Petersen, Montenegro to lead Arizona legislature’s bolstered GOP majority

Sen. Warren Petersen will continue his role in 2025 as president of the Arizona Senate. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) | Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

Arizona's legislative Republicans, after gaining ground in both chambers in the Nov. 5 election, retained Warren Petersen as Senate president and elected Steve Montenegro as speaker of the House in a closed-door vote on Tuesday.

Montenegro, an experienced legislator and former majority leader from Goodyear, will replace current House Speaker Ben Toma, who is term-limited, and launched an unsuccessful bid for Congress this year. Montenegro, who has been a fierce advocate for stronger border security measures at the state level, is of Salvadoran descent, and will be the state's first Hispanic speaker of the House, according to House Republicans.

"I am deeply honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me to serve as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives," Montenegro said in a written statement. "Together, we have a strong mandate from Arizonans to advance policies that uphold our principles, promote economic growth, and protect the freedoms and values that define our great state."

Montenegro, who has been married since 2009, found himself in the midst of a sexting scandal in 2017 when an Arizona Senate staffer sent him a topless photos, preceded by a months-long exchange of messages, according to 12 News . Montenegro later admitted to sharing texts with the staffer over the course of months, and receiving the topless photo, but maintained he did nothing wrong, the Arizona Republic reported .

At the time, Montenegro was in the running to replace U.S. Congressman Trent Franks, who had resigned because of his inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. Montenegro lost the Republican primary for the seat.

At present, Republicans hold only a one-seat majority in each of Arizona's legislative chambers. Democrats were hopeful that they could tie or flip control of the House, Senate or both. They not only failed to do that, but they lost seats to Republicans.

Although vote counts across the state are still not completed and won't be officially certified for weeks, Republicans are poised to increase their majority in the Senate from 16 to 17 out of 30 and in the House from 31 to 33 out of 60.

House Republicans also elected Rep. Michael Carbone of Buckeye as majority leader and Rep. Julie Willoughby, of Chandler, as majority whip. Carbone has represented Legislative District 25 since 2023 and Willoughby has represented Legislative District 13 since she was appointed to replace controversial GOP Rep. Liz Harris in May 2023.

House Democrats on Tuesday voted to promote Assistant Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos, of Phoenix, to lead the caucus.

"It's an honor to be chosen to lead this outstanding caucus," De Los Santos said in a written statement. "This is a strong, smart and experienced team who will fight for you, for your public schools, for your rights, for our state's precious resources, for your bottom line and for your neighborhood."

De Los Santos, who was first elected to represent Legislative District 11 in 2022, also promised not to back down from fighting extremism.

Additionally, House Democrats elected Nancy Gutierrez, of Tucson, as assistant minority leader, and Reps Quantá Crews and Stacey Travers as minority whips.

Senate Republicans voted to retain Petersen, of Gilbert, as president for a second consecutive term. Petersen is a veteran legislator, first elected as a state representative in 2012 and then to the Senate after six years in the House.

In a statement posted on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, Petersen said he was grateful for the confidence his colleagues placed in him.

"The media got something right," Petersen wrote . "This is the most conservative legislature in history. We will continue to deliver a conservative agenda that will protect liberty and promote prosperity. With our expanded majority we will make sure our communities are safe and that our kids have the best educational opportunities possible. We will continue to lower taxes and eliminate government waste. We will work with the Trump administration to make sure our border is safe. We will secure our water supplies and our elections."

Petersen has recently shared tweets promoting President-elect Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education as well as an endorsement of Florida Sen. Rick Scott as U.S. Senate majority leader, the candidate most closely aligned with Trump.

Sen. T.J. Shope, of Coolidge, will also maintain his position as the Senate's president pro tem, which he has held for two legislative sessions. Shope previously served as speaker pro tem in the Arizona House from 2017 to 2020, when he was elected to the Senate.

Sen. Janae Shamp, of Surprise was elected Senate majority leader and Sen. Frank Carroll, of Sun City West, was named senate majority whip.

Senate Democrats elected Priya Sundareshan, of Tucson, as their senate minority leader. Sundareshan is one of the Democratic caucus's most outspoken members.

"The fight ahead will be uphill and the work will be hard," Sundareshan said in a written statement. "I am confident that along with my newly elected leadership team, we will deliver the very best possible for the people of Arizona...While Republicans have expanded their majority, it is paramount that we communicate and provide a better, bipartisan pathway forward. No matter what setback we may face, our priorities will continue to center working class Arizonans, vulnerable populations, and our future generations,"

Democrats chose Sen. Flavio Bravo as senate minority assistant leader, Rosanna Gabaldón as minority whip and Lela Alston as minority caucus chair.

Arizona's next legislative session is set to begin Jan. 13.