Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) was investigated by the Arizona House in 2013 as a state lawmaker over allegations from female Democrats that he used a “sexual slur,” but the case was ultimately dropped after investigators said they were “unable to corroborate” the claim.
The female lawmakers who filed the harassment complaint later requested the speaker of the Arizona House reprimand Gallego, then the assistant minority leader, for nondescript “sexual remarks” they believe had “been spoken and directed” at them. They also wanted Gallego reprimanded for other behavior they described as intimidating amid a policy dispute, according to records obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The documents, obtained through a public records request from the Arizona House, can be viewed in full at the bottom of this story.
Gallego and another male lawmaker involved in the alleged incident denied that Gallego made the comments and were “reminded of the restrictions against unlawful harassment,” a rules attorney for the Arizona House wrote in his report of the investigation, which was sent to the speaker. No further official action was taken.
Investigators determined there was “insufficient information available to reach a conclusion that there has been unlawful harassment” and were “unable to corroborate the allegation of the making of a sexual slur by Rep. Gallego because Rep. Gallego denies making such a slur and no one interviewed says they heard him say it.”
The female Democrats who filed the complaint, Catherine Miranda and Lydia Hernandez, were not satisfied by the findings, however. After the investigation was concluded, the duo wrote a letter to then-GOP state House Speaker Andy Tobin seeking repercussions for the supposed slur and other interactions they said undermined their “protection and respect.”
Miranda and Hernandez expressed concern about a March 2013 tweet from Gallego, which he allegedly told Miranda was directed at her over a policy dispute, that stated: “Secret is out Harvard kids aren’t afraid to get dirty. Certain announced State Senate candidates should remember that.” Gallego graduated from Harvard University in 2004.
Miranda, now a state senator, and Hernandez cited further concerns that Gallego “does posess [sic] and carry a firearm, which under the circumstances are disturbing to both of us.” They alleged that an unnamed assistant to an unnamed lawmaker “was threatened with termination by Representative Ruben Gallego” related to the sexual remarks complaint.
“Regardless of the outcome and whether this proceeds to another level of review we are entitled to protection and respect consistent with the Rules of the House of Representatives,” Miranda and Hernandez wrote. “We are requesting that at a minimum an apology be made regarding the sexual remarks and whatever other actions are deemed appropriate to ensure that the dignity and protection of House members is maintained.”
A Gallego spokesman claimed the investigation, which state officials determined was inconclusive, “found no wrongdoing.”
The spokesman told the Washington Examiner: “This allegation has been publicly reported, investigated for over a decade, and Senator Miranda has confirmed the incident was hearsay.
“There is nothing new here,” the spokesman said. “The investigation found no wrongdoing, and the legislator who filed the complaint has since endorsed Senator Gallego and has a close working relationship with the senator. Republishing years-old, thoroughly reported material to drive a political narrative is advocacy, not journalism.”
The future political ambitions of Gallego are in the spotlight following his years of close proximity to former “best friend” Eric Swalwell, the Democratic congressman who resigned and ended his California gubernatorial bid earlier this month over sexual misconduct and rape allegations.
Gallego, a first-term senator elected in a 2024 battleground contest, is believed to have White House ambitions. He has shifted in recent years from grassroots progressive ideals to more centrist views he hopes can build coalitions with voting blocs whose support for Democrats has eroded in recent elections.
He recently denied knowing the seriousness of the Swalwell allegations and has dismissed suggestions that their longtime friendship meant he was aware of the former congressman’s behavior. Gallego acknowledged he had “heard rumors” over the years, describing Swalwell as “flirty” and living a “double life.”
The 2013 harassment complaint against Gallego followed a policy disagreement among Arizona House Democrats over a bill, which later became law, involving the impoundment of vehicles transporting suspected illegal immigrants. Gallego voted for the bill, while Miranda and Hernandez opposed it.
In 2018, the allegations received brief mention in an Associated Press story, and an anonymous article by conservative website Arizona Daily Independent went into greater detail. The original documents have not been previously published.
Miranda and Hernandez accused Gallego of making a “sexual slur” about them in Spanish in a meeting they did not attend between Gallego and then-state Democratic Rep. Juan Carlos Escamilla.
Escamilla relayed the conversation to Hernandez, who then spoke with Miranda, according to the investigation’s report. Hernandez believed the slur “had a sexual connotation that she understood to mean the giving of ‘a sexual favor,’” the report said.
Gallego denied to investigators that he made the slur. Escamilla told investigators that he made the slur when describing his meeting with Gallego to Hernandez but that it was misunderstood and that it was not attributable to Gallego.
Hernandez told investigators she felt Escamilla was covering for Gallego.
“She knew Rep. Escamilla and did not believe he would make a slur like that on his own,” the investigation’s report states. “This is a reason, she says, she believes the slang was really ‘from Ruben.’”
Miranda, who primaried Gallego in 2018 for the House seat he once held, told the Washington Examiner that she and Gallego are now friends and that she believes Gallego “did not make the comment. It was hearsay.” Miranda endorsed Gallego in his 2024 Senate race.
“Senator Gallego and I are friends. We’ve talked about this complaint from 2013 over the years,” Miranda said in text messages. “After I made the complaint based on hearsay, the legislature investigated it, and nothing was found. Ruben has always taken these matters seriously and remains committed to maintaining a respectful workplace for everyone. Even though I ran against Ruben in 2018, we have remained colleagues and friends over the years. We served in the legislature together and have done great work representing South Phoenix.”
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Escamilla, who is no longer in public office, corroborated the version of events laid out in the report, describing it as a misunderstanding with Hernandez. Escamilla said he used the phrase “que ni las pela” with Hernandez to describe how Gallego “doesn’t even pay attention” to her and Miranda, but that it was misinterpreted as “que me la pela,” a vulgar Mexican slang phrase.
Escamilla described Gallego as a “pushy” and “tough” member of state Democratic leadership who “might have friction with other people with the same personality.” Escamilla was unaware of the additional concerns raised by Miranda and Hernandez about Gallego following the investigation, but said he did not witness any inappropriate behavior by Gallego during their time as colleagues.
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Hernandez, still a state representative, did not respond to requests for comment.
“While by Rep. Escamilla has admitted making a slur in Spanish while speaking to Rep. Hernandez, and Rep. Hernandez reports hearing the same slur in that conversation, each of those two parties attribute different meanings to the slur and to whether the slur was made by or on behalf of Rep. Gallego based on varying interpretations of context and words spoken,” the investigation’s report concluded.
