Kris Mayes
Kris Mayes (Democratic Party) is the Attorney General of Arizona. She assumed office on January 2, 2023. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Mayes (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for Attorney General of Arizona. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. She advanced from the Democratic primary on July 21, 2026.
Mayes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Kris Mayes was born in Prescott, Arizona. She earned a high school diploma from Prescott High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1994 and a law degree in 2003, both from Arizona State University. She also earned a graduate degree from Columbia University in 1999. Her career experience includes working as a lawyer.[1][2]
2026 battleground election
- See also: Arizona Attorney General election, 2026
Ballotpedia identified the November 3 general election for attorney general in Arizona as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Incumbent Kris Mayes (D) and Warren Petersen (R) are running in the general election for Attorney General of Arizona on November 3, 2026.
Mayes was elected in 2022 49.9%–49.9%. That year, Katie Hobbs (D) won the gubernatorial election 50.3%–49.6% and Mark Kelly (D) won the senatorial election 51.4%–46.5%. In 2024, President Donald Trump (R) defeated Kamala Harris (D) 52.2%–46.7% in the presidential election and Ruben Gallego (D) won the senatorial election 50.1%–47.7%.
Before her election as attorney general, Mayes was an attorney, journalist, and law professor. She served as a Republican member of the Arizona Corporation Commission from 2003 to 2010.[3] In a post on X.com, Mayes said, "From day one, I’ve stayed focused on the work at hand — protecting Arizona families from drug smugglers and scammers, holding greedy corporations accountable, defending our water, and keeping our communities safe. That work isn’t done."[4]
Petersen has been a member of the Arizona Legislature since 2013, alternating between the House and Senate. He has represented the 12th District in the Arizona Senate since 2021. He represented the 12th District in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. From 2017 to 2019, he represented the 12th District in the Arizona Senate. From 2017 to 2013, he represented the 12th District in the Arizona House of Representatives. Petersen's campaign website says, "As Senate President, I stood up for Arizona families by defending state laws when others refused, like ensuring fairness in women’s sports. I’ve led the charge against unconstitutional mandates, fought for our Second Amendment rights, and worked to keep government in check."[5]
The Arizona Mirror's Gloria Rebecca Gomez wrote, "Mayes has marked her time in office by opposing Trump administration policies and joining dozens of lawsuits aimed at blocking them — especially the White House’s mass deportation campaign, and defending access to abortion care in the wake of the state’s abortion rights amendment. Meanwhile, Petersen has vowed to uphold Trump’s political agenda and mobilized his position as the head of the Arizona Senate for the last three years to intervene in lawsuits on behalf of laws that Mayes refused to defend, including a near-total abortion ban from 1864 and the state’s trans athletic ban."[6]
This election, along with the elections for governor and secretary of state, will determine Arizona's triplex status. Democrats currently hold all three triplex offices, making Arizona a Democratic triplex. If all three Democratic incumbents are re-elected, Democrats will maintain their triplex in Arizona. If all three Republican challengers win, Republicans will gain a triplex in Arizona. A mixed outcome would result in neither party having a triplex.
The Arizona Attorney General is the state's chief law enforcement officer, responsible for providing legal advice to the state government and both filing and defending lawsuits on behalf of the state.[7] This is one of 30 attorney general elections taking place in 2026. Forty-three of 50 states hold elections for attorney general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections taking place this year.
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Mayes' political career includes the following offices:
- 2023-present: Attorney General of Arizona
- 2003-2011: Arizona Corporation Commission
Elections
2026
See also: Arizona Attorney General election, 2026
Arizona Attorney General election, 2026 (July 21 Republican primary)
Arizona Attorney General election, 2026 (July 21 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for Attorney General of Arizona
Incumbent Kris Mayes and Warren Petersen are running in the general election for Attorney General of Arizona on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Kris Mayes (D)  | |
 | Warren Petersen (R) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Arizona
Incumbent Kris Mayes advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Arizona on July 21, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kris Mayes | 100.0 | 501,339 |
| Total votes: 501,339 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Arizona
Warren Petersen defeated Rodney Glassman in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Arizona on July 21, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Warren Petersen | 55.9 | 230,430 |
 | Rodney Glassman | 44.1 | 181,465 | |
| Total votes: 411,895 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[8] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[9] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.
