IN FOCUS - July 18, 2025

To the surprise of nobody, Arizona Democrats voted Wednesday to dump state party Chairman Robert Branscomb. The action followed a dramatic six-month term that saw fundraising for the Arizona Democratic Party dry up as donors and top officials such as Governor Hobbs, U.S. Sens. Kelly and Gallego and others distanced themselves from the organization. 

Branscomb assumed leadership in January after toppling Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano, who had been endorsed by top Democrats for a second term despite Arizona’s rightward shift in the 2024 election. Branscomb enjoyed no honeymoon, however, and his leadership became a flash point as party fundraising flagged and infighting exploded into public view.

Branscomb’s fate was all but sealed when Governor Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes snubbed the state party by announcing  that Copper State Victory, a coordinated campaign committee, would instead operate and raise money out of the Navajo County Democratic Party. Branscomb was the Arizona Democratic Party’s first Black chairman, and he and his supporters frequently lamented that opposition to him was rooted in racial animus. This week, he characterized the effort against him as a “coup” and complained he had been held to a higher standard than his predecessors.

On Sept. 13, the Arizona Democratic Party will vote on a new leader; in the meantime, 1st Vice Chairwoman Kim Khoury has been elevated to interim Chairwoman.