Written by Priya for AZ Senate.
On Monday Jan. 12th we begin the 2026 Arizona Legislative session so why not look back at 2025 before we dive into the upcoming chaos?
I began 2025 as the new Senate Democratic Leader. Here I was pictured with House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos speaking at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce’s annual pre-session event.
Later in January 2025, I joined Governor Hobbs, my seatmate Rep. Chris Mathis (LD18), and a number of Republican elected officials from rural Arizona to introduce a bill to protect rural groundwater, which still has no regulations or protections and is the reason why rural residents see their wells running dry. Unfortunately the Republicans in the Legislature didn’t give this bill a hearing, as they do with most Democratic bills.
I fought hard against bad bills, including those that would help large corporations at the expense of working class Arizonans.
The national group Emily’s List named me the Arizona nominee for their Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award!
In addition to receiving the Arizona Wildlife Federation’s 2025 Aldo Leopold Conservation Award as Legislative Champion, I also received an A from the Sierra Club and Chispa AZ‘s 2025 report card.
I had a conversation with U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) about the Arizona Republican legislator who attacked her on social media, and the rise in extremist rhetoric going after women of color. See that conversation here on Instagram.
And I was interviewed in the New York Times about Arizona’s opportunity to flip both of our chambers in 2026. Read the NYTimes article here, and my posts on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads about it.
Read the full AZ Mirror article here, and see my posts on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, etc.
This is getting long so I’ll leave it there. Over the next year, Democrats in the Legislature will be showing that our policy priorities would reduce the cost of living that Republicans and Trump promised but are failing to deliver.
Help us FLIP the AZ Legislature
| Decades of Republican policies have led Arizona to insufficient investment in public education, and so much more. Democrats must be ready to take back seats in the Legislature next cycle. I’m still leading the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee to flip battleground districts – please help me in this effort so we can build more Democratic power and make progress for Arizona. And a more formal announcement to come – but please sign my petition for re-election to the Senate if you’re in LD18! https://go.azsos.gov/2ypt |