| Poll | Dates | Mayes (D) | Petersen (R) | Don't know | Not sure | Other | Undecided | Sample size | Margin of error | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | 48 | 46 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | 550 LV | ± 4.2% | Elijah Norton | |
– | 52 | 37 | -- | 11 | -- | -- | 400 LV | ± 4.9% | ||
– | 36.7 | 33.8 | -- | -- | -- | 29.5 | 1627 RV | ± 2.6% | ||
– | 48.3 | 40.3 | -- | -- | -- | 11.4 | 400 LV | ± 4.9% | ||
– | 44 | 38 | -- | -- | 2 | 16 | 923 LV | ± 3.2% | ||
– | 41 | 38 | -- | -- | -- | 21 | 530 LV | ± 4.3% | ||
– | 47 | 46 | -- | -- | -- | 7 | 600 LV | ± 4.0% | ||
– | 48 | 43 | -- | 9 | -- | -- | 913 LV | ± 3.2% | AARP | |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | ||||||||||
Candidate spending
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[10][11][12]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Race ratings
Endorsements
- See also: Our approach to covering endorsements
Kris Mayes received the following endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To view a full list of Mayes's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- 92% Club (Sway voting group by Kenya Anissa)
- AI is NOT above the law (Sway voting group by Ali Partovi)
- Adam Tsou endorsements (Sway voting group by Adam Tsou)
- CD5 for Nurse Lee (Sway voting group by Marlee)
- D is for Democracy (Sway voting group by Matthew Coelho)
- Flipping AZ Blue (Sway voting group by Nancy)
- Jess’s Progressive Picks (Sway voting group by Jess Craven)
- Mamdanification (Sway voting group by Hunter Dunn and Smallplates)
- Resistance Social Club (Sway voting group by Audrey Sharpe)
- Robin’s Roundtable: Voting Guide (Sway voting group by Robin Reese)
- The Voting Circle (Sway voting group by Shawnté)
- Trailhead to the ballot box (Sway voting group by Caroline Gleich)
- Vote with Marlee (Sway voting group by Marlee)
2022
See also: Arizona Attorney General election, 2022
General election
General election for Attorney General of Arizona
Kris Mayes defeated Abraham Hamadeh and Samantha Severson in the general election for Attorney General of Arizona on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kris Mayes (D) | 49.9 | 1,254,809 |
 | Abraham Hamadeh (R) | 49.9 | 1,254,529 | |
 | Samantha Severson (L) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 3,052 | ||
| Total votes: 2,512,390 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Kielsky (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Arizona
Kris Mayes advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Arizona on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kris Mayes | 100.0 | 556,351 |
| Total votes: 556,351 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Diego Rodriguez (D)
- Bob McWhirter (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Arizona
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Arizona on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Abraham Hamadeh | 33.6 | 265,636 |
| Rodney Glassman | 23.6 | 186,863 | |
 | Andrew W. Gould | 16.7 | 132,253 | |
 | Dawn Grove | 12.0 | 94,670 | |
 | Lacy Cooper | 8.6 | 67,742 | |
 | Tiffany Shedd | 5.6 | 44,453 | |
| Total votes: 791,617 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Arizona
Michael Kielsky advanced from the Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Arizona on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael Kielsky (Write-in) | 100.0 | 571 |
| Total votes: 571 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kris Mayes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mayes' responses.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Mayes' campaign website stated the following:
Priorities
Attorney General Kris Mayes is the fighter Arizona families need: someone who leaves politics at the door, stands up for everyday Arizonans, and gets results. A former Republican, Mayes has picked a lot of fights — and won. She took on Saudi Arabian mega-farms draining Arizona’s water supply. She fought greedy corporations that gouged Arizonans on rent and groceries. She went after drug smugglers, elder abusers, and scammers. And who benefited? Everyday Arizonans — small business owners, farmers and ranchers, parents, and kids. But the work isn’t done. There are still powerful interests taking advantage of Arizona families, and Kris Mayes isn’t backing down:
Taking on the Cartels, Drug Smugglers, and Violent Criminals
As Attorney General, Mayes has been a partner to law enforcement, delivering millions of dollars in funding and resources so border sheriffs and Arizona police can keep us safe. She has locked up drug cartel members, seized more than 27 million deadly fentanyl pills off our streets, and gone after criminals trying to take advantage of our kids. That’s why Mayes is endorsed by sheriffs across Arizona.
Going After Greedy Corporations That Are Price Gouging and Ripping Arizonans Off
Mayes takes on anyone who rips off Arizonans — and doesn't back down. Mayes fought to protect Arizonans from corporate price gouging, prosecuting corporate landlords for inflating housing costs and ending monopolistic tactics that raise prices on groceries and utilities. She's standing up to data centers driving up our utility bills. Mayes will keep fighting to keep us safe and make life more affordable.
Protecting Seniors from Fraud and Scams
Mayes’s office has aggressively prosecuted those who scammed vulnerable Arizonans out of more than a billion dollars in Medicaid funds, as well as those who made fraudulent claims for pandemic small business loans and unemployment benefits – achieving justice for seniors who were neglected and abused in the facilities that were supposed to care for them. Mayes created an Elder Affairs Unit dedicated to investigating abuse and scams against our seniors. She’s cracking down on mobile home and apartment landlords letting their residents illegally suffer without electricity digit heat.
Protecting Arizona's Water Supply and Rural Groundwater
As Attorney General, Mayes knows how important protecting Arizona’s scarce water supply is. That’s why her office has taken on Saudi Arabian mega-farms that have drained our rural water supplies, sued polluters who contaminated Arizonans’ drinking water, and pushed for more regulation to stop corporations from depriving families and small farms of water resources. She also reached a historic agreement with Riverview Dairy that required the dairy to pay $11 million into a fund that is already helping families in rural Arizona redrill their wells. Mayes is protecting our water supply for the next generation.
