Republicans, Democrats select leadership teams for Arizona Senate, House

PHOENIX – The Republican and Democratic caucuses in the Arizona Senate and House selected their leadership teams for the upcoming session on Tuesday after the GOP strengthened its grip on the Legislature.

In the Senate, Republicans are keeping President Warren Petersen (Legislative District 14) and President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (LD16) in their roles from the last session. The GOP filled out its Senate leadership team with Sen. Janae Shamp (LD29) as majority leader and Sen. Frank Carroll (LD28) as majority whip.

Congratulations to the new leadership team in the @AZSenateGOP!@votewarren @TJShope @AZSenatorShamp @SenFrankCarroll pic.twitter.com/BAooWqtiL5

— AZ War Room (@AZVictoryPAC) November 13, 2024

PRESS RELEASE: Senate Democratic Leadership Announcement for the 57th
Legislature pic.twitter.com/NavMChMTAl

— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) November 12, 2024

On the other side of the upper chamber, Democrats chose Sen. Priya Sundareshan (LD18) to be Senate minority leader, Sen. Flavio Bravo (LD26) as minority assistant leader and Sen. Rosanna Gabaldón (LD21) as minority whip. They join Sen. Lela Alston (LD5), who will continue serving as minority caucus chair, on the leadership team.

In the House, Republicans chose Rep. Steve Montenegro (LD29) as speaker. He succeeds Ben Toma, who left the Legislature to mount an unsuccessful run for Congress. The GOP caucus also picked Rep. Michael Carbone (LD25) to be House majority leader and Rep. Julie Willoughby (LD13) as majority whip.

Big congrats to the new Arizona House Republican leadership team: Speaker @SteveMontenegro, Majority Leader @MichaelCarbone, and Majority Whip @JWilloughbyAZ – we’re excited to collaborate on keeping Arizona competitive and business-friendly. pic.twitter.com/pB95yHrmF0

— Arizona Chamber (@AZChamber) November 13, 2024

Meet our new 2025 Leadership Team! Our caucus will be led by Leader @os_delossantos, Asst. Leader Gutierrez along with Whips @QuantaForAZ and @TraversforAZ . pic.twitter.com/EIyyO6mppp

— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) November 12, 2024

Democrats, meanwhile, are going with Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (LD11) as House minority leader, Rep. Nancy Gutierrez (LD18) as assistant leader and Reps. Quantá Crews (LD26) and Stacey Travers (LD12) as minority whips.

Republicans remain in control of Arizona Senate, House

The leadership picks were made after Republicans expanded their majorities in each chamber of the Legislature during the 2024 election.

As of Wednesday morning, GOP candidates were leading in 17 of the 30 Senate races and 33 of the 60 House races. While no results are official yet, the breakdown is unlikely to change as counties wrap up the tabulation process.

Republicans held narrow one-seat advantages in each chamber for the last four years, leaving no room for defections on bills that drew unanimous opposition from Democrats.

While it might be easier for Republicans to pass bills over the next two years, they remain short of the two-thirds majority in each chamber required to override a veto. That will remain a concern for the GOP with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs having the final say on legislation.

The first session of the 57th Legislature begins on Jan. 13, 2025.

Follow @kstonezone