Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) confirmed on Monday he is considering a campaign to unseat Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes in 2026, and later said he is being urged to challenge the attorney general by multiple Arizona attorneys.
Mayes was declared the winner of her 2022 election against Abe Hamadeh, who is now the U.S. Congressman-elect for Arizona’s eighth district, by just 280 votes, making it the narrowest statewide election in the history of Arizona.
After a user on the social media platform X acknowledged Petersen is qualified for the position, Petersen revealed, “Many prosecutors and lawyers are encouraging me to run.”
Of his record in legal action against Mayes as the Senate President, he added, “I have beat Mayes every time. 0 losses. In fact we were just awarded over 40k in attorneys fees against her.”
He also twice criticized Mayes after she initiated a criminal investigation when President-elect Donald Trump suggested former Representative Liz Cheney should be required to fight the wars she supports, launching one criticism before Election Day, and a second after Mayes ended her investigation and Petersen confirmed his interest in her position.
“Just learned that Kris Mayes is investigating [Trump] over what he said about Liz Cheney,” wrote Petersen in a November 1 post to X. “First of all his comment was clearly not a threat. He said if she had to go to war instead of our kids then she would not be a warhawk. She has it completely backwards!”
She should have told the media what he said was protected by the 1st amendment. Protect the Constitution instead of weaponizing your office to harrass and censure!
— Warren Petersen (@votewarren) November 1, 2024
Petersen on Tuesday referenced Mayes’ opposition to the death penalty in the case of a convicted murderer.
“Mayes opposed the death penalty for a convicted first degree murderer,” wrote Petersen. “Yet, she wanted to prosecute President Trump because he called Liz Cheney a warhawk, speech clearly protected by the First amendment. Let that sink in.”
The attorney general has similarly vowed to continue her criminal case against those who helped Trump contest the results of the 2020 election in Arizona, including Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who served as an alternative Electoral College elector in order to preserve Trump’s legal claims during the contest.
Mayes also stated she plans to oppose efforts by the Trump administration to deport illegal immigrants or eliminate Obama-era protections for illegal immigrants smuggled into the country as children.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photos “Warren Petersen” and “Kris Mayes” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
