by Staff Reporter | Apr 22, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) is strained by infighting, with party leadership and top elected Democrats at odds.
ADP Chairman Robert Branscomb issued a tell-all email over the weekend revealing the politics within the party. Branscomb’s email — styled as “a candidate update on the past 90 days” — focused primarily on accusing his predecessor of undermining him and both U.S. Senators of threatening him over his decision making.
Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego supported Branscomb’s opponent for the chairmanship, Yolanda Bejarano — as did Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Branscomb accused the party’s former executive director, Morgan Dick, of resistance and “outright obstruction” during the transition. Branscomb alleged false accusations were made against him in staff chats; banking information was withheld; the state party workspace was emptied of computers, furniture, and transitional documents; and staff were encouraged to resign. For those reasons, Branscomb said, he let Dick go and replaced her with political director Michael Ruff. Dick denied Branscomb’s allegations.
Following Dick’s removal, Branscomb alleged Senator Kelly attempted to control his staffing decisions. Then, following Ruff’s appointment, Branscomb alleged both senators threatened to withdraw their support for the party.
“Let me be clear: no state party chair should be threatened or intimidated by any elected official for making a decision in the best interest of our party,” said Branscomb. “The idea that both Arizona Senators would withdraw support because I did not choose their preferred candidate is not only troubling — it’s a threat to the integrity and independence of our party. I will not be coerced, and I will not be silenced.”
Kelly, Gallego, Hobbs, Fontes, and Mayes issued a joint response disputing Branscomb’s claims. The state’s top Democratic elected officials vowed they had met with Branscomb regularly and supported him through the transition. However, they didn’t express surprise at the publication of Branscomb’s letter.
“We’ve spent the last several months meeting regularly with the chair and working to support the party through the transition,” read the statement. “Unfortunately, his statement today includes many false claims and is the kind of bad-faith response we’ve come to expect from the new leadership over the last several weeks.”
Following the Saturday letter from the ADP chair, LD22 Democrats experienced a more localized form of infighting at their Monday meeting. The Arizona Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl reported precinct committee members had attempted unsuccessfully to remove their district’s entire board, specifically citing displeasure with newly elected district chair Leezah Sun.
Sun couldn’t attend the LD22 Democrats meeting in person due to an active restraining order against her. Sun earned the restraining order following workplace harassment complaints filed by city of Tolleson employees; a Maricopa County Superior Court judge found Sun to be a threat to the employees’ physical safety and barred her from contacting the employees or entering the Tolleson Civic Center.
Sun was formerly a lawmaker in the state legislature. Sun resigned from the House last February to avoid expulsion after the House Ethics Committee found she violated ethics rules with a pattern of disorderly behavior. Undeterred by effectively having been ousted from the legislature, Sun ran for and won a seat on the Tolleson Union High School District governing board. The board also elected her to be their president.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 21, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The number of registered Democratic voters in Arizona declined by nearly 11,000 from January to April of this year.
The trend represents a marked decline in Democratic voter registrations since January, after a 70,800 registration uptick between the primary and general election and another 22,600 registration uptick between the general election and January’s voter registration report.
April’s total registered Democrats amounts to about 11,700 more than the party’s total registered voters in the general election.
Comparatively, current Republican registered voters amount to about 40,200 more than the party’s total registered voters in the general election.
The counties with leading losses in Democratic voter registrations in this recent voter registration report were Maricopa County (over 5,000 less registered Democrats) and Pima County (over 2,500 less registered Democrats).
It appears that the decline between January and April’s voter registration totals for Democrats and Republicans occurred due to voters switching registrations to Independent and No Labels. Where Democrats lost around 10,900 voter registrations and Republicans lost around 1,100 voter registrations between January and April of this year, registered Independents increased by 10,300 and registered No Labels increased by 2,000.
This theory is further supported by the voter registration total remaining the exact same between January and the count released this month: 4,462,819 registered voters.
The Arizona Republican Party interpreted this latest voter registration report as positive news for their prospects in future elections. Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda claimed the multiple opposition campaigns and lawsuits against the Trump administration by Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes swayed voters to switch their voter registrations.
“Arizona voters sent a strong message to Democrats in the November 2024 General Election, that they wanted the major political parties to work together to restore security, prosperity, and opportunity to our state and nation,” said Swoboda. “Instead of heeding that message and working with Republicans to better the lives of people in our state, Arizona Democrats have nominated themselves to become President Donald J. Trump’s chief antagonists. We need look no further than Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes for two examples of this blind partisan obstruction to President Trump’s efforts.”
