The comments by Maricopa County Republican Party chairman A.J. LaFaro equating Gov. Jan Brewer to Judas Iscariot for pushing Medicaid expansion have created a firestorm and led to calls for his resignation.

There were no surprises at the Arizona Democratic or Republican parties’ statutory meetings on Saturday. The Arizona Democratic Party reelected incumbent Chairman Bill Roe to a full term at the party’s helm. Meanwhile, the Arizona Republican Party got new leadership, electing businessman Robert Graham in a landslide.

Arizona Republican Party Chairman Tom Morrissey on Dec. 18 ended his bid for re-election, explaining that he would need a lengthy recovery time from an impending knee surgery and that would detract from his ability to effectively lead his party.

The widely discredited conspiracy theories surrounding President Barack Obama’s birth certificate were alive and well at the casting of Arizona’s electoral votes.