PHOENIX — The Friday before Election Day, Rep. Ruben Gallego invited his supporters to Rancho Ochoa, a rodeo venue in southwestern Phoenix, where they listened to a brass band, cheered as bull riders strained to hold on and watched the dancing horses, a staple of Mexican rodeos.
It was the celebratory culmination of an extensive effort by Gallego, a Democrat, to target Latino voters as he vied for Arizona’s open Senate seat — an effort that appeared to pay dividends. Even as Latinos, and especially Latino men, shifted drastically away from Democrats this year, and President-elect Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona by more than 5 percentage points, Gallego won his race by more than 2 points. He seemed to outperform Harris with Latinos easily.
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