Arizona Democrats secure trifecta, announce House leadership

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(The Center Square) – For the first time in 60 years, Arizona Democrats will hold the majority in both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion.

As of Friday afternoon, the party had secured 17 of the 30 seats in the Senate and 31 in the 60-seat House, ensuring Democrats control both chambers for the next two years, at least.

Party leaders conferred Friday inside the historic Senate chambers of the Capitol in Phoenix to hash out who would lead the party with its newfound majority status.

From that caucus meeting, Democrats in the House chose Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, D-Phoenix, who served as the party’s minority leader over the last two years, as the next speaker.

Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Surprise, who was the speaker during the same period, will be the Republicans' minority leader during the 58th legislative session, which starts Jan. 11.

On Friday, both men met with reporters to hash out the last few days. De Los Santos said the newfound Democratic majority would seek out solutions that Republicans came up short on, such as water conservation and rolling back Education Scholarship Account voucher abuse.

“For decades, the Republican majorities who have served in these chambers have turned their backs on our public schools and our public school students,” De Los Santos told reporters. “We're going to do the exact opposite. We want to invest in our public schools. We want to end the waste and the fraud and the abuse in the ESA voucher program and make sure that taxpayer dollars are going where they need to go.”

No new tax cuts

When asked how the party plans on funding programs without raising taxes, De Los Santos spotlighted the effort put in by the party in recent years. He highlighted his chamber’s efforts to end taxation on tips and cut taxes on seniors.

“What we're committed to is a very responsible fiscal approach, where everybody pays their fair share, and we're delivering affordability for working families,” he added.

In 2027, the Democratic House leadership team will also include Rep. Nancy Gutierrez of Tucson moving into the majority leader role, while Reps. Brian Garcia of Tempe and Kevin Volk of Tucson become the new majority whips. Rep. Quantá Crews, D-Phoenix, will be the speaker pro tempore.

In addition to keeping Montenegro as their leader, the Republican minority will have Rep. Michael Carbone as the assistant minority leader and Rep. Lupe Diaz as minority whip.

Montenegro expressed his disappointment with how Tuesday’s elections played out but said the House GOP is committed to delivering a fiscally sound budget that keeps costs down for residents.

“Look, we understand that the voters have made their decision. Our principles have not changed,” Montenegro told reporters. “We want to make sure that we're standing against tax increases. We want to make sure that we're fighting and standing for parental rights.

“Parents should have the rights to raise their families and their children in the way they choose, and we want to make sure that Arizona is a state that's affordable to raise a family, to retire, to start a business, to grow your family and your own prosperity,” he added.

What comes next?

On Friday afternoon, the state Senate Democrats and Republicans will hold elections like the House did to determine leadership roles in the chamber.

Sen. Priya Sundareshan, who has served as the minority leader since 2025, told The Center Square that she expects to succeed outgoing Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican who lost the attorney general race to Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes, 55.25% to 44.68%.