Ruben Gallego speaks on August 22, 2024, the final night of the DNC.

Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

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Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

Recently unsealed divorce documents reveal that U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego filed to end his marriage to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego in 2016.

The nearly year-long court battle to unseal those records is hanging over the Democratic congressman’s campaign for an open Senate seat in Arizona and his ex-wife’s campaign for re-election in Phoenix.

The partially redacted documents show that Gallego claimed in December 2016 that the marriage had “irretrievably broken down.” Both Ruben and Kate Gallego admitted in court papers that there was no domestic violence during their marriage – language must be included in all divorces involving a child in Arizona – while agreeing to a co-parenting plan for their son.

The court noted that both parents recognized “each other’s love, devotion and commitment to the minor child,” the filing said.

A divorce lawyer in Arizona described the filing as an amicable separation between the couple. Even Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper, who ordered the documents unsealed, described the case as “one of the most diverse divorce filings I have ever seen.”

That reality is a far cry from what Gallego’s Republican rival in the race, Kari Lake, touted as an explosive and potentially damaging revelation less than a month before the election.

In a joint statement released after the documents were unsealed, Ruben and Kate Gallego demanded an apology from Lake, who ran ads deriding the Arizona congressman as a “deadbeat father” who “abandoned his family.” , just before Kate Gallego gave birth to her son.

“We demand an apology from Kari Lake for lying about our family and the circumstances of our divorce,” the Gallegos said. “She will stop at nothing to score a cheap political point – even if it means jeopardizing the privacy and well-being of our young son.”

“We have long placed our child first and we will continue to do so. The judge in this case has recognized how standardized the record is, and it is shameful that Lake, her allies, and those who reinforce their cruelty refuse to respect two people who are just trying to raise a beautiful boy together. “

Caroline Wren, a senior adviser to Lake, said in a statement: “It is bizarre that Ruben Gallego is demanding an apology from Kari Lake for his appalling behavior,” adding that the lawsuit “was filed by an independent media company.”

“If Ruben Gallego turns his back on his pregnant wife days before giving birth, he will turn his back on the women of Arizona,” Wren said.

The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news organization, filed a lawsuit in January seeking the records.

Beacon’s lawyers argued in court that the judge made a mistake years ago when he sealed the divorce documents. At the time, a judge found that the privacy interests of both Ruben and Kate Gallego — then a new congressman and a city councilwoman for the city of Phoenix, respectively — outweighed Arizona’s general record-disclosure policy.

Lawyers for the Beacon said in court that they sought the records because they “reflect the character and conduct of a public figure holding and running for federal office,” as well as details about the mayor of one of the largest cities in the country country.

Together, the Gallegos fought Beacon at every turn, first to prevent the release of the records entirely and then to redact portions of the divorce filings — to protect their son’s privacy and safety, they argued.

Michael Edney, an attorney for the Beacon, called the release of the recordings “an important victory for the First Amendment and freedom of the press.”

“Court records are presumably public and there is no special exception for prospective senators,” he added.

The Yavapai County Superior Court judge who ordered the records unsealed agreed to redact some portions of the divorce filings, including details about her son and financial information.

The rest, the judge explained, was publicly available.

According to Thea Gilbert, a Tucson-based attorney who specializes in divorce and family law, what wasn’t redacted shows a relatively quick and clearly amicable separation. It’s likely the Gallegos agreed to most of the terms of their separation before filing for divorce, she said.

“Very amicable divorces, that’s the typical process,” she said.