Mayes said in a Monday interview with The Arizona Republic that a majority of Arizonans support her 11 lawsuits against the Trump administration.
“The feedback that I’m getting as attorney general is that people by and large support what we’re doing because they by and large don’t support what Donald Trump is actually doing as president,” said Mayes.
Swoboda also brought attention to the voter registration increases in rural areas, crediting the gains to the party’s prioritization of advocating for more voter roll cleaning. The Trump administration has taken steps to support Republican-led election integrity initiatives by dropping cases against these efforts, requiring the Department of Justice to assist states and counties with citizenship databases, and requiring proof of citizenship going forward in federal election registrations.
“April’s numbers show that Republicans’ rural county registration advantages are growing as we work to clean voter rolls in the counties of Maricopa and Pima,” said Swoboda. “Republicans will continue to earn the trust of Arizona voters in the months ahead as we work alongside President Trump to make Arizona and America Great Again.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 14, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has made it clear that it is targeting the congressional districts of Congressmen David Schweikert (AZ-01), Eli Crane (AZ-02), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) in 2026.
On Wednesday the Arizona Democratic Party said it is “focused on winning these critical seats, paving the way for a Democratic House majority in 2026.” The release referred to the three Republican Congressmen as “vulnerable,” and their districts as “competitive.”
Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Robert E. Branscomb, II claimed, “Arizonans are tired of David Schweikert, Eli Crane, Juan Ciscomani and other MAGA-cronies playing politics with the issues that impact their ability to make ends meet. As a Party, we will stop at nothing to hold them accountable and to finally elect leaders who will move Arizona forward.” However, the state of play in each district doesn’t seem to be that simple.
Schweikert and Ciscomani both won their 2024 elections with 2-3% margins with Schweikert serving as Ciscomani’s CD6 predecessor before moving to CD1 with redistricting. Each of these constituencies are competitive by their nature and by design, according to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC). The 2021 commission held District 1 competitiveness at a 2.6% vote spread and District 6 at a 2.4% spread, both of which proved accurate in the 2024 race.
Historically, the area that is now District 6 has seen six Republican victories and only three for the Democrats in the in the past nine statewide elections, making District 1 truly the most “competitive” with a more even split of 5 GOP victories to 4 losses per the AIRC.
The same day the Arizona Democratic Party issued their press release, both Reps. Ciscomani and Crane held telephone town hall meetings with their constituents.
The DCCC’s calculus seems to fall short with Rep. Eli Crane’s District 2 seat though, which has seen historically zero Democrat wins in the last nine races and was designed to hold a 7.2% vote spread competitively. That spread Crane decisively beat in his 9-point victory over Democrat Jonathan Nez last year.
As AZ Free News reported in February when a Democrat SuperPAC bankrolled by leftist billionaires announced they would target his seat, Crane’s response was blunt. He wrote in a post to X, “The great thing about #AZ02 is they see through phony attacks by coastal elites. Bring it.”
Given the historic makeup of these districts: two of them designed to give Democrats a chance and a third that appears nearly unassailable, the AZDems assessment of the three Congressmen as “vulnerable,” and their districts as “more “competitive than normal” seems questionable at best.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jan 22, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States was the most prominent over-arching news story of the day on Monday. The reactions of Arizona’s elected leaders ranged from joy, excitement, and relief to cautious rapprochement, vehement rejection, petulant accusations, and denial.
Support for Trump by Republican members of Congress and other prominent figures has been consistent in Arizona, while unexpectedly some Democrats have taken a moderate, even conciliatory stance toward the President.
Tucson-area Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani posted from within the Rotunda writing, “Honored to attend the inauguration of our 47th President — Donald J. Trump! And I look forward to working together and delivering for the American people[.] Congratulations, President Trump!”
In a subsequent ‘selfie’ with Trump, Ciscomani quoted the President’s inaugural address writing, “’In America, the impossible is what we do best.’ —President Donald J. Trump [.] Now we get to work fighting for the American Dream!”
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) posted to the social network writing, “It’s a new day in America. Our long nightmare is soon over. 4 yrs of divisiveness, failures, corruption, weakness will be replaced w/ hope, strength, prosperity & American greatness. I look forward to working w/Pres Trump 2 make the future of this great country great, once again.”
Congressman Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) told AZCentral, “As President Trump retakes office, here’s my promise: I’ll work to find common ground when it’s in Arizona’s best interest.” Stanton emphasized that he would remain loyal to the “fundamental freedoms,” of Arizonans.
