After electing and ousting a new party chair within a matter of months earlier this year, the Arizona Democratic Party will elect another new leader during a state committee meeting on Saturday.
The upheaval among party leadership comes following an unsuccessful showing in the 2024 elections, when President Trump won the popular vote in Arizona and Democrats lost seats in the narrowly divided state Legislature. That led party officials to elect Robert Branscomb, in an upset of the chair during the previous campaign season, Yolanda Bejarano.
But Branscomb’s brief tenure as chair quickly descended into chaos, as he butted heads with prominent elected Democrats on a number of issues and faced allegations of poor communication with other party leaders.
After months of infighting, party officials overwhelmingly voted to remove him in July.
These are the candidates for chair:
Charlene Fernandez
Fernandez is a former state lawmaker who resigned from the Legislature in 2021 to take a position in the Biden administration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She also worked under former Congressman Ed Pastor and former Gov. Janet Napolitano. She said she’ll ensure the party is sustainably funded and secure wins in 2026.
Kim Khoury
Khoury is the acting chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. She’s also the first vice chair. Khoury emphasized her fundraising, organizing and leadership experience in a statement of interest. She said she wants to focus on community engagement and make sure that organizing is year-round, not a piece of the election cycle.
Joshua Polacheck
Polacheck worked for the U.S. State Department before President Donald Trump was first elected. He then served as the executive director of the Pima County Democratic Party and ran for the Corporation Commission in 2024. Polacheck states he’ll deliver the party’s message and “close the trust gap and the registration gap.”
Channel Powe
Powe is a longtime Democrat who’s worn many hats. She works as an “education, political and equity consultant” and describes herself as an experienced grassroots organizer. Powe states on her campaign site that she is ready to "unite and re energize the Democratic base" and create a coalition that is strong enough to win.
Shawnté Rothschild
Rothschild is a party vice chair, and a vice chair for the Pinal County Democrats. She’s also the second vice chair for her legislative district (LD16). Rothschild is pledging to unify the party if elected.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the spellings of Shawnté Rothschild and Channel Powe's names. We have also updated the story to reflect Julie Lienhart-Fernatt withdrawing as a candidate.
