Arizona New Members 2025

Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)

Date of Birth / Nov. 20, 1979
Residence / Phoenix  
Occupation / U.S. representative 
Education: B.A., Harvard University 
Family / Married to Sydney with a daughter, and a son from his previous marriage 

Ruben Gallego, a retired Marine and longtime U.S. House representative, is set to become Arizona’s first Latino senator. 

Gallego beat out Arizona Republican candidate Kari Lake in a contentious race for the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent.  

A child of immigrant parents from Colombia and Mexico, Gallego grew up in Chicago and was raised by his single mother, Elisa Gallego, along with his three sisters.  

After graduating from Harvard University, Gallego joined the Marines. He served from 2002 to 2006 and was deployed to Iraq with the Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines — a company that lost 23 men, among the most casualties of any Marine unit in Iraq. 

Gallego was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010 and served as a state legislator until 2014, when he announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Gallego went on to serve in the House from 2015 to 2023.  

He met his wife Sydney Gallego through mutual friends at the congressional baseball game in 2018. They were married in a private ceremony in December 2019 before a larger celebration in Puerto Rico in June 2021. The two welcomed a daughter in July 2023. 

— Ellen Mitchell 

Rep.-elect Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.-3)

Date of Birth / April 7, 1992  
Residence / Phoenix  
Occupation / Former Pheonix City Council member  
Education / MPhil, University of Cambridge  
Family / Unmarried with no children  

The youngest woman ever elected to the Phoenix City Council, Yassamin Ansari, is now headed to Washington, D.C., to represent downtown Phoenix and surrounding areas in the House.  

She is a longtime climate advocate, having worked United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office on the team that led the Paris Climate Agreement. 

She also worked on climate issues with then-California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and was an Arizona organizer for former President Obama’s 2008 campaign.  

Ansari was elected to the Phoenix City Council in 2021 and became vice mayor of the city in 2023, roles she served in until earlier this year.  

Her victory this November came after she won her congressional primary by about 0.1 percentage points — fewer than 40 votes.   

She will replace Rep. Ruben Gallego (D), who left the seat open to run for Senate this cycle. Ansari in the general election faced Republican Jeff Zink, who also unsuccessfully ran two years ago against Gallego. 

— Zach Schonfeld 

Rep.-elect Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.-8)

Date of Birth / May 15, 1991  
Residence / Maricopa County, Ariz.  
Occupation / Former prosecutor and intelligence officer  
Education / J.D., University of Arizona College of Law  
Family / Unmarried with no children  

A former intelligence captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Abe Hamadeh is headed to Congress to represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, which spans the northwest suburbs of Phoenix.  

He will replace Rep. Debbie Lesko (R), who has held the red-leaning seat since 2018 and didn’t seek reelection to instead run for a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.  

Hamadeh grew up in the area and is the son of immigrants from Syria and Venezuela. He received his law degree after earning a political science degree from Arizona State University.  

Beyond his time in the military, he is also a former prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office who went on to narrowly lose the race for Arizona attorney general in 2022.  

Hamadeh has vowed to leverage his experiences to prioritize border security and election integrity. He received the endorsement of former President Trump.

— Zach Schonfeld