State Republicans and Democrats both have contested chair races
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Arizona's Democratic and Republican parties will each have new leaders on Saturday when their respective state committees meet to elect new chairs.
Why it matters: State parties help dictate election strategy, determine how significant amounts of money are spent and generally set the tone for their parties.
How it works: Precinct committeemen — the elected voting members of the parties' legislative district-level organizations — choose members of the parties' state committees, who elect chairs and other statewide officers every two years.
- The Arizona Republican Party will meet at Dream City Church in Phoenix.
- The Arizona Democratic Party will conduct its meeting via Zoom.
Zoom in: Democrats have their most hotly contested race for chair in 12 years, pitting party vice chair and union organizer Yolanda Bejarano against Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo.
- The outgoing chair, state Sen. Raquel Terán, decided not to seek another term.
The intrigue: The race for Democratic Party chair is in part a proxy fight between high-level elected officials and other prominent backers of Bejarano and Gallardo.
- Gallardo said he's running at the request of Gov. Katie Hobbs, who endorsed him, along with numerous legislators, other elected officials, labor unions and five former chairs.
- Bejarano has the endorsements of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Attorney General Kris Mayes, several of Arizona's U.S. House members and more.
- The biggest differences between the candidates are their backgrounds and experience rather than ideologies, several Democrats told Axios Phoenix.
The other side: There are five candidates vying for the GOP chairmanship — state Treasurer Jeff DeWit, activist Steve Daniels (who tried to form a breakaway party, the Patriot Party), AZGOP treasurer Sheila Muehling, businesswoman and former legislative candidate Vera Gebran and Lori Martinez, the Arizona chair of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly.
- Kelli Ward, the Arizona GOP's polarizing chair, opted not to run again after serving four years.
Between the lines: Republican campaign consultant Constantin Querard called DeWit the front-runner but said Daniels and Gebran have significant blocs of support as well. Longtime Republican operative Brett Mecum views it as a two-person race between DeWit and Daniels.
- Querard noted that DeWit has the backing of former GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and businessman Jim Lamon, who ran in last year's Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
The big picture: Both parties are in the midst of shifting political dynamics.
- Republicans, long the state's dominant party, are hoping to reverse a string of losses in recent election cycles that saw them lose the presidential race, both U.S. Senate seats and Arizona's top statewide offices.
- Democrats want to capitalize on recent wins and carry that momentum to 2024, when the presidency, the Legislature, a Senate seat and several competitive U.S. House seats will be on the line.