Letter from county leaders is latest sign of Arizona Democratic Party internal strife

Democratic leaders from across the state are concerned about the Arizona Democratic Party’s apparent lack of a plan heading into the 2026 election cycle.

In a letter to Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Robert Branscomb, 10 of the 15 county Democratic party chairs claimed a budget proposal presented to the state party’s executive board last month did not include “any strategic plan for the current election cycle, including an internal and external communications plan, media plan and organizational plan.”

“It has been suggested that the budget related to strategic planning will be forthcoming, but such a bifurcation of the budget is not allowed by the Bylaws of the Arizona Democratic Party (BADP),” according to a copy of the letter obtained by KJZZ.

The letter is signed by party chairs from Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, Yuma, Mohave, Coconino, Greenlee, Graham and Cochise counties.

The letter is the latest sign of internal strife in the Arizona Republican Party after Branscomb publicly quarreled with the state’s top elected Democrats, leading at least one local party leader to draft a letter calling for the chairman to resign.

The party infighting comes just months after Branscomb was elected chair in January, defeating incumbent Yolanda Bejarano, who was endorsed by the same elected Democrats who are now saying Branscomb “has lost our trust.”

Branscomb took over the party promising to increase transparency after a former party treasurer was accused of self-dealing.

“You elected me to bring meaningful change, transparency, and accountability to our institution,” Branscomb wrote in an email to party members last month.

But the letter from the county chairs includes allegations that Branscomb has failed to fulfill that promise.

According to the letter, Branscomb said the party’s executive board “has approved an independent contractor contract to allow payment to you as a non-employee of the ADP.”

“We have requested and been denied a review of this contract,” the county chairs wrote.

Branscomb would not be the first party chair to receive compensation from the party while in the role.

According to federal campaign finance records, the Arizona Democratic Party paid Bejarano a total of $204,000 during her two-year tenure. That includes $60,000 categorized as payroll in 2023. In 2024, she was paid $144,000 for “strategic planning consulting.”

Former state lawmaker Raquel Terán, who chaired the party from January 2021 to January 2023, was not paid. According to campaign finance records, she received one payment from the party during that time for $104 to reimburse her for meeting expenses.

The county chairs argued they should be allowed to review the contract since they are members of an executive committee that oversees the state party budget.

“Specifically, we are concerned about issues regarding conflict-of-interest, a code of conduct and performance metrics and any termination clauses,” according to the letter.

The chairs also highlighted other concerns in their letter, including that Branscomb did not appoint internal party officials by deadlines set in the party’s bylaws and may have failed to properly notify executive committee members about a budget review meeting scheduled for May 6.

Branscomb did not respond to a request for comment.