‘Be mad’: Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego rallies Bucks County voters as Democrats target Fitzpatrick

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.), a freshman senator who has already gained attention as a potential 2028 presidential contender, urged Bucks County voters to stay angry as he took questions from residents in one of Pennsylvania’s most critical swing districts Saturday.

Speaking to a crowd that filled about half the theater in a Levittown middle school, Gallego, alongside Democratic leaders in Bucks County and Pennsylvania, highlighted the consequences of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office while arguing the area’s Republican congressman, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, was too scared to listen to the voices of his constituents.

Often, Gallego said, he is asked what to do about the Trump administration, its cuts to the federal workforce, immigration enforcement, and tariffs.

“Here’s my recommendations,” he said. “Be mad. Stay mad. And we fight.”

The town hall, which was hosted by the Democratic National Committee and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, is one of many the party has held in swing counties across the country in an effort to build momentum as the party looks for its next leaders.

Last year Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Bucks County since 1988, taking the county, which also voted for former Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, by just a few hundred votes. Fitzpatrick, Southeastern Pennsylvania’s lone Republican representative, retained his seat by a 12-point margin.

Gallego said he came to Bucks County on Saturday to hear how Trump’s policies and proposed cuts to social services would affect Fitzpatrick’s constituents. He came, he said, because Fitzpatrick had not held his own in-person town hall.

“He’d rather just run away altogether and hope that this problem goes away or that you forget that he was the key to this,” Gallego said, noting that Republicans have a four-vote majority in the House, meaning Fitzpatrick’s votes could prove decisive.

“He could make that difference to save lives, to actually take care of their constituents, to actually do his job.”

Fitzpatrick has not recently held an in-person town hall in his district. However, he often posts photos on social media of himself at events in the community. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Before becoming a senator, Gallego, who is Latino, represented a Phoenix-area district in the House. He is a Marine Corps veteran who succeeded in reaching out to working-class voters with a focus on the economy and a direct style.

He has broken with his party in the past on immigration, often pushing for stricter border enforcement.

In an hour of Q&A, the largely supportive Lower Bucks crowd grilled Gallego on how Democrats could more effectively fight back against Trump, reach out to swing voters, and chart a path forward in communities that have swung to the right.

Gallego, who outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in his victory last year against Republican Kari Lake, repeatedly returned to strategies he used in his own campaign. He argued that politicians are often too scared and need to talk to everyone.

“Let’s talk to them as Americans, not as Republicans, and tell them that we’re here, we’re here as Americans to do better,” Gallego said. “And there is room for you.”

Gallego’s 2024 win has garnered the freshman senator attention in the 2028 presidential conversation, especially as Democrats struggle to reclaim Latino voters, who drifted away from the party in last year’s presidential election.

While his visit to a battleground county in one of the most important swing states further fuels 2028 speculation, Gallego threw cold water on the idea talking to reporters ahead of the event.

“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now,” Gallego said, citing the forthcoming birth of his third child and his new role in the Senate.

Saturday’s event often returned to Fitzpatrick, who was first elected in 2016 and has kept his seat by building a reputation as a moderate Republican who seldom talks about Trump and is occasionally willing to break with his party.

A former FBI agent who was stationed in Ukraine in 2015, Fitzpatrick has subtly rebuked Trump in the first few months of his administration, pushing back against the administration’s treatment of Ukraine without directly invoking the president.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, who is running for the Democratic nomination to take on Fitzpatrick next year, spoke at the town hall, criticizing Fitzpatrick for not standing up against Trump or holding town halls in his district.

“Ten years is a long time, especially when you don’t have much to show for it,” Harvie said of Fitzpatrick’s time in office.

In a statement Saturday morning, the National Republican Campaign Committee slammed Harvie for appearing alongside Gallego, whom the NRCC described as radical.

“Harvie is a danger to Pennsylvanians,” said NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole.

Democrats have had an uphill battle ousting Fitzpatrick. The fifth-term congressman has prevailed even in difficult years for Republicans and has consistently outperformed his own party.

But Pennsylvania Democrats used Saturday’s event to place new pressure on him. U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat from Montgomery County, described him as a good person who has remained silent. Sharif Street, the chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, argued Fitzpatrick’s winning streak might be in danger as a slim majority forces him to take tougher votes.

“The circumstances are calling for him to meet the moment, and either he’s going to stand with the people of Bucks County and the 1st District or he’s going to stand with Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” he said.