New Legislature, New Leadership
Speaker, President Chosen for 57th Arizona Legislature
Republicans Gain Seats in Both Legislative Chambers
As vote counting draws to a close across the state, Legislative election results indicate that Republicans have built on slim majorities they held during the previous Legislature.
Going into the 57th Arizona Legislature, Republicans will control the Senate 17-13, and the House 33-27. A more comprehensive breakdown will be forthcoming.
Republicans Choose Montenegro as Speaker, Democrats Pick De Los Santos
With the election results mostly tallied, newly-elected House members met Tuesday to choose leadership, with Republicans eventually settling on Rep. Steve Montenegro from LD 29 as Speaker of the House, and Democrats choosing Rep. Oscar De Los Santos from LD 11 as House Minority Leader.
Both Montenegro and De Los Santos were re-elected to the House last week. De Los Santos will be beginning his second term as a lawmaker, while Montenegro, beginning his second term this time around, has previously served in both the House and the Senate, having first been elected to the Legislature in 2008. De Los Santos served as Assistant Minority Leader in the 56th Legislature.
House Republicans also selected Rep. Michael Carbone from LD 25 as Majority Leader, and Rep. Julie Willoughby from LD 13 as Majority Whip. All are returning members, though Willoughby was elected for the first time this November. She was appointed to her seat in 2023 after Rep. Liz Harris was expelled from the House.
House Democrats rounded out their Leadership team with Rep. Nancy Gutierrez of LD 18 as Assistant Minority Leader, and Reps. Quanta Crews of LD 26 and Stacey Travers of LD 12 as Minority Whips. Gutierrez is elevated from the whip position in her previous term, while Crews and Travers are both new to leadership.
Senate GOP Sticks With President Petersen, Dems Choose Sundareshan
The new iteration of the Senate Republican caucus stuck with Sen. Warren Petersen of LD 14 for the 57th Legislature, while Senate Democrats selected 2nd term Sen. Priya Sundareshan of LD 18 as their leader for the next two years.
Senate Republicans also chose Sen. Janae Shamp of LD 29 as Majority Leader, and Sen. Frank Carroll of LD 28 as Majority Whip. Although not an elected position, Sen. T.J. Shope will continue as President Pro Tempore under Petersen.
Petersen’s Legislative service began with his election to the House in 2012. Shamp is a 2nd-term Senator, while Carroll was first elected to the House in 2018.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, chose Sen. Flavio Bravo (LD 26) as Assistant Minority Leader and Sen. Rosanna Gabaldón (LD 21) will be Minority Whip. Sen. Lela Alston (LD 5) will continue as Minority Caucus Chair.
Like Sundareshan, Bravo is a 2nd-term senator, while Gabaldón has served since 2020. Alston’s Legislative history stretches to 1977, though she was elected to her current time in office in 2010. Alston is also the lone member of either caucus leadership team to be an active governing board member, as she currently serves on the board of the Phoenix Union High School District.