Arizona border mayor appeared with Kari Lake but endorsed Ruben Gallego. What to know about candidates

Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado formally endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego on Tuesday, citing Gallego's commitment to making life better along the Mexican border.

It was the kind of backing that can get lost in campaigns that tout endorsements or hold regular public events across the state.

But Maldonado was different in at least one important way: In November, he appeared alongside Gallego’s Republican rival Kari Lake for her “Mama Bear Border Tour.”

“Ruben Gallego has a deep understanding of our community here in Nogales and a genuine commitment to making Arizona a better place for all of us,” the mayor said in a statement.

“His passion for public service and his willingness to fight for Arizona’s border communities are qualities we desperately need in the U.S. Senate. I know Ruben will never use our city as a political talking point. Instead, he will be a tireless advocate for Nogales and our entire state.”

Maldonado is one of three border mayors, along with mayors Nieves Riedel of San Luis and Gerardo Anaya of Somerton, who are backing Gallego.

Their endorsements reflect the different ways the Senate campaigns are pitching themselves to voters on one of the race’s more important issues.

For Lake, border security is tied almost exclusively to her support from former President Donald Trump. For Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is challenging Lake for the GOP nomination, the issue is a pillar of his campaign, and his law enforcement experience is his selling point.

There are other issues in the Senate race, from inflation and the economy to abortion rights and America’s role in international war zones. But few come with the frequency or fervor around Arizona’s border with Mexico.

Lake: Aligned with Trump on border security, better walls

Lake reminds her audiences that she has Trump’s coveted endorsement and aligns herself with his hard-line policies on border security, especially with the additional construction of a wall along the Mexican border.

She has rolled out endorsements from most of the Senate Republicans she hopes to join and from the National Republican Senatorial Committee as well.

When asked last week for her prescription for lowering inflation, Lake invoked border security as part of the answer.

“The two are linked. They truly are. When we have 12 million people pouring in, that means Americans have to compete for housing and compete for all of the products and services that are out there,” Lake said with U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, at her side.

Lamb: An emphasis on enforcement, experience as sheriff

During an online chat last month, Lamb talked about his experience with border security.

“What have we done in Pinal County? We work with Border Patrol every day, we take our helicopter out. I have an anti-smuggling unit and my canines are completely dedicated to trafficking, whether it’s humans, drugs.”

He cited his agency’s recent confiscation of 80 pounds of fentanyl and nine pounds of cocaine in a single stop.

Lamb also emphasizes his support for Trump’s previous policies and rips Biden’s decision to largely undo those.

Lamb’s personalized message is intended to show an experience that Lake can’t match while demonstrating the same loyalty to Trump that is her hallmark.

Gallego: Border security bill would have helped

In Gallego’s case, the message may be simplified to this: I see a problem, too.

The five-term member of Congress supported the relatively conservative, security-focused bill drafted in part by U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., the person all the candidates hope to succeed.

He also distanced himself from President Joe Biden on matters such as ending pandemic-era immigration restrictions that were tied to health concerns but became a management tool that kept down border crossings.

These aren’t positions that are wildly popular with his former colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus but reflect the reality that border security and immigration are consistently a top issue with voters, mainly because Republicans are fixated on it.

In February, Sinema was part of a bipartisan group trying to hammer out legislation that would have tightened border security.

The resulting bill quickly sank in the Senate when Trump urged Republicans not to give Biden a win on the issue.

Where does immigration rank as an issue for Americans?

As that bill rounded into its final shape, a Gallup poll found immigration was the top issue for 28% of Americans, the highest reading on the issue in the survey’s history and the biggest spike since July 2019, when Trump was in the White House.

Gallup found a striking partisan divide over the issue. Most Republicans, 57%, rated immigration the top issue, but only 10% of Democrats did. Among independents, 22% identified it as their biggest concern.

While Sinema’s bill has languished, the public’s interest in the issue hasn’t much changed. Immigration was the top issue of concern in Gallup polls in March and April.

In June, with the border security bill going nowhere, Biden took executive action on the issue to temporarily halt asylum requests until that number recedes.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ruben Gallego, Kari Lake, Mark Lamb split on US-Mexico border issues