Senate race in Arizona heats up as Gallego gains Republican backing over Kari Lake [Video]

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego is promoting Republican backing for his Senate campaign as the congressman works to assemble a winning coalition in the swing state.

A list released Sunday of 39 Republican and independent supporters of his campaign includes moderate Republicans and some former Republicans who held elected office or other roles in business or politics. Several are former aides to the late Sen. John McCain, the famed Arizona Republican and onetime prisoner of war who was known for occasionally bucking his party.

Gallego’s Republican opponent, Kari Lake, has criticized McCain in the past and once suggested he was a “loser.”

Democrats have made inroads in Arizona after decades of GOP dominance. While Republicans have more registered voters in the state, President Joe Biden, Sen. Mark Kelly, Gov. Katie Hobbs and other Democrats have cobbled together narrow victories by holding their party together, dominating among independents and getting support from an outsize share …