The ‘trifecta’: Democrats declare victory in fight for control of Arizona Legislature

It took 60 years, but Democrats are poised to take control of the Arizona Legislature for the first time in generations after backlash against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party spurred an outpouring of support for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.

“We are thrilled to announce that there will be a Democratic majority,” Oscar De Los Santos, the Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives, told the crowd Tuesday night at the Arizona Democratic Party’s election night party, prompting a boisterous response from the party faithful packed into a downtown Phoenix hotel ballroom.

“We are achieving this by kicking Turning Point’s ass,” he added, referring to the polarizing far-right advocacy group based in Phoenix that spent heavily to get Republicans elected to the legislature.

Legislative races where Democrats are poised to flip seats

• Legislative District 2 Senate: Amelia Gallitano leads Sen. Shawnna Bolick by almost 9,000 votes
• Legislative District 4 Senate: Aaron Lieberman leads Sen. Carine Werner by almost 10,000 votes
• Legislative District 4 House: Tammy Caputi and Karen Gresham lead Rep. Matt Gress by more than 8,000 votes; Rep. Pamela Carter trails by almost 11,000 votes 
• Legislative District 13 Senate: Kristie O’Brien leads Rep. Julie Willoughby by nearly 9,000 votes
• Legislative District 13 House: Rockee Armstrong and Jacob Weinberg lead Kevin Hartke by 6,500 votes; Janet Weninger trails by more than 8,000 votes
• Legislative District 14 Senate: Stephanie Walsh leads Mylie Biggs, a Republican first-time candidate, by almost 6,000 votes
• Legislative District 14 House: Mary Rose is atop the three-way race, leading newcomer Tyler Farnsworth by more than 5,000 votes and Rep. Laurin Hendrix by about 5,500 votes
• Legislative District 16 Senate: Elaine Aldrete leads Sen. T.J. Shope by about 4,000 votes
• Legislative District 16 House: Julia Romero Gusse leads Rep. Teresa Martinez by more than 5,000 votes; Rep. Chris Lopez trails by nearly 7,000
• Legislative District 17 Senate: Edgar Soto leads Christopher King by more than 15,000 votes
• Legislative District 17 House: Rep. Kevin Volk and Holly Lyon lead John Winchester by more than 13,000 votes; Rep. Rachel Keshel is about 15,000 votes behind
• Legislative District 23 House: Emilia Cortez and Rep. Mariana Sandoval lead Rep. Michele Peña by about 7,500 votes; Gary Garcia Snyder trails by almost 9,000 votes 
• Legislative District 27 Senate: Kyle Clayton leads Rep. Kevin Payne by about 5,000 votes
• Legislative District 27 House: Deborah Howard leads the three-person field and has a nearly 6,000-vote lead over both Reps. Lisa Fink and Tony Rivero

Prior to 1966, Democrats controlled Arizona government, thanks to a legislative representation system that apportioned seats in the state House and Senate by county. Because there were more rural counties, which were populated largely by Democrats, the urban and Republican lawmakers were left in the minority.

But that changed in 1964, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such representation schemes fostered unequal treatment of voters. The one person, one vote ruling upended how Arizona and other states elected legislators. The result in the Grand Canyon State was carving the state up into 30 legislative districts with equal populations, granting power to voters in urban areas like Maricopa and Pima counties.

Although hundreds of thousands of ballots have yet to be counted, De Los Santos and his state Senate counterpart, Priya Sundareshan, claimed victory — and were introduced as the next House speaker and Senate president when they were brought onto the stage.

Sundareshan showed the crowd her bolo tie — the official neckwear of Arizona — featuring three blue gemstones. She called it her “trifecta bolo,” referring to Democratic control of the two legislative chambers and the Governor’s Office. Gov. Katie Hobbs was poised to easily win reelection over Republican Andy Biggs.

As of 10 p.m., Democrats held large leads in seven Senate seats and nine House seats currently held by Republicans; many of those are based in Maricopa County, which had not yet tallied votes cased on Election Day or early ballots dropped off at polling places.

If the early counts hold, then Democrats will go from being solidly in the minority in both chambers — 13 of 30 seats in the Senate and 27 of 60 House seats — to holding commanding majorities: 20 Senate seats and 36 in the House.

The impact of Democrats flipping control of the Legislature will be seismic for Hobbs, who spent her first term warring with a GOP-controlled House and Senate that has sought to block her at every turn. That’s especially true in the Senate, which has turned consideration of Hobbs’ nominees to lead a host of state agencies into politically charged hearings that has left the governor largely unable to find permanent leaders for many of the agencies.

And Hobbs has smashed a record for vetoes of bills sent to her by Republican lawmakers.

But those partisan battles are likely to be a thing of the past if the Democratic leads in legislative races hold.

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