Prosecuting Sexual Predators and Cracking Down on AI That Targets Kids
Attorney General Kris Mayes will always fight to protect Arizona children and families from sexual predators. Mayes has prosecuted rapists, child abusers, online predators, and sex traffickers across the state, partnering with local law enforcement and prosecutors to hold these dangerous criminals accountable. Mayes has also demanded that artificial intelligence companies put up safeguards and are held accountable for violent, sexually explicit AI-generated images of minors.
Overturning Tariffs and Protecting $2.3 Billion Arizona Taxdollars
Attorney General Kris Mayes will always stand up to anyone to protect the best interests of Arizonans. Mayes sued the federal government for breaking the law in order to fire Arizona workers, trying to raise prices with reckless tariffs, gutting funding for public education, and cutting funding for our veterans and seniors. And, Mayes has successfully gotten back $2.3 billion dollars in federal funds for Arizona.
Protecting Arizonans' Freedoms
Attorney General Kris Mayes will always stand up for Arizonans’ freedoms. She led the fight against Arizona’s near-total abortion ban and worked to uphold voters’ decision to make abortion a fundamental right. She has also fought to protect Arizonans’ right to vote, defend secure and fair elections, and ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard. As attacks on these fundamental freedoms continue, Mayes will keep standing up for Arizona women and Arizona voters.
— Kris Mayes' campaign website (August 27, 2026)
Campaign ads
View more ads here:
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kris Mayes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mayes' responses.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Lawsuit dismissed after Adelita Grijalva's swearing-in (2025)
On October 21, 2025, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) and Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) filed a lawsuit against U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), after he refused to seat Grijalva while the House was out of session leading up to and during the federal government shutdown. Grijalva won a special election to represent Arizona's 7th Congressional District on September 23, 2025. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Johnson had not called the House into session since September 19. Johnson did not swear Grijalva in for 50 days after her election.[13] Grijalva was sworn in on November 12, when the House returned from an 8-week recess to vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government.[14] The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on November 14, 2025.[15]
In a statement when the lawsuit was filed, Grijalva said, "Speaker Johnson’s obstruction has gone far beyond petty partisan politics – it’s an unlawful breach of our Constitution and the democratic process. The voters of Southern Arizona made their choice, yet for four weeks, he has refused to seat a duly elected Member of Congress – denying Southern Arizona its constitutional representation."[16] Johnson responded to the lawsuit, saying, "We run the House. She has no jurisdiction. We're following the precedent. She's looking for national publicity. Apparently, she's gotten some of it but good luck with that."[17]
On October 29, the gap between Grijlava's election and swearing-in reached 39 days, making it the longest span between these events in U.S. history.[18] Before Grijalva's election, there were three other special elections to the U.S. House during the 119th Congress. Two special elections in Florida on April 1, 2025, resulted in the election of Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.) and Randy Fine (R-Fla.). Both Patronis and Fine were sworn in during a pro forma session the following day.[19] James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) was elected in a special election in Virginia on September 9, 2025, and was sworn in the next day during a regular session.[20]
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Attorney General of Arizona |
Officeholder Attorney General of Arizona |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 13, 2022
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 18, 2026
- ↑ Kris Mayes 2026 campaign website, "About," accessed August 21, 2026
- ↑ X.com, "Kris Mayes on July 21, 2026," accessed August 21, 2026
- ↑ Warren Petersen 2026 campaign website, "Bio," accessed August 21, 2026
- ↑ Arizona Mirror, "Warren Petersen wins GOP primary for attorney general over Rodney Glassman," July 22, 2026
- ↑ Arizona Attorney General, "About the Office of Attorney General," accessed August 21, 2026
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ Politico, "Arizona attorney general sues Mike Johnson for failing to seat Adelita Grijalva," October 21, 2025
- ↑ Politico, "Adelita Grijalva is sworn in to House, pledges to force Epstein disclosure," November 12, 2025
- ↑ CourtListener, "ARIZONA v. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," accessed November 17, 2025
- ↑ Arizona Attorney General, "Attorney General Mayes, Representative-elect Grijalva Sue House of Representatives," October 21, 2025
- ↑ Reuters, "Arizona sues US House over delay in swearing in Democrat Grijalva," October 21, 2025
- ↑ Politico, "Capitol agenda: Thune says shutdown talks are picking up," October 29, 2025
- ↑ Congress.gov, "April 2, 2025 - Issue: Vol. 171, No. 59 — Daily Edition," accessed October 22, 2025
- ↑ Congress.gov, "September 10, 2025 - Issue: Vol. 171, No. 148 — Daily Edition," accessed October 22, 2025
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Brnovich (R) |
Attorney General of Arizona 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Arizona Corporation Commission 2003-2011 |
Succeeded by - |
