Arizona Democratic Chairperson Robert Branscomb’s Strategic Goals for 2026 and 2028: “To Win”

“We’re not going to back down and we’re going to build up, so we’ll be ready for 2026.”

“We thought it was abortion, but we found out it was the price of eggs, and we can’t afford to miss that anymore.”

New Arizona Democratic Party Chairperson Robert Branscomb understands what Democrats have to do to regain strength for his party that slipped away in 2024.

Promising to increase registration drives, hold town hall meetings in red, purple, and blue parts of the state, extending party outreach on social media, and connecting better with Arizonans on the issues that affect them, Mr. Branscomb made clear in the interview with Blog for Arizona that the major strategic goal for Democrats in 2024 and 2026 is “to win.”

Mr. Branscomb graciously took time to interview with Blog for Arizona on Friday, February 28.
The questions and his responses are below.

Discounting Ruben Gallego’s election win, 2024 was not a good year for Democrats in Arizona up and down the ballot. Please offer your thoughts on what are at least two reasons the election did not go to Democrats way despite the poor level of candidates and the track record on the Republican side.

“2024 was a challenging year for Democrats in Arizona but it is not without it’s bright spots. However, we must not lose sight of our strength and resilience as a Party. Ruben Gallego’s decisive victory proves that when we connect with the voters through a clear message and strong grassroots organization, we win.”

“The setbacks that we faced are not due to a lack of support for democratic values but rather a sign that we need to refine our strategy. And so, we are sharpening our message and strengthening our outreach, especially in the rural communities among the working class voters to make sure that we include all Arizonans.”

“Arizona remains a battleground state, and our Party is strong; we have the foundation of people [who share those same democratic values] and the vision to turn these challenges into opportunities. I like to say moving forward, we will unify our efforts by expanding our outreach efforts and ensuring that every voter knows exactly what the Democrats stand for. We’re not going to back down and we’re going to build up, so we’ll be ready for 2026.”

You mentioned how now Senator Gallego connected very well with voters. Most of the down ballot candidates like Kirsten Engel, Judy Schwiebert, Christine Marsh, and Jonathan Nez were exceptional candidates and ran strong campaigns. How, how did they not connect like Senator Gallego did?

“You know, all those are great candidates. I just think that some of it resonated more than others but that’s not to say that they didn’t have the same powerful message to go to the voters. I believe that Ruben’s success was because he went everywhere across the state, and he had the opportunity to talk to more people. Other people were located in maybe not as great a population or greater areas than Ruben had to track, but don’t discount that. They all had a great strong message and that in, in my opinion, they all should have won.”

What is your vision on how to take Democratic Party back to greater electoral fortunes in 2026 and 2028? Please explain.

“Well, our vision is to win. I mean in 2026 and 2028. That’s the objective, right? We must refine our messaging;we have to strengthen the grassroots efforts; we increase engagement; and protect the voter rights. Clearly, we didn’t communicate enough how Democratic policies improve lives. We need to focus on jobs, health care, education, and the environment, and we need to connect with voters across Arizona. We also need to strengthen our grassroots engagement by collaborating with local organizations and mobilizing those volunteers and working closely with the community leaders. By doing so I believe that we’ll build a stronger, more engaged Democratic base.”

Any local organizations you have in mind, or is that too early to say?

“You know, there’s a lot of local organizations out there that I’m working with but I think the best local organization is going to ultimately be us because we are the Democratic Party– we have the best volunteers which are our PC’s and our LD’s.”

Moving forward, what are these two strategies you and your team will employ to improve Democratic voter registration? Please explain.

“Juan Ciscomani, David Schweikert, and all the other Arizona House MAGA Republicans epitomize what is wrong right now–they’re doing a real good job at motivating people to register as Democrat, helping us get out the vote and we’re going to target our registration around people like that. We’re going to make sure that we involve our Young Dems who are certainly going to be our future and who have the energy. We’re going to involve our PC’s at the LD level. We’re going to do training. We’re going to have party members register their neighbors to vote and we’re going to do that Statewide and it’s going to be year-round. We’re not just going to do it in the cycle. We’re going to make sure that we take every opportunity to get those voters registered and get them motivated to turn out.”

Despite the poor record of Republicans on policy issues like the economy, education environment, reproductive freedom, and taxes, Democrats, despite the track record are the ones perceived as out of touch, especially on cultural wedge issues, with an increasing number of working and middle class families. Moving forward, what are at least two strategies to improve the Democratic brand and do better a job at selling their ideas with working and middle class families? Please explain.

“Well, clearly Democrats must clearly connect our policies to everyday economic concerns. Once again like job growth– even here in Arizona, our Democrats have been incredibly successful in creating job growth, but we need to be constantly reminding voters that that was our work. We forgave medical debt, which was helpful, and now we have to continue to lower health care costs. Housing has gone crazy; we need to expand affordable options; and we have to make sure our public education gets strong.”

“Rather than letting Republicans define the debate, we need to highlight how Democratic policies directly improve financial stability for working- and middle-class families. We must be proactive and engage in communities on cultural issues. Meeting people where they are and addressing concerns with respect.”

“We see the Republicans day-in and day-out ignoring or going against what the constituents want. They painted this picture of that they are for the working class, but their actions speak differently, and they can’t be trusted. And they proved that every day as we look at the news.”

As a strategy, will you be holding town halls in red district areas?

“I’m going to hold town halls wherever we can hold town halls because not only are these Democratic policies improving everybody’s lives, they’re policies for all Arizonans. So, we’re not going to limit it to just Democrats. We want to make sure that we include all Arizonans in this conversation.”

In the last election, the more uninformed the voter, the greater support for Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans down the ballot. Please describe how the Party will improve outreach efforts in the next two election cycles to better inform the voters.

“Glad you asked that question because in my first 30 days. I’ve started efforts to go ahead and start reaching out to the voters. Like I said before, it all starts with the everyday person to know what their concerns on the issues are. We thought the leading issue was abortion, but for some it was the price of eggs and we can’t afford to miss that nuance anymore. That cost us the election. But you know what? We’re going to get back up and we’re going to go back out there and do what we need to do. The Republicans cannot continue to discount the needs and wants of the citizens, especially in Arizona. So, while we’re out there, fighting, letting people know that the Democrats are not going away that we’re here to stay and we going to make sure that we defend their rights as everyday Arizonans.”

In terms of social media outreach, will you leave no stone unturned?

“You know the Young Dems are good at that so I’ve tasked them with helping with the social media outlets like Tik Tok and Facebook and all those great things we need to take advantage of that and get our message out. We just can’t rely on the news media to do it for us. We have to control that narrative and make sure it gets out to the voters.”

Is there anything not covered in the first five questions that you like the readers to know about your vision on where to take the Arizona Democratic Party? Please explain.

“My vision for the Arizona Democratic party is continuing to grow and be strong. It is also to make sure that we as a Democrat Party are there for the everyday person: for the workers, for the teachers, for the students, for the people who cannot speak for themselves. We’re not going anywhere and we’re not going to lose that branding to the Republicans. Every day, the Republicans show more and more how they’re not for the people. And as Democrats it is our job as our responsibility to stand up and fight for our values for all Arizonans.