Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has won re-election, according to a race call by the Associated Press.
At about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning., when the AP called the race in her favor, Mayes led Republican Senate President Warren Petersen with more than 56% of the vote.
“I think the results say that the people of Arizona agreed with me and not Warren Petersen and the Republicans in the legislature,” Mayes said Tuesday evening. “I think Arizonans wanted a fighter.”
Mayes, a former journalist and state utility regulator, won office in 2022 over Republican Abe Hamadeh by just 280 votes. A former Republican, Mayes became a Democrat in 2019 following the Republican Party’s shift under the leadership of President Trump.
After taking office, she filed criminal charges against Arizona’s so-called fake electors, which were later tossed out by a judge. She says she plans to refile the case.
Mayes spent much of her first term in office battling the Trump administration and bringing consumer protection lawsuits against businesses accused of taking advantage of Arizonans.
She said voters were sending a message backing the Democratic leaders who have led the state for the past four years.
“Look, I think it’s a sign to go full speed ahead with what we’re doing, and that’s what I plan on doing,” Mayes said.
Petersen, who is currently president of the Republican-led Arizona Senate, has been a state lawmaker since 2013. Petersen was a central figure in the Arizona Senate's controversial and deeply flawed "audit" of Maricopa County's 2020 presidential election results, and issued subpoenas alongside then-Senate President Karen Fann.
Petersen, who is endorsed by most of the state’s police unions, accused Mayes of politicizing the office and said he planned to focus on supporting law enforcement and enforcing state laws.
