Though most attention was directed at the top of the ticket in the 2024 election, many groups on the Left waged high stakes on flipping Arizona’s barely Republican-controlled legislature.
In the two years since the 2022 election, when Republicans dwindled to 31 members of the 60-member House and 16 members in the 30-member Senate, Democrats have been busily planning and building their election takeover. After sweeping the top 3 statewide offices, including the Governorship, 2024 was the inflection point in the story of how Arizona went from red – to purple – to blue.
But that didn’t happen.
Under the leadership of Governor Hobbs and an orbit of well-funded organizations that raised upwards of $10 million to target key swing districts in Arizona, the Left failed to secure their legislative victories. Instead, the Republican-controlled Arizona House and Senate, in fact, expanded their majorities. Despite being outspent in every single race, Republicans now hold 33 members in the House and 17 members in the Senate, a small but meaningful gain. It’s a disaster for Katie Hobbs, who is already fighting low favorability and criticism by her own party for her inability to best Republican legislative leadership and rack up any wins for the Left’s agenda…
Days after their caucus decreased in size for the upcoming term in the Arizona Legislature, Senate Democrats chose their leadership team.
On Tuesday, Arizona Senate Democrats finalized their Caucus Leadership Team for the 57th Legislature.
The new Senate Minority Leader will be Priya Sundareshan (LD 18). The Minority Assistant Leader will be Flavio Bravo (LD 26). The Minority Whip will be Rosanna Gabaldón (LD 21), and the Minority Caucus Chair will be Lela Alston (LD 5).
PRESS RELEASE: Senate Democratic Leadership Announcement for the 57th Legislature pic.twitter.com/NavMChMTAl
In a statement after her election as Minority Leader for her chamber, Senator Sundareshan said, “It is a great honor that my fellow caucus members have elected me as their Minority Leader for the upcoming legislative session. The fight ahead will be uphill and the work will be hard. I am confident that along with my newly elected leadership team, we will deliver the very best possible for the people of Arizona. Our commitment to ensuring every Arizonan has access to a good paying job, affordable housing, quality education, and secure water for the next 100 years is unwavering.”
Sundareshan added, “While Republicans have expanded their majority, it is paramount that we communicate and provide a better, bipartisan pathway forward. No matter what setback we may face, our priorities will continue to center working class Arizonans, vulnerable populations, and our future generations.”
Gabaldon also acknowledged her election as Minority Whip on a post on her X account, writing, “I am honored that my fellow Democratic Senate Caucus members elected me to serve as Minority Whip. I look forward to working with the Leadership Team and the Democratic Caucus.”
I am honored that my fellow Democratic Senate Caucus members elected me to serve as Minority Whip. I look forward to working with the Leadership Team and the Democratic Caucus. pic.twitter.com/HSPBYYXvvi
The three Democrats are some of the most liberal in the Arizona Senate. According to the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Gabaldón has a 3% lifetime score as of 2023, Sundareshan has a 4% lifetime score, and Bravo has a 7% lifetime score.
The returning and incoming class of Senate Democrat legislators have been relegated to bystanders in a divided Arizona government, where Republican leaders have largely run negotiations with Governor Katie Hobbs and her team on key matters over the past two years. In the final two years of Hobbs’ first term, the same arrangement is likely to occur, leaving legislative Democrats out of the loop on many issues.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
On Tuesday, Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives elected a team of members to lead their caucus over the next two years. They selected Representative De Los Santos as the House Minority Leader, Representative Nancy Gutierrez as House Minority Assistant Leader, and Representatives Quantá Crews and Stacey Travers as House Minority co-Whips.
PRESS RELEASE: De Los Santos Elected to Lead House Democratic Caucus, Gutierrez Assistant Leader, Crews and Travers Whips pic.twitter.com/U64ExcQJ9z
“It’s an honor to be chosen to lead this outstanding caucus,” De Los Santos said. “This is a strong, smart and experienced team who will fight for you, for your public schools, for your rights, for our state’s precious resources, for your bottom line and for your neighborhood. We have tremendous challenges ahead as state, and as a country, but we will not back down from extremism, and we will face them together.”
Travers acknowledged her election as one of the Minority Whips, writing, “Thank you to everyone at AZ LD 12 Democrats who worked so hard, and above and beyond to help us get re-elected!”
The four Democrats are some of the most liberal in the Arizona House of Representatives. De Los Santos, Gutierrez, and Crews have a 0% Lifetime score according to the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. Travers has a 2% score.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) indicated that top Democratic leaders were to blame for their party’s massive election losses at the state and federal levels.
