Instability is brewing within the Arizona Democratic Party, due to a recent spat between state and federal elected officials.
Arizona Democratic Party chairman Robert Branscomb II leveled several accusations over the weekend.
He alleged Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego interfered with and intimidated the chairman over staffing decisions. In response, Kelly and Gallego, joined by other state leaders, said on Saturday they’ve lost faith in Branscomb to serve as chairman.
This freshly exposed internal rift comes at a vulnerable time for Arizona Democrats, who are trying to stay focused on next year’s elections. Nine House seats and the governorship will be up for grabs in the swing state, as will control of the state Legislature.
What happened between chairman Branscomb and Sen. Kelly?
Branscomb became chairman after defeating incumbent Yolanda Bejarano, who had the backing of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and the two senators.
But Branscomb’s transition into office was far from smooth, as he said the existing leadership withheld information and created roadblocks.
“When I arrived at the state party office just three days after the state committee meeting, I found an empty workspace — no computers, minimal furniture, and no transition documents. What should have been a professional hand off of responsibilities instead became a scramble to uncover critical information,” he wrote.
After firing the party’s executive director, Morgan Dick, for failing to facilitate a smooth transition, Branscomb received a call from Kelly, who, he said, “strongly discouraged me from making staffing changes without consulting him.”
“He emphasized his role in raising funds for the party and implied that I should be grateful, even beholden, to him for the party’s financial resources,” Branscomb said.
Dick denied the allegations and said the chair’s statement “is an attack on me professionally, riddled with inaccuracies, and is counterproductive to the goal of winning in 2026,” according to KJZZ Phoenix. She added she “worked incredibly hard to provide a successful transition” to Branscomb’s office.
in his letter, the chairman said that while a committee searched for a permanent executive director, a process he had no role in, he ultimately appointed Michael Ruff to the position.
Branscomb said he reached out to the stakeholders before making this news public. Within 15 minutes, the chairman “received a text from one of our U.S. senators stating he would no longer support or participate in state party fundraising.”
“Shortly after, the other senator called me directly — demeaning me and demanding I reverse my decision within 24 hours or face consequences," he continued, without naming names.
What did Sen. Kelly and others say in response?
In a joint statement, Kelly, Gallego, Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes conveyed they’ve lost trust in Branscomb.
“Unfortunately, his statement today includes many false claims and is the kind of bad-faith response we’ve come to expect from the new leadership over the last several weeks,” the statement said, as 12 News’ Brahm Resnik reported.
“While the chair has lost our trust, we’re not going to let that deter us from our mission of winning in 2026,” they said. In fact, three of the names on the letter — Hobbs, Fontes and Mayes — have to defend their seats next year.