Arizona Democrats Elect New Legislative Leaders After Flipping Both Chambers
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Arizona Democrats elected their new state legislative leadership in closed-door caucus meetings on November 6, days after flipping both the state Senate and House in the midterm elections. Together with Gov. Katie Hobbs's reelection, the party will control the governorship and both legislative chambers for the first time since 1966.
House Democrats chose Rep. Oscar De Los Santos of Phoenix as speaker and Rep. Nancy Gutierrez of Tucson as majority leader, with Brian Garcia and Kevin Volk as majority whips and Quanta Crews as speaker pro tempore. De Los Santos, who led the caucus as minority leader for the past two years, said his door is open to lawmakers of both parties and other stakeholders, but that Democrats are ultimately accountable to the people of Arizona.
Senate Democrats picked Sen. Priya Sundareshan of Tucson as Senate president and Sen. Christine Marsh of Phoenix as majority leader, with Analise Ortiz as majority whip and Alma Hernandez as president pro tempore. Sundareshan said the Senate leadership elections took only half an hour, a sign the caucus is unified.
On the Republican side, House Republicans reelected Steve Montenegro and Michael Carbone to lead their new minority caucus. The new legislative session begins in January 2027.
Source: Arizona State Legislature
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 亚利桑那州议会大厦（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0）