In a statement from Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC) reposted by ADP, executive director Elsa O’Callaghan said that “down-the-ballot Democrats” in Arizona and across the nation were unable to overcome “top-of-the-ticket” troubles. O’Callaghan didn’t specify what those troubles were or who was behind them.
“We are deeply grateful for the candidates who put their lives on hold and stepped up to run, the staff who gave it their all, and the supporters who donated their time and money to protect Arizona’s future. Final results are now tallied and Arizona’s legislative chambers will remain in Republican control. Across the country, down-ballot Democrats worked tirelessly to combat top-of-the-ticket trends. It is now clear that those trends proved to be insurmountable. Too much is at stake to abandon our mission — especially with an extreme presidential administration coming into power. The work continues.”
🚨 The AZ Dem finger pointing is officially getting started! In a pathetic statement that was reposted by @AZDemParty, @A_DLCC blames the “top of the ticket” for their failures in AZ… but which “top of the ticket” are they referring to? @KamalaForAZ or @KatieHobbs? Or BOTH? pic.twitter.com/YKXsO1Jbsb
Donald Trump won Arizona by over 52 percent of the vote (1.7 million votes), where Kamala Harris gained over 46 percent of the vote (1.5 million votes) — a difference of nearly 187,000 votes among 3.2 million voters. Comparatively, Joe Biden won by .3 percent of the vote back in 2020, a difference of just over 10,400 votes among 3.3 million voters.
Arizona Republicans flipped a net total of three seats in the state legislature: one in the senate and three in the house (and the loss of one other seat). That grew the Republican majority to 17 in the Senate and 33 in the House.
In the Senate, Republicans flipped one seat: LD4, with Republican challenger Carine Werner ousting incumbent Democrat Christine Marsh by 52 percent of the vote (over 5,400 votes).
In the House, Republicans flipped three seats: LD4, with Republicans Pamela Carter and Matt Gress securing both seats; LD13, with Republicans Jeff Weninger and Julie Willoughby securing both seats; LD16, with Republicans Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez securing both seats.
Democrats flipped one seat in the House: LD17, ousting Republican Cory McGarr for Democrat Kevin Volk while Rachel Jones retained her seat.
Arizona Democrats failed to flip any congressional seats. They also failed to win the hotly-contested District 6 seat held by incumbent Juan Ciscomani.
Democrats did successfully win the open Senate seat left by independent Kyrsten Sinema. Democrat Ruben Gallego emerged victorious over Republican Kari Lake, winning 50 percent of the vote over Lake’s 47 percent.
Although Democrats fell short of securing the Arizona legislature, they did see a certain win with a significant ballot reform.
Arizonans approved a constitutional right to abortion up to birth: 62 percent were in favor (1.9 million voters) versus 38 percent against (1.2 million voters).
However, Arizonans also approved a ballot measure to allow police to arrest illegal immigrants entering the U.S — 63 percent (1.9 million) were in favor, while 37 percent (1.1 million) were against.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Voters are sending newly elected Arizona legislators to office with a clear mandate from the people of Arizona: The people must be the chief stakeholder of their representatives.
The days of woke and swampy lobbyists and consultants overriding our voices have come to an end, unless your legislator votes for the swamp grift to continue with their first vote representing you. The SECRET vote for legislative leadership picks happens tomorrow, Tuesday, November 12th at 9 am.
Leadership votes are the most evident indicator of the policy that will lead each chamber. All policy floats downstream from leadership. The leadership of each chamber of the legislature determines whether the grassroots have a seat at the table or if a quid pro quo, pay-to-play agenda will lead their administration.
The leader of the House is called the Speaker. The leader of the Senate is called the Senate President. While the grassroots worked hard to reform both chambers in 2022, only Senate President Warren Petersen performed with a complete turnover of poor-performing staff and additional efficiencies in how government runs. He also led the efforts to stop the run-amok executive authority by appointing Sen. Jake Hoffman to lead the confirmation committee process of Governor Katie Hobbs’ appointees. These efforts have been wildly successful, with Arizona voters confirming their support at the ballot box by expanding Republican majorities in both chambers.
