Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) blasted Republican candidate Tanya Contreras Wheeless, accusing her of using her Hispanic maiden name to boost her congressional campaign as both parties seek to win the crucial voting bloc in the midterm elections.
Contreras Wheeless fired back on Wednesday, calling his accusations that she is “not sufficiently Latina” both “sexist and racist.” The comments come two weeks before Wheeless is set to face four primary opponents to secure the GOP nomination for Arizona’s newly redrawn 4th Congressional District, with the winner facing incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) in November.
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“Ruben Gallego’s claim that I am not sufficiently Latina because I don’t always use my full name is disappointing, but not surprising,” she wrote in a statement. “Many women change their last name when they get married, but that doesn’t change who they are or where they came from. Attacking me for using my married name is sexist and racist.”
“Well give her credit for being honest she [is] admitting to using her Latina last name when she ran for office,” Gallego replied on Twitter.
On Wednesday, Gallego accused the Republican candidate of only using her Hispanic “cuando le coviene,” or when it suits her. He pointed to previous news stories featuring Contreras Wheeless in which she was only referred to as “Tanya Wheeless.”
“In the years I have known of you in Arizona it wasn’t until you ran for office that you added Contreras. Glad you are [a] proud Latina now hope it will stay after you lose,” Gallego wrote. “FYI… google Tanya Wheelers see how often Contreras comes up prior to her running.”
Contreras Wheeless has leaned into her Mexican heritage as a candidate for Congress, telling the Washington Examiner in June that her congressional run was a fulfillment of her great grandparents’ “American dream.”
“When I’m elected, I will be the first Latina to represent Arizona in the Congress from either party in either chamber,” Contreras Wheeless said. “I think it’s a shame that is the case that we haven’t had that representation before. But I think it will be an incredible honor to be part of that history. And I like to think that’s what my great grandparents had in mind when they uprooted their young family and came to this country.”
Wednesday’s tense back and forth comes at a crucial time for Republican and Democratic candidates as both parties seek to make gains with Hispanic voters ahead of the midterm elections. Although Democrats have historically benefited from the crucial voting bloc, their numbers have dwindled as Latino voters shifted to the Right in recent elections.
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Latino voters moved toward Republican candidates in the 2020 election, shocking Democrats who are now seeking to maintain control of Congress. Hispanic voters swung toward former President Donald Trump by 8 points in the two-way vote share between the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, according to the Democratic data firm Catalist. Although President Joe Biden was elected with a majority of Latino voters backing him, his support has waned as inflation rises.
Democrats have since ramped up their spending on advertisements targeting Latino voters, announcing a seven-figure investment to launch radio and print ads in both English and Spanish throughout Latino-rich states that are shaping up to be crucial battlegrounds in November.
