Kari Lake, the Republican Senate candidate, responded on Friday to Democrat Ruben Gallego’s calls for an apology following the public release of his divorce records. The heated exchange between the Arizona Senate candidates intensified after a lengthy legal battle to keep Gallego’s divorce files sealed was brought to an end by the Arizona Supreme Court. Lake held a press conference where she highlighted the stark contrasts between her campaign and Gallego’s, framing the situation as emblematic of their differences.
Ruben Gallego, a progressive Democrat and Arizona Congressman, has been fighting for nearly a year to prevent his divorce records from being released. The Washington Free Beacon initially filed a motion in January, arguing that the public had a right to access the files due to the public’s interest in knowing more about their lawmakers. The fight over the unsealing of the records culminated on Thursday, when the Arizona Supreme Court rejected Gallego’s final appeal to keep the documents private.
The divorce records, which involve Gallego’s separation from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, were unsealed, revealing several details that have raised eyebrows in Arizona political circles. One of the more notable revelations was that Ruben Gallego filed for divorce while his then-wife was nine months pregnant and on the verge of giving birth. The documents show that Ruben Gallego claimed the marriage was “irretrievably broken,” a fact that Kate Gallego said she was unaware of at the time.
Another aspect of the case that caught attention was Ruben Gallego’s request for his ex-wife to cover his legal fees during the divorce process. These details, while not involving personal information about their child, cast a negative light on Gallego’s actions during the breakup. The contentious nature of the divorce, especially the timing and financial demands, has been politically damaging for Gallego, as he campaigns for a Senate seat in Arizona.
In the aftermath of the records being unsealed, Gallego and his ex-wife demanded an apology from Kari Lake. They accused Lake of spreading false information about their family and exploiting the situation for political gain. Gallego argued that Lake had endangered the privacy and well-being of their son by making speculative comments about the divorce and suggesting that there might be damaging information in the files. He claimed that his primary motivation for fighting to keep the records sealed was to protect his child from public scrutiny and political attacks.
Lake, however, dismissed the accusations during her press conference. She asserted that she had no involvement in the legal proceedings to unseal the records, nor did she have any influence over the media outlets pushing for the documents’ release. Lake maintained that it was the media’s job to seek transparency in public figures’ lives and that Gallego’s attempt to keep the files hidden for nearly a year raised suspicions among voters.
“The fact that Ruben Gallego spent almost a million dollars fighting to keep his divorce records sealed was concerning to a lot of people,” Lake said. “This isn’t about his family; this is about his transparency as a public figure. What kind of leader tries to hide important information from the people?”
Lake went on to emphasize that she was focused on the issues that matter to Arizona voters, such as inflation, border security, and healthcare. She framed Gallego’s divorce battle as a distraction from the real problems facing the state and suggested that his campaign was more focused on protecting his personal reputation than addressing the needs of Arizonans.
Gallego’s campaign, however, sees the situation differently. They believe that Lake’s comments and the unsealing of the records have only deepened the political mudslinging, furthering a toxic narrative around the campaign. Gallego’s supporters argue that the release of the records was an invasion of privacy, and that Lake’s rhetoric has added unnecessary drama to an already contentious Senate race.
With the Arizona Senate election looming, both candidates continue to trade barbs in what has become a highly competitive and heated contest. While Lake uses Gallego’s divorce battle to highlight his alleged lack of transparency, Gallego is attempting to focus on policy issues and paint Lake as an opportunistic politician willing to exploit personal tragedies for political gain.
As the campaign intensifies, voters in Arizona will have to decide whether these personal controversies will play a significant role in their decision, or if the candidates’ stances on key issues will take precedence.
The Kari Lake campaign provided a statement to the media following the release of Gallego’s divorce records:
For nearly a year, The Washington Free Beacon has sued to unseal Ruben Gallego’s divorce records. Ruben fought tooth and nail to conceal them, but ultimately the AZ Supreme Court, AZ Court of Appeals & Yavapai County Superior Court all unanimously ruled the records should be unsealed. Today, the appalling divorce records were finally unsealed.
Caroline Wren, Senior Advisor to Kari Lake Released the Following Statement:
“It’s bizarre that Ruben Gallego would demand an apology from Kari Lake for his appalling behavior. Everyone knows Kari Lake had nothing to do with this lawsuit, which was filed by an independent media outlet.
However, we do find the revelations from the divorce records to be shocking, especially considering Ruben Gallego is spending millions on advertising claiming to want to protect women, yet he served his unsuspecting wife with divorce papers when she was days away from giving birth, and even demanded she pay his attorney’s fees!
If Ruben Gallego will turn his back on his pregnant wife days before she gives birth, he will turn his back on Arizona.”
Lake further responded in her press conference Friday, slamming Gallego and the media for acting like Gallego walking out on his family is not a big deal.
WATCH:
Reporter: They are asking for an apology. Your reflections on that case and how you’ve discussed it previously. “If I had something that revealed such a massive character flaw like that, you guys would be all over it,” said Lake.
Lake: I’m not sure why I should apologize. I didn’t walk out on anybody. I didn’t leave my spouse in a vulnerable state. I think actually he probably should apologize for his behavior. And it’s unfortunate that, you know, nobody’s really been covering this. It’s unfortunate—I found out that the person responsible for trying to get these records was a reporter from probably 2500, 3000 miles away. Not one of you guys dug into that. He was the first one to start talking about his divorce. And when a reporter said, “I would like to fact-check what he said.” And went to look for the divorce records, which almost in every case, are public, he found out they were sealed. And so that reporter started digging and said, “I’d like to find out why these are sealed.” And a judge agreed, because he’s running for public office, they should not be sealed. And I had so many really strange messages from many of you yesterday that came into our campaign office. “There’s nothing here, you said that, this is a nothing burger, what’s the big deal?” What’s the big deal? A man walks out on his wife, serves her divorce papers, broadsides her. She has no idea this is coming. You know, I just imagine if that happened to my daughter if she was pregnant, and we’re days away from expecting our grandbaby, and she calls me, and I think she’s going to be calling me about some cute little outfit she might have found, and she’s crying and says that her husband is leaving her, she’s just a few days away from giving birth, serves her with divorce papers right before Christmas. I’m sorry that you guys don’t think that’s a big deal. I think that’s a pretty big deal. It tells me a lot about the character of that man. She had no idea it was coming. Hit her like a ton of bricks. She had to go in and deliver that baby alone. And you in the media think it’s no big deal. You haven’t even covered it. If I had something that revealed such a massive character flaw like that, you guys would be all over it, truly. It’s really sad. It’s despicable. The media is so in bed with the Democrats right now. It’s really shocking. I think there’s a time for soul searching, and the time is now, guys.
There are so many really pitifully stupid people in this country that I doubt it will ever return to greatness, it’s too late. The fact that people on border states inundated with violent and needy illegals will still vote for demonrats is my proof. I keep hearing that even Texas is turning red. Too many americans are fat slobs always on their phones and willing to believe whatever the scum on the tv tell them