 Now they're both trying to court voters in the middle. University of Arizona politics professor Samara Klar is not surprised. Making this play to seem independent is very smart for them. That's what they should be doing. Whether they can pull it off convincingly is another question. Klar says Gallego and Lake are trying to follow the formula for the state's political success stories, which are filled with senators who bucked party labels like the late John McCain and Barry Goldwater.