Key Points:

• The Associated Press has called Democratic victories in the Arizona governor, attorney general and secretary of state races

• Democrats also hold smaller leads in superintendent of public instruction, treasurer and mine inspector

• The party has not held all these positions in many decades, creating the possibility of ambitious policy proposals

Arizona Democrats are on the verge of a historic sweep of statewide offices, putting the party in position to reshape state policy after years of Republican control of the Legislature and other statewide offices.

The Associated Press called the races for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state early Wednesday morning, declaring victories for Democratic incumbents Katie Hobbs, Kris Mayes, and Adrian Fontes. All three maintained double-digit leads over Congressman Andy Biggs, Senate President Warren Petersen and Rep. Alexander Kolodin, respectively.

Unlike in 2022, when the three Democrats eked out narrow victories, this year’s definitive wins sent waves down the ballot. The party is now positioned to flip the races for superintendent of public instruction, treasurer and mine inspector.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Teresa Leyba Ruiz led State Treasurer Kimberly Lee 53%-47% in the school chief race, Nick Mansour led Elijah Norton 53.6% to 46.3% to replace Yee, and Brian Matlock led Les Presmyk 52.5% to 47.3% in the mine inspector race.

Luis Alberto, a Democratic operative and state director for Sen. Mark Kelly, reviewed the historic records and found that Democrats haven’t held all those offices, along with the two U.S. Senate seats, since 1948.

Hobbs, Mayes and Fontes will be termed out after their second terms, and with a potentially friendlier Legislature under Democratic control, they could focus on loftier policies over the next four years.

Mayes rallied the crowd at an Arizona Democratic Party Election Night event Tuesday, promising a statewide data center moratorium, prevailing wage statutes, and a right-to-organize amendment. She also vowed to keep fighting in court.

“Arizonans know that I don’t care how powerful you are or how big the corporation or how overbearing the federal government is, I’m not afraid to file a lawsuit against them,” she said. “If they’re harming Arizonans, I’m going to sue them and do everything I can to protect this state.”

Fontes, meanwhile, was also feeling good about how smoothly Tuesday’s election ran and the potential failure of Proposition 144, which would change Arizona’s election laws. Fontes had opposed the ballot measure, arguing it would make voting less convenient. As of Wednesday afternoon, the proposition had only received 46.8% support.

“We will make sure Arizona’s elections, as they have always been, continue to be free, fair and secure,” he said Tuesday after thanking his family, campaign staff and supporters.

At a news conference Wednesday, Fontes said he looked forward to the possibility of working with a Democrat-controlled Legislature on election security, election access, and improvements to the secretary of state’s information technology systems.

Mansour, while happy with the results, was waiting to see more before declaring victory. If he wins, he would be the first Democrat to become state treasurer since 1964.

“There’s a lot of people that are just sick of the direction of our country and our state, and they’re ready for a change,” Mansour said Tuesday. “Hopefully, that holds up.”

If Democrats control the Legislature and Ruiz wins the state superintendent race, it could mean major changes to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, which funds tuition and other costs for students outside the public school system.

Ruiz said Tuesday she doesn’t know what the ESA program’s future will look like. 

“What I will do as superintendent, if I’m elected, is make sure that our taxpayer resources are really focused on education,” Ruiz said. “So let’s hold the system accountable, so that for those parents who are using it the right way, they can continue.”

Rachel Ohm, Reagan Priest and Carsten Oyer contributed to this report.