asked. “It’s simple: they give because she uses the power and privilege of her office to protect their profits.”
Why does Kyrsten Sinema raise so much money from Wall Street hedge funds?
It’s simple: they give because she uses the power and privilege of her office to protect their profits. Rush $10 to help power our campaign through Election Day!https://t.co/yl4k039vYu
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) April 18, 2023
Gallego accepted a $1,000 donation from Silicon Valley Bank managing director Steve Agular in late February, less than three weeks before SVB declared bankruptcy. The bank was a major donor to left-wing organizations, including groups associated with Black Lives Matter and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s family foundation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters of California returned donations from SVB’s political action committee and CEO, although Gallego appears not to have done so.
The Democratic congressman was quick to blame Sinema’s 2018 vote to roll back some regulations for SVB’s collapse, although economists and even Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez have noted that regulators still should have foreseen trouble for the bank. Sinema was one of 46 congressional Democrats who supported raising a key regulatory threshold from $50 billion in assets to $250 billion. SVB managed $212 billion, Business Insider reported.
“Sinema is in the pocket of Wall Street, and her vote put hardworking Arizona, their families, and their small business, at risk of another 2008-like meltdown,” Gallego said. He also called for the federal government to investigate SVB for insider trading and claw back money from their executives.
Gallego’s campaign did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment for this story.
Overall, Gallego raised more than $3.7 million in Q1 of 2023, and has more than $2.7 million on hand. Sinema raised $2.1 million in Q1 of 2023, and has more than $9.9 million on hand.