2024 Election Outcome, Arizona Could See Most Conservative Legislative Majority In State History

Arizona may have been just one of seven swing states that were won by President-elect Donald Trump in this year’s election but its flip to deep red has implications for its state legislature as well.

The Grand Canyon State had trended blue in recent years before making a purposeful swing to red in 2024, giving Trump a solid victory with its 11 electoral votes and also expanding its GOP wins into the most conservative Republican majority in state history.

Congrats to newly elected AZ House Speaker @stevemontenegro and newly elected AZ Senate Majority Leader @AZSenatorShamp. Staunch American First Conservatives who are consistent supports of President Trump’s agenda who are now leading the most conservative AZ Legislative Majority…

— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) November 14, 2024

The Grand Canyon Times reports that the 2024 election saw Republicans increase their majority in the Arizona State Senate to 17 seats, compared to the Democrats 13 seats.

Meanwhile, Republicans in the Arizona House increased their majority to 31 seats, compared to the 29 seats held by the Democrats.

The gains made by the GOP reflect a growing disconnect between Arizona voters and liberal Governor Katie Hobbs, who is up for reelection in two years.

Despite growing concerns over securing the border, Hobbs vetoed every single border bill that landed on her desk, saying that voters wanted “sanity over chaos” and that every border security measure she received was “extreme.”

Ultimately, voters bypassed the governor and approved Prop 314, the “Secure the Border Act”, which allows Arizona law enforcement to arrest and detain foreign nationals who illegally enter the state and to illegally apply for benefits or employment with false information.

This didn’t go unrecognized by Trump’s new “border czar”, Tom Homan, who congratulated Montenegro and Shamp (the original sponsor of Prop 314)) for their new leadership positions:

Thank you, sir! It’s an honor and a privilege to have the support of THE Border Czar! #everystateisaborderstate #border911 #SaveAmerica https://t.co/H2cgOLURJa

— AZSenatorShamp (@AZSenatorShamp) November 15, 2024

It will be interesting to see how Hobbs’ 2023-2024 vetoes match up with the obvious will of Arizona voters to secure the border.

Turns out Governor Hobbs was right when she said Arizona voters wanted sanity over chaos.

After Hobbs vetoed every border bill put on her desk that would help keep our communities safe, Arizona Republicans sent the Secure the Border Act to the ballot and empowered voters to… pic.twitter.com/gWgDodJQW0

— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) November 14, 2024

Another noteworthy aspect of this year’s Arizona races was the defeat of GOP candidate Kari Lake who lost her U.S. Senate race to Democrat Ruben Gallego by more than 2 points (50.1 percent to 47.7).

This was the second defeat in a row for Lake, who narrowly lost her 2022 bid for governor to Katie Hobbs.

Given that GOP turnout delivered for President Trump and a conservative majority in Arizona legislative races, Lake’s underperformance appears to reflect a lack of approval among voters more so than a lack of Republican participation in this year’s election.