PHOENIX — After Arizona voters punched the “reset” button for the Arizona Legislature, majority Republicans are now drafting postelection strategies for tackling the state’s deepening budget crisis.

Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano and her allies had hoped that voters would add to the ranks of Democratic lawmakers in both legislative chambers, possibly even giving them control of the House.

Instead, Republicans gained seats on Election Day, though the exact number remained uncertain as vote-counting continued.

The Sept. 2 primary election had already ousted several liberal and moderate Republicans, replacing them with GOP conservatives.

The result is that newly elected Republican leaders who will formally assume their new posts in January should have more clout than their predecessors on budget issues.

“Clearly the voters of Arizona wanted a stronger Republican majority and we have to respond to that and we will,” said Rep. Kirk Adams, chosen Thursday as the next House speaker by new and returning GOP representatives who ousted incumbent Jim Weiers.

New approaches described by Adams include having the House Appropriations Committee produce the budget. That would be a long-ignored alternative to lining up enough lawmakers to rubber-stamp agreements hashed out by leaders behind closed doors.

Sen. Bob Burns, chosen by fellow Republicans as the next Senate president, is making the same commitment.

Both Burns and Adams decry recent budgeting that has allowed spending to exceed tax revenue by using borrowing and other maneuvers.

Having legislative committees do more work on the budget in public could subject proposed alternatives to more scrutiny.

That could be politically dicey because of the hard choices facing lawmakers who need to erase a projected $1.2 billion shortfall in the current budget and a bigger shortfall in the next one.

“You won’t have the surprises ... in the past budget,” Adams said, citing a last-minute floor vote that cost cities $30 million.

Napolitano helped tailor recent budget agreements to keep the state in the black while protecting spending for her priorities, including education, health care and social programs. They had backing from various combinations of Republicans and Democrats, though nearly all Republicans voted against the current budget.

Now, with GOP moderates’ ranks depleted, it’s more likely that Napolitano will have to use her veto authority to reject unacceptable budgets, said Sen. Jorge Garcia, a Tucson Democrat chosen as the Senate’s new minority leader.

“If that’s what it’s going to take for the new members to recognize that the ninth floor has great power, then that’s a process we have to take, Garcia said, referring to the Executive Tower location of the governor’s office.

Napolitano was noncommittal when asked what impact the Republicans’ gains in the Legislature might have on budget work.

“It’s hard to say,” she said. “We haven’t had a Democratic majority in either house at any time that I’ve been governor, so you deal with the Legislature that you’ve got.”