Congressman Adam Schiff stumps for Ruben Gallego in Arizona

California Congressman Adam Schiff is in Arizona to stump for fellow Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who is running to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate.

Schiff’s trip is part of a multi-state swing that has seen him campaign for other Democrats running in competitive Senate races, including Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and former Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

“I think around the country, people recognize Arizona as a key battleground, where competitive House seats, a competitive Senate race, a competitive battleground state in the presidential all converge in the same place,” Schiff said.

Schiff, who is running for U.S. Senate in California, is not campaigning with other Arizona Democrats running in competitive House races. That includes former state legislators Amish Shah and Kirsten Engel, who are trying to unseat Republican Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani, respectively.

Schiff’s pitch to Arizonans revolves around Gallego’s record of public service, from his time in the Marine Corps to his career as a state and federal lawmaker. He said he believes that message will resonate in Arizona, a state that has elected Democrats in two straight Senate races even though Republicans outnumber Democrats statewide.

“This is a person of conviction who is devoted to the country, and that's what we need to be looking for,” Schiff said. “That's what we need in office these days. To me, that's much more important than whether someone agrees with me on everything.”

Schiff pointed to Gallego’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when he helped calm fellow members of Congress as a riot unfurled in and outside of the Capitol.

“And it was good having a Marine on the House floor that day,” Schiff said, relaying a story about Gallego helping others breathe properly while using gas masks so they would not hyperventilate.

Schiff said he believes the events of Jan. 6 and efforts to undermine the results of past elections will play a significant role in this election.

“Apart from Donald Trump, Kari Lake is probably one of the most preeminent election deniers around the country,” Schiff said.

Polls consistently show Gallego leading Lake, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, by four points or more. That comes as Trump maintains leads of 1-2% in polls.

Lake, who has spread false claims that her loss in the 2022 gubernatorial election was the result of widespread election fraud, has continued to dodge questions about whether she will accept the results of the upcoming election.

“And of course, if this race is run, campaign is run, lawfully, in accordance with the law, there's nothing more that I want to do than accept that,” Lake said earlier this month. “So absolutely, and I hope that if it's a lawfully run election that we’ll have no problems.

But Lake declined to elaborate on what specifically would convince her the election was run in accordance with the law and didn’t answer if she would accept the results in November if she lost while Trump won Arizona.