Arizona Supreme Court Rejects Senate Candidate’s Bid to Keep Divorce Records Sealed

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in Washington in a file image. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Arizona’s top court on Oct. 16 rejected a request by a congressman running for the U.S. Senate to keep his divorce records sealed.

The divorce records are set to become public on Thursday.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and his ex-wife, Katharine Gallego, asked the Arizona Supreme Court this week to keep their divorce records sealed after two lower courts ruled in favor of the Washington Free Beacon, a publication seeking the records.

“Without an order from this Court before October 17 further staying the Superior Court’s decision while the Gallegos seek review, the sealed record in this case will become public, thereby irreparably harming the privacy and safety rights they have sought to preserve for themselves and their minor child and mooting their petition for review,” lawyers for the Gallegos told the court.

Justices said in an order that the Gallegos have not shown that they’re likely to prevail in the case or that they’re likely to be irreparably harmed if the court does not act, which prevents justices from staying the Arizona Court of Appeals ordering the records unsealed.

“Further, the Court finds that the Gallegos have not shown the presence of serious questions or that the balance of hardships tips sharply in their favor,” the court added.

No justices offered dissents.

Per the previous orders in the case, the records will be made public on Oct. 17.

“The @freebeacon has prevailed in its lawsuit against @RubenGallego in which we’ve sought to unseal his divorce records,” Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Free Beacon, said in a post on the social media platform X.

A lawyer representing the Gallegos did not respond to a request for comment.

Ruben Gallego, who divorced Katharine Gallego in 2016 shortly before she gave birth to their son and has since remarried, has not appeared to comment on the Arizona Supreme Court order.

Ruben and Katharine Gallego in a joint statement earlier in the month accused Kari Lake, the Republican vying for the same Senate seat as Ruben Gallego, of being behind the effort to unseal the documents.

“We have long put our child before all else and will continue to do so. It is shameful that Lake, her allies, and those who amplify her cruelty refuse to respect two people who are just trying to raise a beautiful boy together,” they said.

Lake has said she’s not involved and has alleged Ruben Gallego is hiding something.

“The people of Arizona deserve to know what kind of man he is before casting their ballot,” she wrote on X.

The Free Beacon said in a statement in January that it is seeking the records because both Ruben Gallego and Katharine Gallego, the mayor of Phoenix, are public figures and voters should know about the reasons behind the divorce before casting their ballots.

Gallego and Lake are competing to win a seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who was a Democrat when she was elected. Sinema is not running for another term.