The new chair of the Democratic Party, Robert E. Branscomb II, sent a scathing letter to the Arizona Democratic State Committee recently accusing Arizona’s two Democratic senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, of threatening and intimidating him over his selection of an executive director. Branscomb, who became the new party chair in January, chose Michael Ruff, the party’s previous political director, for the position, sparking opposition from the state’s top Democratic leaders.
Branscomb, who owns an insurance agency, accused Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) of ordering him around, telling him he should not make staff changes without consulting him. “He emphasized his role in raising funds for the party and implied that I should be grateful, even beholden, to him for the party’s financial resources,” Branscom (pictured above) said.
Branscomb said after he announced who he was hiring for the party’s executive director, one of the senators texted him and told him he would no longer “support or assist in state party fundraising.” The other senator “called me directly — demeaning me and demanding I reverse my decision within 24 hours or ‘face consequences.’”
Branscomb accused the top staffer of one of the senators of “attempt[ing] to sow division and cause serious harm between Black and Brown communities by publicly stating that my election was the result of ‘Black folks coming after Latinos.’” Branscomb and Ruff are both black, and Branscomb is the first black chair of the party.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times