A Senate candidate has lost his legal battle to keep his divorce records sealed.
The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to unseal the 2017 divorce records of Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego and his former wife Kate Gallego, who is the mayor of Phoenix.
Opinion polls suggest Gallego is likely to beat Republican Kari Lake to the Senate seat.
The three-judge appeal court said that Arizona law carries a presumption that records can be unsealed.
The partially redacted records will be made public on October 17 unless the Arizona Supreme Court intervenes.
Congressman Ruben Gallego speaks during a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 2, 2022. The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that Gallego’s divorce records can be unsealed.
Patrick T Fallon/Getty Images
The appeal court agreed with a lower court that some of the information in the divorce papers can be withheld to protect privacy.
The Court of Appeals wrote on Thursday: “Upon review, we hold the court properly exercised its discretion by narrowly tailoring what is to be withheld from public view for those legitimate purposes.”
“The Gallegos argue the [lower] court erred by rejecting their request to seal the portions of the record ‘pertaining to their minor child.’ Not so. The Gallegos had the burden to show continuing or new overriding circumstances to prohibit access to court documents or any portions thereof. They did not meet that burden.”
The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news organization, had fought to have the records unsealed.
After the appeal court ruling, the Gallegos blamed their loss on Lake. They said in a statement: “Kari Lake will stop at nothing to score a cheap political point—even if it means endangering the privacy and well-being of our young son. 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.”
Newsweek sought email comment from Lake on Friday.
Caroline Wren, an adviser to Lake, responded on the social platform X: “We have nothing to do with this lawsuit.”
Lake was not a party to the case and there is no evidence that she had any involvement in its instigation.
Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon, wrote an article about the victory on the news organization’s website.
In a statement, she said the Washington Free Beacon had “no interest in exposing that child to danger. We’re interested in [Gallego’s] behavior and what kind of a person he is.”
A new poll released hours after Lake and Gallego faced off in a debate shows Gallego widening his lead.
Gallego and Lake are battling for independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema‘s soon-to-be vacant seat, which could tip the power of the upper chamber. Arizona voters will decide the Senate election on November 5, in a down-ballot vote during the presidential election.
The Senate is currently controlled by the Democrats, who hold a narrow majority.
On Wednesday night, Gallego (a former marine who served in Iraq) and Lake (a former television news anchor who lost her bid for Arizona governor in 2022 and claimed the election was rigged) debated a range of topics including abortion, immigration, border security and foreign policy.
The majority of polls have shown Lake trailing Gallego over the past few months, with the most recent poll showing Gallego’s lead has grown by one point since September.
An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted between October 5 and October 8 put Gallego at 50 percent support compared to Lake’s 43 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