It’s time for the House to follow suit with a Speaker who will put the mandate from the people first and help ensure that President Trump’s America First agenda takes root in Arizona. The candidates running include:
1.Joe Chaplik, a legislator in LD3 who previously ran for Speaker in 2022. Chaplik was spurred on by the grassroots and only missed it by a single vote. He has served his district since 2022. He’s a successful businessman with “25 years of executive leadership experience building and guiding top-tier companies,” according to his AZ Legislature biography. Chaplik is also a founding member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus. He gained wide popularity in leading the effort to relieve children of the abusive mask mandates in schools. Chaplik’s lifetime Arizona Free Enterprise Club scorecard score is 100%.
2.Leo Biasiucci, a legislator in LD30 currently serving as Majority Leader. Biasiucci has no biography on record. He’s served in his district since 2020. Ballotpedia says he has a background in “owning Mohave Traffic Survival School and working as an actor with SAG-AFTRA, a claims analyst with GEICO, and a financial auditor with GE Capital.” He is known to have led the House Victory PAC effort. And he’s also been a friend to both the grassroots and moderate members of the Caucus. Biasiucci’s lifetime Arizona Free Enterprise Club scorecard score is 84%, with a recent session score of 78%.
3. Steve Montenegro, a legislator in LD29 since 2023. Montenegro also doesn’t have a biography on record. He previously served as a legislator from 2008 to 2017. Montenegro previously ran for Congress against Debbie Lesko and lost mainly due to a myriad of reports of an inappropriate relationship with a young staffer while serving in legislative leadership, even though he was married and a pastor. He also previously worked in former Congressman Trent Franks‘ office for a decade. Franks was also plagued by a scandal involving a young female staffer. Montenegro’s Ballotpedia says he previously worked as a principal consultant of Coronam Consulting. He’s also served as an executive with Patrick Byrne’s The America Project. Montenegro has also previously been a big champion of eliminating the Electoral College with a yes vote on the National Popular Vote initiative in 2016 on HB2456—a popular radical left initiative to upend our Constitutional Republic. It died thanks to then-Senate President Andy Biggs, who blocked it from being voted on in the Senate. Montenegro’s lifetime Arizona Free Enterprise Club scorecard score is 91%, with the most recent session clocking in at 81%.
When looking at the most recent legislative track records, the voters get a clearer picture of the leadership each candidate offers. Montenegro ran 29 bills this session, with only two passing or 6.9%. Chaplik ran seven bills, with one passing or 14%. Biasiucci ran 34 bills, with eight passing or 23.5%. Unfortunately, most passed bills were victim to Governor Hobbs’ veto stamp.
Chaplik’s keen understanding of government efficiency stands out most in this record. Chaplik has long been preaching a message that poor management in the House has led to chaos, an all-powerful lobbyist and consultant class overriding the will of the people, and unsupported legislators with few tools to serve the best interests of their constituents and fulfill the people’s mandate. He’s walked the walk by limiting the number of bills he’s personally run, ensuring staff time isn’t wasted on silly messaging bills.
Chaplik also advocates for sessions to return to 100 days as our state Constitution prescribes to prevent swampy budgets and pay-to-play sweetheart deals benefiting the lobbyist and consulting class.
Finally, Chaplik offers a vision where the legislature prioritizes its only constitutional mandate – the budget – and presents that to the Governor early in the session to avoid gridlock and threats of government shutdowns. Senate President Petersen has supported early budget preparation and was successful in this endeavor in 2023. It changed the power dynamic with the radical left executive branch and restored power to the people’s representatives. The people benefit greatly when efficiency is prioritized by leading with the budget first.
These reforms, coupled with cleaning house of staff leadership who have promoted chaos and undermined the body and Speaker historically on many occasions, are a winning combination for the majority party to fulfill the mandate from the voters.
Legislators who genuinely seek to serve the people should make it known now whether they intend to make the people the chief stakeholders of their government or the political lobbyist consultant class.
The voters should demand transparency in their legislators’ first vote, setting the tone for the next two years. Transparency dies in darkness, and no legislator should keep their leadership votes secret from their constituents.
A quick search on X shows the grassroots favors Chaplik to lead the House. Do you know who your legislators will vote for tomorrow in the House Speaker race? Have they asked you who you want to lead the AZ People’s House?
Merissa Hamilton is the founder and chairwoman of the nonpartisan nonprofit organizations Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Strong Communities Action, also known as EZAZ.org, which are focused on making civic education and action as easy as pie. She’s an elected Member at Large of Congressional District 1 for the Arizona Republican Party and previously ran for Mayor in 2020. Merissa is also the Director of Integration and Policy at The R.O.A.R. PAC, which is on a mission to restore our American Republic.