District 5 Republican Andy Biggs, who announced his exploration of a gubernatorial run on Tuesday, posted “Hail to the Chief,” and told Trump, “Welcome back, Mr. President.”
Freshman Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh appeared with Trump’s Voice of America Director Designee Kari Lake in a Newsmax spot during the President’s arrival at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He shared video to X writing, “We will pass President Trump’s America First Agenda as quickly as possible.”
During the inaugural festivities, District 4 Rep. Eli Crane wrote, “We made it. Today is January 20th, and Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States. The greatest political comeback of all time. Now the real work begins. Let’s go!”
He added a short panoramic video of the Capital Rotunda’s interior in the lead up to the ceremony adding, “So thankful to all of the Arizonans that put in the work to get to this moment.”
Meanwhile Freshman Democrat Rep. Yassamin Ansari ,who took the seat of now-Senator Ruben Gallego, blew off the inauguration, eschewing it for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event in Phoenix. Posting to X, Ansari derisively noted the attendance of big tech figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, X’s Elon Musk, and Google’s Sundar Pichai: “Nothing to see here… just Donald Trump’s inauguration… front row featuring the richest men on Earth excited to get even richer at the expense of working people.”
Follow Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva issued a call for his fellow radical leftists to resist Trump writing, “Democrats must stand up to Trump’s worst impulses and grifting tendencies if we are to come away from this a stronger, more prosperous nation.” He also criticized Trump for his recent successful meme-coin launch, calling it a “brazen and unethical money grab.”
Sharing video of the historic moment, the AZGOP called Trump’s inauguration, “The beginning of a new era for this country!”
Pointedly, the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) opted not to mark the inauguration at all with neither a post to social media nor a press release on its website. Rather, the ADP chose to publish a post honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. almost as if in denial that the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States happened.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 19, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) faced accusations of financial wrongdoing from one of its leaders, days before the party’s convention and officer elections.
The accusations come from ADP Vice Chair Will Knight. In a letter to Chair Yolanda Bejarano last week, Knight accused their treasurer, Rick McGuire, of “self-dealing” and the party of improper reporting. Knight requested an audit of the party’s finances. Bejarano denied the request.
Bejarano called the allegations “defamatory” as well as “false and damaging” in response to the letter, per reporting by the Arizona Capitol Times. The chair said that McGuire received the $66,000 over the course of two years for work done as an independent contractor “beyond his voluntary role as Treasurer.”
Specifically, Bejarano said that McGuire provided consulting services for ADP umbrella organizations that often incurred “substantial fines” from finance errors, namely county parties and legislative district committees. As noted by the Capitol Times, party bylaws don’t prohibit ADP leadership from working as contractors (though they may not work as employees of the party).
The payments to McGuire were for handling finance questions from party members — described as “treasurer training and support” in public reporting — and they were disclosed with the Federal Election Commission and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, says Bejarano.
“The Party does not have extra resources to placate unreasonable claims,” said Bejarano. “What exactly would a costly independent audit show that a review of publicly available information would not?”
ADP paid McGuire $36,000 in 2023 and $30,000 last year. In addition to handling ADP finances, McGuire has worked as an executive producer at Health & Medical Multimedia.
Bejarano said that she, along with ADP’s staff, an attorney specializing in state campaign finance, and compliance firm, all reviewed and found there to be no problems with McGuire’s contracts or their reporting.
Knight, an attorney and decriminalization director of the National Homelessness Law Center, alleged that his efforts to investigate the payments to McGuire were refused. Knight requested financial documents in early 2023 following a budget presentation shortly after his election to the vice chairmanship.
ADP communications director Patricia Socarras explained McGuire’s ongoing payments were a continuation of similar agreements arranged by prior party leadership.
“The Arizona Democratic Party is held to very high reporting standards by both federal and state law, which we enthusiastically meet because we believe all Arizonans should have that transparency from their local parties,” said Socarras. “Mr. Knight’s claim is baseless and a distraction from the hard work that we have ahead to ensure Democrats are prepared to win in 2026.”
The infighting emerged as ADP headed into the election of its next slate of officers during its convention.
Bejarano faced several opponents: Robert Branscomb, an insurance agent, president of the Phoenix Chapter of the National African American Insurance Association, member of Sen. Mark Kelly’s African American Advisory Board, and ADP vice chair; Cathy Ransom, 2022 Democratic candidate for State House District 1; and Dave Braun, an attorney and long-time state committeeman.
During the meeting on Saturday, Democrats rejected Bejarano and elected Branscomb as party chair. McGuire was also ousted as treasurer in favor of Greg Freeman.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
