After being swept from power after 60 years, Arizona Republicans pick their leaders

Arizona’s severely diminished legislative Republican caucus has decided who will lead when its members become the minority party in January. 

On Monday, Arizona Senate Republicans elected longtime legislator Sen. John Kavanagh as minority leader. 

The caucus selected Sen. Tim Dunn as assistant minority leader, Sen. Leo Biasiucci as minority whip and gave the new title of Deputy Assistant Minority Leader of Communications to Sen. Mark Finchem. 

“Rebuilding a Republican majority starts with earning it, and that work starts now,” Kavanagh said in a statement. “We’re going to spend time listening to Arizonans in their communities and bring what we hear back to the Capitol.”

Republicans have held the majority in the Arizona legislature nearly uninterrupted since 1966, but were crushed in the midterms. Democrats emerged from the election with a 20-seat supermajority in the Senate and 37 seats in the 60-member House of Representatives. 

Kavanagh, of Fountain Hills, is one of the most experienced lawmakers in both chambers, having started his career as a legislator in 2007 after retiring from law enforcement. He is currently the Senate majority leader. 

Dunn, of Yuma, is a farmer and small business owner. Biasiucci, of Lake Havasu City, is a small business owner and former House majority leader. 

Finchem, of Prescott, is the chairman of the Senate Federalism and Family Law Committee and one of the most prominent election deniers who will remain at the Capitol in 2027. 

The Senate GOP’s leadership elections follow similar selections last week by House Republicans, who named Steve Montenegro, the current speaker of the House, as minority leader. 

“Our role in the House is changing, but our principles and our responsibility to Arizona families are not,” Montenegro said in a statement. “Our vision for Arizona has always been grounded in three commitments: preserving the American Dream, promoting public safety, and protecting individual rights and liberties. Those principles shaped how we led in the majority, and they will continue to guide our work in the upcoming session.

House Republicans also picked Rep. Michael Carbone as assistant minority leader, and Rep. Lupe Diaz as minority whip.

Montenegro is a longtime legislator from Goodyear. Carbone, of Buckeye, is the current House majority leader. Diaz, of Benson, is the current chairman of the Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. 

In the coming years, Republicans will have to contend with the party’s enormous loss of power and figure out how to make a comeback in 2028. 

“We’ll work with Democrats where we agree, and when we disagree, we’ll explain why and put our own plan on the table,” Kavanagh said. “That’s how we’ll serve Arizonans in the minority and earn their trust to lead the Senate again.”