Commentary: Arizona Democrats’ big night brings bigger expectations

It’s indeed a beautiful, sunny Blue Day in Arizona, and for those of us tired of MAGA’s exclusionary politics, Wednesday morning felt a lot brighter.

I knew voters were angry. But I didn’t predict the magnitude of the rebuke, which makes the Democratic sweep across the nation — and particularly in Arizona — all the sweeter.

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This is why many are celebrating. Gov. Katie Hobbs breezed through to a second term and Democrats will take control of both chambers of the Legislature. As of Wednesday morning, KTAR reported Democratic leads in races for 20 Senate seats and 37 House seats.

Ballots are still being counted but there’s confidence final results will cement Democratic control.

That means Arizona will have its first Democratic trifecta — the Governor’s Office, state House of Representatives and state Senate — since 1966.

That’s not just a political statement. It’s a real chance to move from blocking an agenda to building and executing one.

The shift is monumental. Democrats led Republican-held legislative seats in places including Scottsdale, Chandler, Peoria and Gilbert, according to the Arizona Mirror’s election-night reporting.

To me, that’s more than a lucky break. It’s voters asking for a different kind of state government.

So, inevitably, I must ask: What will Democrats do with that power to make life better for the people who put them there?

Hobbs won’t have to rely solely on her veto pen. She now will have her own party running the Legislature.

In other words, they now have a bigger obligation to deliver.

Democrats don’t need to invent an agenda from scratch. In her budget proposal earlier this year, Hobbs called for more affordable housing, help with utility bills and tighter oversight of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the state’s school voucher program that’s still out of control.

They can start picking up the pieces there.

A Democratic Legislature could work with her to put those priorities into budget bills. They can put a lot more money into housing assistance, for instance, and impose income limits on voucher eligibility to trim costs. Hobbs hasn’t been able to rein in voucher spending, thanks to Republicans who refused to entertain even the slightest reforms to the program. 

As part of that, I want Democrats to explain how their choices will help teachers stay in classrooms and give students what they need.

And, no, Hobbs won’t get to do whatever she wants. But winning the majority in both chambers gives her the best chance to execute her agenda.

So, in the coming days, I want to hear more than victory talk from Hobbs and the Democrats. I want a plan for the next two years, when lawmakers will be back on the ballot.

Tell us what changes for the parent trying to keep a roof over their head. For the teacher deciding whether to stay. For the family choosing which bill can wait.

Those are the people I want at the center of this new Blue Wave. Not the party leaders. Not the donors. Not the folks already lining up to claim credit.

So, yes, let’s celebrate this new and beautiful Blue Wave. But the sweetest rebuke to MAGA won’t be the election-night scoreboard. It will be the Arizona state government that makes the lives of ordinary residents better.

Democrats are finally getting their chance. Now they need to earn it.

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