On Saturday, January 24, 2026, the Arizona Republican Party gathered in Prescott for their annual meeting and the highlight of the event was the election of a new state party chairman. The chairman was Gina Swoboda, who was stepping down to pursue a run for Congress.
By a final vote of 761–621, former combat veteran and longtime party activist Sergio Arellano was elected as the Party’s new Chairman. Arellano made history as the first Latino Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party.
After his victory, Chairman Arellano released a statement thanking the other candidates and those who participated in the meeting. “Our Party stands at a crossroads. We are facing Democrats who seek to control our children and our schools, weaken our borders, undermine law enforcement, and grow government at the expense of families and small businesses.”
With so much at stake, the State Committeemen elected me with a clear mandate: to end internal division, reenergize our donors and volunteers, and win elections for the hardworking Arizonans who raise their families, attend church, pay their taxes, respect the law, and love this country.
I went to war for this nation, and as Chairman I will dedicate myself to bringing unity, strength, and prosperity to this Party. I will serve no faction, no clique, and no personal interest. The Arizona Republican Party will remain neutral in primaries and aggressive in general elections.”
Much of the election was focused on the likely battle between Arellano and Pam Kirby, a former Executive Director of the AZGOP who was seen as the proxy for former National Committeeman Tyler Bowyer and the current National Committeeman Jake Hoffman, both of whom attacked Arellano during the campaign.
“It likely helped Arellano to be attacked by Bowyer and Hoffman because their brand is increasingly toxic in the Party,” said a Southern Arizona state committeeman who attended the meeting. “When people complain about the grifters trying to take over the party, those are the kinds of people they are complaining about.”
Arellano enjoyed the support of many elected officials, including state legislators like State Senators Janae Shamp and Frank Carroll, and State Representatives Lisa Fink, Walt Blackman and Nick Kupper. His opponents did everything they could to stop him, including threatening the state party with lawsuits if they allowed him to run, even as they drew the scorn of most Republicans.
Removing from eligibility arguably the top contender for @AZGOP chair the day before the election seems very suspect to me.
It looks like the same tactics we’ve fought against in elections for years. pic.twitter.com/Pr6V6E33I2
— Nick Kupper (@realnickkupper) January 23, 2026
Those efforts almost succeeded, as the Party tried to take him off the ballot, but the convention restored him to the ballot and eventually carried him to victory.
Now Arellano faces a difficult challenge, because he is less than a year away from a major election, he has a party to rebuild, funds to raise, and a campaign apparatus to rebuild. State committeemen who attended the meeting were nevertheless optimistic.
“The sore losers will bitch and moan as usual but so what?” asked one of them, “I think Sergio will work hard, we’ll come together to support him and each other, and we’ll win in November!”
In his release, Chairman Arellano also congratulated the newly elected officers of the Arizona Republican Party:
– First Vice Chair Shiry Sapir
– Second Vice Chair Kevin Maldonado
– Third Vice Chair Nickie Kelly
– Secretary Sherra Kissee
– Sergeant-at-Arms Carrie Hughes
– Assistant Secretary Shirley Dye
– Assistant Treasurer Young Mayberry
– Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Frank Antenori
– CD7 Member-at-Large Kathy Noriega
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