Our pals at New Jersey Globe reported yesterday that Senator-elect Ruben Gallego has picked Raphael Chavez-Fernandez to be his Chief of Staff. Chavez-Fernandez was the heavy favorite for the job, having served as Chief of Staff for Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ3) in the lower house. Chief of Staff on the Hill is a big deal at any level, with many serving as gatekeepers and “first set of eyes” to their powerful bosses.

Chavez-Fernandez cut his teeth as State Director for New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, who resigned in August following a federal conviction on bribery charges. According to his LinkedIn, Chavez-Fernandez had served Menendez as Deputy Campaign Manager for his 2018 re-elect and before that as an advisor. He also worked asDeputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and appears to have sharpened his political chops at powerhouse consulting firm Mercury, where he was a Senior Associate from 2016-2019.

Gallego narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake in a year in which Arizona Republicans seem to have recaptured some of their swagger, with Donald Trump notching a surprisingly dominant 5.5% win in a state that Joe Biden carried in 2020. The GOP also took six of Arizona’s nine Congressional seats, including tight races in CD 1 (Schweikert beat Shah 52-48) and CD6, where Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani defeated Democratic challenger Kirsten Engel by only about 10,000 votes — nearly the exact total notched by memorably named Green Party candidate Athena Eastwood.

Chavez-Fernandez is joined by several others in a Gallego office that seems to be taking shape very quickly. According to Politico, other new hires include State Director Abigail O’Brien, Communications Director Jacques Petit and Jose Contreras as Director of Operations. All four of them are alums of Gallego’s office in the House of Representatives.

New Jersey has a reputation for churning out strong political talent, with operatives on both sides like Bill Stepien, Mike Duhaime, Paul Josephson, Bill Castner, Steve DeMicco, Brad Lawrence, Jamie Fox and Julie Roginsky all having forged prominent national reputations after succeeding in the Garden State.

According to the press release Rep. Gallego put out in Nov. 2022 when he named Chavez-Fernandez Chief of Staff for his Congressional office, Chavez-Fernandez earned a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers.

“It is an honor to come back to Congress and work for Representative Gallego, a proud veteran, effective legislator, and staunch advocate who has fought tirelessly for hardworking Arizonan families,” Chavez-Fernandez was quoted in the release. “I can’t wait to get to work with this talented team and keep fighting for all communities in Arizona.”