Gallego making Iowa stop amid 2028 speculation

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is set to make a trip to Iowa next month as speculation about possible presidential ambitions stirs around the first-term senator. 

Gallego’s political operation announced in a press release Wednesday that he will visit the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 8. Then, the next day, he will hold a town hall with the Iowa Democratic Party and House Democrats’ campaign arm to discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s impact on Iowa families.

The release states he will also discuss how Iowa lawmakers such as Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) “turned their backs on Iowans to give billionaires yet another tax cut.” 

“Ruben’s visit to the state follows his commitment to go anywhere and talk to anyone about the impact the GOP’s dangerous policies will have on American families,” it continues, noting his prior trip to Bucks County, Pa., and participation in a virtual town hall hosted by the Alaska Democratic Party. 

President Trump signed the massive spending and tax bill into law Friday, marking the first major legislative accomplishment of his second term. The act includes a wide range of provisions, including an extension of the tax cuts Trump first enacted in 2017, significantly more funding for immigration enforcement and cuts to Medicaid spending. 

Democrats have zeroed in particularly on the changes to Medicaid, with Trump’s law potentially pushing more than 12 million low-income Americans off their insurance over the next decade. The law requires “able-bodied” adult beneficiaries of the program to prove they are working or in school for at least 80 hours per month, and requires recipients living above the poverty line to pay out-of-pocket copays for most services.

“The new Republican budget law spells bad news for Iowans,” the release from Gallego states. “The law will kick more than 100,000 Iowans off Medicaid and put hospitals and nursing homes at risk of closing. All the while, Iowans will see their energy costs go up all to fund tax breaks for billionaires.” 

Ernst particularly came under scrutiny for comments she made defending potential Medicaid cuts; in response to concerns expressed at a town hall that the changes would cause people to die, Ernst said, “We are all going to die.”

Miller-Meeks came close to losing her reelection bid last year and will be one of Democrats’ top targets in 2026 as the party tries to flip the House.

Gallego’s trip also comes as he has been one of several Democrats rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential run. He outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris to win his Senate seat in November despite the Democratic presidential nominee losing Arizona to Trump.

The senator told NBC News earlier this year that the idea of running for president has occurred to him, but he’s not currently focused on it.