The 2026 midterm election brought historic change to Arizona, as Democrats gained a majority in both houses of the state’s legislature for the first time since the 1960s.
According to a Nov. 3 Arizona Mirror report, the party is expected to hold about 36 seats in the state House of Representatives and about 20 seats in the state Senate when the legislature convenes in January.
Democrats last held a majority in both chambers during the 1965-66 legislative session, a period before the Supreme Court ruled that allocation of districts must be based on population rather than county boundaries.
The party was a majority in the Arizona Senate from 1975-1979 and from 1991-1993. During the 2001 and 2002 sessions the partisan split in the Senate was equal.
There are 30 seats in the Arizona Senate and 60 seats in the Arizona House of Representatives.
On Nov. 6 Democratic legislators and legislators-elect chose Tucson’s Priya Sunderashan to be the Senate President and Oscar De Los Santos of Phoenix to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs was re-elected Nov. 3. So was Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes and Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
The Grand Canyon State will have a lieutenant governor beginning in Jan. 2027. John Giles, a political independent and former Republican mayor of Mesa, will serve in that role.
Democrats also swept the state’s other elected official slots – treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, and mine inspector – as Nick Mansour, Teresa Leyba Ruiz, and Brian Matlock won their races on Tuesday.
Both of Arizona’s U.S. senators are Democrats and, after last week’s election, at least five of the state’s nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 120th Congress will be Democrats.
About Author
Be First to Comment