Democrats win both chambers of Arizona Legislature for first time in 60 years

Arizona Democrats won control of both chambers of the state Legislature for the first time in 60 years.

The Associated Press called enough seats to give Democrats control of the Arizona House on Friday after the Senate majority was clinched earlier in the week.

If the results don’t change as more ballots are tallied, Democrats will finish with a 20-10 supermajority in the Senate and a 37-23 advantage in the House.

The midterm election results signaled a historic shift in the Grand Canyon State. Arizona Democrats last held majorities in the Senate in 1992 and the House in 1966.

With Gov. Katie Hobbs winning reelection, her party will control the state’s lawmaking process for the next two years. Democrats’ last trifecta (control of governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature) in Arizona was in 1966.

Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan, who is in line to become Senate president, said her party is ready to take action on rising costs, protecting the state’s water supply, investing in education and putting guardrails on the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) school voucher program.

“We have been ready to go at the beginning of this year with a set of legislation addressing those issues,” Sundareshan told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, it was held up in the extreme governance that the Republicans held over the Legislature. But these are things that we know the vast majority of Arizonans want to see, and we’re excited to deliver on that.”

Democrats finally break through for control of Arizona Legislature

Republicans worked with a 33-27 majority in the House and a 17-13 advantage in the Senate the past two years.

The GOP teetered on the brink of losing control of the House and Senate several times in recent elections as independents became the state’s largest voting bloc. Republicans clung to one-seat majorities in the House after the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections and won by a single seat in the Senate in 2020 and 2022.

Arizona Democrats finally broke through in a blue wave election that also saw the party sweep the statewide offices and pick up two congressional seats. Nationally, Democrats claimed majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

Overall, Democrats took full control — both statehouse chambers and governors’ offices — in at least six states where they previously shared power with Republicans. Besides Arizona, those wins were in the battleground states of Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is an updated version of a story originally published Nov. 4, 2026.

Subscribe to the KTAR Political Brief newsletter to get our top political stories, exclusive guest interviews and more to your email inbox.

Related

Debbie Lesko on 2020, Maricopa County elections and a party that demands ‘100%’U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego sees opening for deals with Trump on immigration, Social SecurityAZ Political Podcast: Adrian Fontes gets candid about his futureRepublican Rep. Eli Crane stays ahead of Jonathan Nez in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional DistrictRepublican Rep. Abe Hamadeh defeats Bernadette Greene-Placentia in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District‘Trumpism is done’: Rep. Greg Stanton says Arizona voters demanded a check on president