Legislative Democrats elect leaders for their majorities

Key Points:

• House and Senate Democrats elected a new speaker and Senate president for their new majorities entering the 2027 legislative session

• Democrats will have a supermajority in the Senate and a near supermajority in the House

• House Republicans elected their leadership team, but Senate Republicans likely won’t organize the caucus until next week

With Democrats poised to take control of both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, lawmakers elected new leaders Friday to guide the party’s incoming Senate supermajority and near-supermajority in the House.

Arizona House Democrats elected Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, D-Laveen, as the House speaker-elect and Senate Democrats elected Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, for the 2027 legislative session. 

The latest unofficial election results update on Friday would give Democrats a 20-10 supermajority lead in the Senate and a 37-23 majority in the House. Democrats have not held a trifecta at the Arizona Capitol in 60 years. 

“It is a victory for Arizona, and we will make it a victory for affordability,” De Los Santos told reporters after a House Democrats closed caucus meeting on Friday. “A victory for healthcare, a victory for public education, a victory for working families and middle-class families who are struggling to get by.”

House Democrats also elected Rep. Nancy Gutierrez to lead House Democrats as majority leader. Reps. Brian Garcia, D-Tempe, and Kevin Volk, D-Tucson, will lead as majority whips. Rep. Quanta Crews, D-Phoenix, will be the next speaker pro tempore. 

Along with Sundareshan’s election as Senate president-elect, Democrats in the upper chamber also elected Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, as their majority leader in 2027. Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, will be majority whip and Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, will be Senate pro tempore as Hernandez is switching chambers from the House.

“The Senate Democratic caucus is united,” Sundareshan said Friday afternoon. “All of us are excited to come together, to govern for the people of Arizona as a team to deliver on the promises that we’ve all collectively made on the campaign trail.”

Both House Democrats and House Republicans held their caucus organization meetings Friday morning. Rep. Janeen Connolly, D-Tempe, expressed interest in running for speaker prior to the caucus meeting. 

House Republicans are keeping most of their leadership in place. The caucus elected outgoing Speaker Steve Montenegro, R-Goodyear, as its new minority leader in 2027. He said Republicans are united and their legislative priorities remain the same, including opposing any policies from the new majority that may raise Arizonans taxes.

“We want to make sure that we’re focused on the cost of living. We want to make sure that we’re advocating for policy that’s going to make the lives of Arizonans more affordable and better to raise their families,” Montenegro said. 

Current House Majority Leader Michael Carbone, R-Buckeye, will transition to assistant minority leader and Rep. Lupe Diaz, R-Benson, will be the minority whip. 

Senate Republicans did not meet Friday for a leadership election and won’t organize the caucus until next week. Their presumptive leader heading into the election, Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, will likely lose, and he said he conceded to Democrat Elaine Aldrete on Thursday. 

“I just called and left a message with Elaine Aldrete to offer my congratulations on her victory in Arizona’s Legislative District 16,” Shope wrote in a Thursday post on X. “While it wasn’t the outcome I’d hoped for, I offered my assistance to her if she’d like help to make the transition run smoothly.”