A local Democratic leader in Tempe is drafting a letter calling on Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Robert Branscomb to resign after an internal struggle between Branscomb and Arizona’s top elected Democrats spilled into public view.
Branscomb took over as chairman in January, promising to bring change and transparency as Arizona Democrats came to grips with a mostly unsuccessful 2024 election season and allegations of self-dealing by prior members of party leadership.
But, four months later, he publicly butted heads with U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.
The senators signed a statement last month alongside Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes, saying Branscomb “has lost our trust,” after the party chair sent an email to Arizona Democrats accusing past party leadership — along with Kelly and Gallego — of undermining his leadership.
And now some rank-and-file members of the party want Branscomb to step aside.
“We need a person who generates confidence in the party,” said Steven Jackson, chairman of the local Democratic Party in Tempe’s Legislative District 9. “It's the job of the party to promote our candidates. It's the job of the chair to raise money for our candidates and to promote our candidates.”
Jackson said the party chair needs the support of elected officials and donors to effectively perform those duties. And, after speaking with Branscomb, he does not see a path toward repairing the relationship between the current chairman and the state’s top Democratic election officials.
“Towards the end of the last week it became clear that there really wasn't a potential for resolution,” he said.
Jackson said he actually voted for Branscomb in January.
“I voted for a change within the party, and I'd like to see a change within the party,” he said. “I just don't at this point believe that that is going to happen, and I think that not only is that not going to happen with how we're currently set up, I think that the party would take a few steps back in the event, we let this fester for more than five, six months.”
Jackson said he started drafting a letter asking Branscomb to step down after talking with other local party chairs that shared his concerns. He said he circulated that draft amongst a small group for feedback about a week ago.
He did not intend to make that draft public and instead wanted to send it to the Democratic chairs from all 30 Arizona legislative districts.
“At that point, I thought if we can get the chairs on board if possible as a way to make sure that we have kind of a consensus instead of just a witch hunt,” Jackson said.
However, an Arizona Republic reporter obtained a copy of the draft and made it public Monday, again thrusting the state Democratic Party’s internal strife into public view.
Jackson said Branscomb has “legitimate concerns” about how his transition into the chair position was handled by past party leaders and elected officials.
But he said the ongoing instability is threatening to derail the party heading into 2026. He said the party’s ability to raise money under Branscomb is a particular concern, claiming there were already “murmurings of a lack of fundraising.”
And he said he didn’t want the very public fight between Branscomb and top Arizona Democrats to convince national Democrats to steer money away from the state party, like when the Republican Governor’s Association routed campaign dollars through the Yuma County GOP instead of the state party in 2022.
Branscomb, who accused Kelly of threatening to withhold support for party fundraising, did not respond to a request for comment.
Jackson said he is hoping to circulate a finalized letter by the end of the week but that the timetable may be sped up now that the draft letter is public.
