November 15, 2026 | Peter Bakke
Arizona didn’t just turn blue on November 3. It delivered a political earthquake. And as a leader of the Saddlebrooke Democratic club, I feel very, very good.
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by
You know how I feelIt’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
I’m feeling goodStars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Oh, freedom is mine
And I know how I feel— Michael Buble
Democrats swept every statewide office on the ballot, reelected Governor Katie Hobbs, and captured both chambers of the Arizona Legislature. For the first time in 60 years, Democrats will control the governor’s office, House, and Senate.
And Republicans? They’re left wondering what hit them.
As Mary Jo Pitzl reports in today’s Guardian, Arizona Republicans are asking themselves a remarkable question: Were they too MAGA, or not MAGA enough?
I think they’re asking the wrong question.
For years, Arizona’s Republican Party has increasingly defined itself through loyalty to Donald Trump, election denialism, ideological purity tests, and attacks on fellow Republicans who dared disagree. The party of Barry Goldwater and John McCain became something neither man would readily recognize.
Turning Point Action spent millions promoting candidates such as Andy Biggs. It helped determine who won Republican primaries. But winning a primary dominated by the party’s most committed activists is very different from winning a general election.
Arizona’s independent voters helped deliver that lesson.
Yet Democrats shouldn’t mistake this extraordinary victory for a permanent realignment. Arizona remains a politically competitive state. Voters expect results, not simply a different set of politicians occupying the Capitol.
The new Democratic majority must demonstrate that it can govern responsibly: improve public education, protect our water, address housing and healthcare costs, and bring some common sense back to state government.
And it must listen to voters who didn’t support Democrats this year.
I have waited a long time to see Arizona Democrats given this opportunity.
Now comes the harder part: earning the right to keep it.
The blue tsunami was a rejection of what Arizona Republicans had become. Whether it becomes a lasting political transformation depends on what Arizona Democrats do next.
Further reading: Mary Jo Pitzl, “Were we too Maga or not Maga enough?” — The Guardian, November 15, 2026.