Arizona Democrats Win First State Trifecta Since 1966 as AP Calls Both Chambers

The Associated Press called enough legislative races on Friday, November 6, 2026, to confirm that Democrats have flipped both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, giving the party its first trifecta — control of the governor’s office and both houses — since 1966. The result ends 60 years of Republican control and hands Governor Katie Hobbs, re-elected over Republican Representative Andy Biggs, a Democratic majority for the first time.

Democrats won 17 of 30 seats in the Arizona Senate and 31 of 60 in the House, their first Senate majority since the early 1990s. The Arizona Democrats trifecta is the most striking gain of a midterm election that has redrawn the map of state government across the United States.

Key Points

• The Associated Press called the races on November 6, 2026: Democrats won 17 of 30 Senate seats and 31 of 60 House seats.
• It is the first Democratic trifecta in Arizona since 1966, ending 60 years of Republican control of the state Legislature.
• Governor Katie Hobbs won re-election over Representative Andy Biggs; she vetoed more than 540 measures in her first term.
• House Democrats chose Representative Oscar De Los Santos as speaker and Representative Nancy Gutierrez as majority leader on November 6.
• Democrats rose nationally from 16 to 23 state trifectas, the most in over 40 years.

What Happened

The Associated Press made the calls on Friday, November 6, as the final races were settled. In the Senate, Democrats took 17 seats to the Republicans’ 13, a majority the party had not held since the early 1990s. In the House, Democrats won 31 seats to 29, a one-seat majority that still ends 60 years of Republican control. Both margins are narrow, but both are majorities, and a single vote decides whether a bill reaches the governor’s desk.

The result completed a Democratic sweep of the top of the Arizona ballot. Hobbs won a second term by defeating Biggs, the candidate backed by President Donald Trump’s wing of the party, so the governor’s office, the Senate and the House will all be in Democratic hands when the new Legislature convenes in January 2027. House Democrats moved fast, electing De Los Santos as speaker and Gutierrez as majority leader on November 6, with Senate Democrats due to vote the same day.

Background: Sixty Years of Republican Control

Republicans had controlled the Arizona House continuously for six decades, a run that survived Democratic governors, population booms, and the state’s change from a reliably Republican stronghold into one of the most closely contested battlegrounds in American politics. The Senate had been in Republican hands for most of that time too.

That grip shaped Arizona politics even when Democrats won the governor’s office. In her first term, Hobbs faced a Republican-led Legislature passing bills on taxes, immigration and voting laws, and answered with her veto pen, rejecting more than 540 measures, a record for an Arizona governor. The result was years of stalemate in Phoenix. Democrats could already win statewide in Arizona, but they had never won the Legislature itself until the 2026 midterms gave them the chance.

Arizona Democrats Trifecta: What Full Control Changes

A trifecta means one party holds the governor’s office and both chambers, and in Arizona it changes the basic arithmetic of governing. For the first time since 1966, a Democratic governor will send bills to a Democratic Legislature. Measures on taxes, immigration and voting laws, the subjects of Hobbs’s 540-plus vetoes, can now pass both chambers and reach her desk for a signature.

The narrow margins will still shape what is possible. A 31-29 House majority means losing one Democratic vote can stall a bill, and in the Senate, 17-13 leaves little room to ignore moderates. The likely agenda starts with the veto-era issues: voting laws, education funding, water in a desert state facing long-term shortages, and housing in the fast-growing Phoenix area. Nationally, Democrats now hold 23 trifectas, the most in over 40 years.

Reactions

The clearest reaction in Phoenix was the speed of the transition. House Democrats elected Speaker De Los Santos and Majority Leader Gutierrez on November 6, the same day the Associated Press confirmed the flip, signalling a caucus ready to govern rather than celebrate. Senate Democrats were due to vote the same day, completing the handover in both chambers.

Nationally, Arizona capped a week in which Democrats consolidated control of state government, rising from 16 to 23 trifectas. Arizona was the last of six states to be called and the most historic: no other state in the group had waited 60 years. For Republicans, the legislative majorities that checked Democratic governors since 1966 are gone, and rebuilding starts from the minority.

Why It Matters

The trifecta matters first because it ends the veto era in Phoenix. For four years, Arizona government was defined by a Democratic governor vetoing bills from a Republican Legislature, more than 540 of them. From January, the governor and the Legislature will pull in the same direction, and voters can judge Democratic government on its results rather than its vetoes.

It matters too because of the issues: water in a desert state, immigration on the border, housing and education in a fast-growing state. And it matters nationally, because state governments write the rules on voting, abortion, education and taxation for most Americans, and the 2026 midterms shifted a large share of that power in one night. Arizona, after 60 years, is the clearest sign of how far the shift went.

What Happens Next

Senate Democrats will complete their leadership vote, and the new session opens in January 2027, when the Democratic majorities take their seats. Hobbs will set out an agenda in her State of the State address, and the first bills will test how much the narrow majorities can deliver. Watch the House first: at 31-29, every vote counts. Nationally, the question is whether Democrats can hold their new trifectas in 2028. Arizona, with its one-seat House majority, will be among the most closely watched.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a state trifecta?
One party controls the governor’s office and both chambers of the state Legislature at the same time.

When did Democrats last hold a trifecta in Arizona?
1966. The 2026 result is the party’s first in 60 years.

How many seats did Democrats win?
17 of 30 in the state Senate and 31 of 60 in the state House, per the Associated Press.

Who will lead the Arizona House?
Representative Oscar De Los Santos as speaker and Representative Nancy Gutierrez as majority leader.

How many state trifectas do Democrats hold now?
Twenty-three nationwide, up from 16, the most in over 40 years.

Read more: Katie Hobbs wins second term as Arizona governor, beating Andy Biggs; Democrats sweep state governments with five new trifectas and Texas House win; Amish Shah makes history as first Indian American to represent Arizona in Congress.