Arizona Democrats schedule vote on fate of state party chairman

The Arizona Democratic Party will vote next month on whether to remove its new chairman from office.

Some party members signed a petition calling for the vote to oust Chairman Robert Branscomb due to party infighting and financial issues.

Branscomb won a surprise victory over former Chair Yolanda Bejarano at the state Democratic Party’s annual meeting in January. Bejarano was endorsed by top Arizona Democratic officials like Sen. Mark Kelly and Gov. Katie Hobbs, but the party faithful chose Branscomb after Democrats fared poorly in the 2024 elections and dealt with allegations of self-dealing by a top party official.

Branscomb came into office promising increased transparency and accountability as the party prepares for a slew of statewide elections in 2026, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state – all offices currently held by Democrats.

But within months, Branscomb was openly feuding with the presumptive nominees for those offices. Hobbs and Kelly ultimately signed a statement alongside Sen. Ruben Gallego, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes saying Branscomb had “lost our trust.”

The party has faced other problems under Branscomb’s leadership, as well, including an impending financial crisis. The party’s treasurer warned it is on pace to run out of money by the end of the year and asked Branscomb to stop spending money before the party’s executive board approves a budget.

Steven Jackson, chairman of the local Democratic Party in Tempe’s Legislative District 9, circulated the petition to call for a vote on whether Branscomb should remain in office after voting for him months earlier.

The party’s executive board scheduled that vote for July 16, Jackson said.

But that was not before Branscomb faced criticism from some Democrats over allegations he tried to drive down turnout at the vote.

Branscomb did not respond to a request for comment.

The Executive Board initially scheduled a virtual meeting for the morning of June 28 after Branscomb failed to schedule a vote, according to internal communications viewed by KJZZ. However, Branscomb then tried to schedule the meeting for later that afternoon, at the same time as the Maricopa Democratic Party’s convention, which had been scheduled for over a month.

“Whether this was a deliberate attempt to impact turnout for the special meeting at the expense of MCDP’s convention or a gross oversight is for others to determine,” Maricopa County Democratic Party Chair Patti O’Neil said in a message to county party members. “Regardless of your view on the matter concerning the Chair’s leadership, this move was at the very least inconsiderate.”

And, Jackson argued, the move also violated the party’s bylaws, because voting members weren’t given proper notice of the meeting. He said that would leave the results of the vote open to a challenge, whether or not the party chose to keep Branscomb as chairman.