The Arizona Legislature could get a makeover this election cycle. For the third time in a row, the Democrats are eyeing more seats in the closely divided House and Senate. All while the Republicans are confident they’ll keep their hold on the Legislature as they have for decades.
But, it won’t take much this year to change the make up of the state house. A pickup of one seat in either chamber would tie the parties up: a 30-30 tie in the House and a 15-15 tie in the Senate. A pickup of another seat would give the Democrats control, something that hasn’t happened in the Senate this century and in nearly 60 years in the House.
The future of control of the state house depends on eight competitive districts on your ballot this November.
Driven by redistricting, lots of donation money, and Gov. Katie Hobbs’ long-stated intention to flip the Legislature blue, Arizona’s political future is again toeing the line.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by Republic reporter Ray Stern to discuss observations about the complexion of the contests and how they are playing out in select districts across the state.