Midterms 2026 · Report · File No. 261106-735
Democrats win Arizona House, Senate and governor's office, first time since 1966
AP confirmed Friday that Democrats flipped both Arizona legislative chambers and kept the governor's office. That ends 60 years of Republican control of the state House and gives Gov. Katie Hobbs a Legislature that is no longer an opponent.
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Democrats have won control of both chambers of the Arizona Legislature and kept the governor's office. The Associated Press (AP) confirmed the result on Friday. It is the party's first "trifecta" in the state since 1966 1. A trifecta means one party holds the governor's office and both legislative chambers.
Republicans have held the Arizona House for 60 years and the Senate since the early 1990s 1. The AP said it called enough legislative races on Friday to confirm that both chambers flipped. It said calls can take several days, depending on how fast election officials count votes and how close the races are 1.
What Hobbs has said she wants
In her first term, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed more than 540 measures passed by the Republican-led Legislature. They covered taxes, immigration and voting laws 1. Hobbs has said she wants to address water issues and affordability. She also wants to take on fraud and abuse in the state's school voucher program 1.
That matters because those vetoes were a ceiling on what Democrats could do. With a Democratic Legislature, her priorities no longer have to get past a Republican majority. The AP did not report any specific bills or timetable.
From Channel GOPKatie Hobbs celebrates Democratic legislature majorities in ArizonaKatie Hobbs · 143 plays · captioned, with the source named
Arizona is part of a national pattern
Democrats took full control of both statehouse chambers and the governor's office in at least six states where they had shared power with Republicans. Besides Arizona, those states are Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin 1.
They also flipped the Texas House, which Republicans had held since 2003. Gina Hinojosa was elected Texas's first Democratic governor since 1994. Republicans kept the Texas Senate 1. Democrats also flipped the lower chambers in Maine and North Carolina, and both chambers in New Hampshire 1.
The National Council of State Legislatures says this is likely to be the election with the most legislative seats and chambers changing parties since 2010 1. Democrats will hold the governor's office in at least 28 states. Results are still pending in Alaska and Kansas 1.
Americans are calling for accountability, not accommodation.
Republicans have acknowledged the scale of their losses. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said on his podcast that his party's own voters showed up and rejected its candidates 2.
It was a Watergate-level repudiation.
What happens next
The AP said there have been no major disputes or disruptions this year 1. The U.S. Senate race in Mississippi is still undecided. Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by about 2,500 votes as of Friday evening 2. Counties have until Nov. 13 to certify results 2.
In Arizona, the next step is for the new Legislature to be seated and for Hobbs to lay out her agenda. The AP did not report dates for either.
The Record
- Election Day: Democrats make major gains nationwide and take control of both chambers of Congress 1.
- The AP confirms both Arizona legislative chambers flipped, giving Democrats their first Arizona trifecta since 1966 1.
- Mississippi counties' deadline to certify results in the still-undecided U.S. Senate race 2.
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Sources
- PBS NewsHour (AP), “Democrats win the Arizona House, Senate and governor's office for the first time since 1966” (2026-11-06). pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-win-the-arizona-house-se
- CBS News, “Democrats win Senate control — live updates” (2026-11-06). cbsnews.com/live-updates/senate-election-results-2026/
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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