A pretty wild story, if you have a minute

Back when I was that kid sleeping on the floor of our apartment, I never could’ve guessed this is how things would turn out. When I was a Marine in Iraq, I never could’ve guessed that I’d have to fight to defend our democracy at home.‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Hola, my friend. It’s Ruben. You might be wondering how this kid… [Image of Ruben Gallego as a child]( …ended up here, running for the U.S. Senate, in one of the most competitive races in the entire country. [Image of Ruben Gallego speaking at an event]( Well, it started back in the apartment I shared with my mom and my sisters after our dad left. It was tough. I was sleeping on the floor because that’s all we could afford. Image of Ruben Gallego with his siblings I knew I had to do whatever it took to build a better life for us. I worked a bunch of jobs all through school to help make ends meet. [Image of Ruben Gallego as a teenager]( Thanks to my family, my community, and a lot of hard work, I got into college. But before I graduated, I enlisted in the Marines to serve the country that gave me so much. [Image of Ruben Gallego in the marines]( I deployed to Al Anbar, Iraq with my brothers in arms. They called us “Lucky Lima”, but our luck turned eventually. We ended up the hardest Marine hit unit of the entire Iraq war, and I lost some of my best friends over there. [Image of Ruben Gallego with his unit]( You’re never the same person after something like that. And I knew I had to do something to improve things for the guys I served with, for people who grew up like me. So, I ended up running for Congress — and I won. [Image of Ruben Gallego speaking into a microphone at a campaign event]( Then, on January 6th, everything changed. It became clear to me that public service wasn’t just about improving the lives of the people in my community anymore — it was about defending our democracy, too. [Image of Ruben Gallego in the Capitol on January 6th]( So now, I’m running for the U.S. Senate. My opponent Kari Lake continues to spread the same lies and conspiracies that caused January 6th in the first place, and she’s one of the greatest threats to our democracy — after Trump himself. [Image of Kari Lake with Donald Trump]( Back when I was that kid sleeping on the floor of our apartment, I never would’ve guessed this is how things would turn out. When I was a Marine in Iraq, I never would’ve thought I’d have to fight to defend our democracy at home. When I launched my first campaign, I never would’ve imagined that hundreds of thousands of people would back me up and donate to support me, either. And I never, ever would’ve thought I’d need to ask supporters like you, people who have already done so much, to do a bit more. But to defeat Kari Lake and win in Arizona, that’s what I have to do. I need you to do a bit more. [Please — if you can afford to make a split donation of $10 or anything you can to Fight for Reform, to help them elect state and local Democrats, and my campaign, it would mean the world. A fundraising deadline is right around the corner, and we’ve got a ton of progress to make on our goals between now and then.]( If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your split donation between Fight for Reform and Ruben Gallego will go through immediately: [CONTRIBUTE $10 »]( [CONTRIBUTE $25 »]( [CONTRIBUTE $50 »]( [CONTRIBUTE $100 »]( [Or a custom donation »]( Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you and the team we’ve built together. Semper Fi, Ruben Ruben Gallego is only asking for contributions of up to $5,000 from individuals, federal PACs, and other federally permissible sources for End Citizens United-Nonfederal. Ruben Gallego is not asking for contributions in excess of that amount or any contributions from corporations, unions, or other federally prohibited sources. Paid for by End Citizens United-Nonfederal. Paid political advertisement paid for and provided by End Citizens United Nonfederal, P.O. Box 66005, Washington, D.C. 20035. Authorized by Gallego for Arizona. Your contribution to FFR will be used in connection with FFR’s matching funds program to match the contributions of other contributors. Contributions to End Citizens United Non-federal will be used in End Citizens United Non-federal’s sole discretion and are not being earmarked for use in any particular state or election. Contributions to End Citizens United Non-Federal are not tax deductible. [fightforreform.org](#) Thank you for supporting Fight For Reform, a State Level Project of End Citizens United. The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision completely changed the landscape of American politics -- it opened the door for billionaires, corporations, and special interests to spend unlimited, untraceable money to influence our elections. Fight For Reform is standing up to Big Money by electing champions of campaign finance reform and voting rights to state government, and passing reform ballot initiatives. Please, consider making a [one-time contribution by clicking here](. Or, to help us reject the Big Money status quo in states and cities across the country, make a [monthly sustaining contribution by clicking here](. [Click here]( to request fewer emails. Click here to [unsubscribe](. [Please: Pitch In Once A Month To Fight for Reform »]( [Donate Just One Time »](