Democratic state Rep. Lydia Hernandez (D-LD24) has accused DJ Quinlan, a political consultant identified in state filings as Attorney General Kris Mayes’ campaign treasurer, of contacting her personal cellphone to pressure her over her endorsement of Republican Warren Petersen for attorney general.
Hernandez described the contact in a statement on Facebook accompanied by screenshots of the exchange. She said Quinlan texted her to criticize her decision to support Petersen and characterized the contact as harassment.
“This morning, DJ Quinlan, a political consultant associated with Kris Mayes’ campaign, texted me directly on my personal cell phone to criticize me over my endorsement of Warren Petersen for Arizona Attorney General. There is a difference between political disagreement and crossing the line,” Hernandez wrote. “We are not friends. We are not colleagues. I have never worked with him.”
The screenshots display the contact name “DJ” and the initials “DQ.” Hernandez identified the sender as Quinlan. The first incoming message reads, “Wow, you endorse the guy who told dreamers to be prepared to be deported. Gross. Selfish politician.”
Hernandez’s replies read, “Who is this?” followed by, “A text to insult me? Please refrain from contacting me again.”
The next incoming message reads, “To shame you. But you have no shame.”
A second screenshot shows Hernandez responding with a personal criticism, part of which is redacted. The sender then replies, “Oh, you remembered that we have talked” and “Good for you.”
“Mayes campaign harassing one of my endorsers. Mayes should condemn this unacceptable behavior,” Petersen wrote in a post to X. “This is par for the course for Mayes and her unprofessional team. I will restore respect and professionalism to the office.”
Mayes campaign harassing one of my endorsers. Mayes should condemn this unacceptable behavior. This is par for the course for Mayes and her unprofessional team. I will restore respect and professionalism to the office. pic.twitter.com/PGIZGwBCkx
A campaign finance report for Kris Mayes for Arizona, covering the second quarter of 2025, lists “Quinlan, DJ” as treasurer. Petersen identified the person accused of sending the messages as Mayes’ treasurer in a second post to X.
In his follow-up, Petersen called on Mayes to remove the treasurer, writing, “Mayes should drop him and condemn his unprofessional behavior.”
Kris Mayes treasurer, who didn't notice that Mayes accepted an illegal contribution last quarter, sent harassing text messages to one of my endorsers yesterday. Mayes should drop him and condemn his unprofessional behavior. https://t.co/DEY6ZzhVdD
The accusation follows Hernandez’s endorsement of Petersen over Mayes. Hernandez represents Legislative District 24 and cited public safety and schools in explaining her support for the Republican Senate president.
In a statement to AZ Free News, Mayes Campaign Manager Delaney Corcoran wrote:
“Informing someone who represents Maryvale and Arizona’s Latino community that they have endorsed an extremist who has promised family separations and the mass deportation of 70,000 Dreamers is not a threat. Intimidation is what we’ve seen from Jake Hoffman, TPUSA and other Warren supporters: aggressively attacking and calling for retribution against the 50 Republicans who bravely endorsed Attorney General Kris Mayes. Those are two very different things.”
In the statement shared by Petersen, Hernandez again pointed to school safety and said Petersen had committed to working with state education officials, the Auditor General’s Office, and the Legislature on school oversight and accountability.
“My political endorsements are my decision,” Hernandez wrote. “You can disagree with me politically all you want, but respect my boundaries.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes secured an internship for the son of one of her campaign donors who was also behind Wednesday’s debate, new records revealed.
Mayes’ campaign aide arranged for the son of Tim Riester, a donor, to receive an internship this past summer following a request from Riester, according to records reported by The California Globe.
Riester is the founder and CEO of RIESTER, an advertising and public relations firm with operations in Los Angeles, California and Park City, Utah in addition to Arizona.
Riester donated nearly $1,400 over two installments to the Mayes campaign. Riester asked Grace Forster, a campaign aide, about an internship for his son, Jim Riester, allegedly promised to him by Mayes herself the day after he made his second donation.
“When I was with Kris at her event on November 18th, she met my son Finn who is in law school and offered him an internship with the AG’s office this summer,” wrote Riester in an email to Forster.
Forster forwarded Riester’s email to several undisclosed recipients, then followed up days later on the internship request in an email to Mayes and multiple members of Mayes’ office: Bill Mundell, chief deputy attorney general; Emily McConnico, executive assistant; and Delaney Corcoran, who was Mayes’ deputy communications manager at the time and is now her campaign manager.
Mundell responded to Forster with a promise that an officer member would contact Riester. His son interned with Mayes’ Tobacco Enforcement Unit over the summer.
Riester was one of the principal partners behind Wednesday’s debate between Mayes and her Republican opponent, Senate President Warren Petersen.
Riester took over as a contractor for Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) candidate debates in January 2024 alongside the Arizona Media Association after CCEC parted ways with Arizona PBS.
During the pandemic, Riester achieved significant public attention as one of the principal creative minds behind Arizona’s COVID-19 campaign advising masks under the direction of former Gov. Doug Ducey in 2020, according to reporting from the Arizona Mirror. The state spent somewhere around $3 million on the campaign. Riester gave $10,000 to Ducey’s reelection campaign in 2018, though a vast majority of his thousands in donations to state-level and federal-level candidates in recent years have gone to Democrats.
Last year, Riester and his wife, Mirja, also donated $11,000 to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, the Democratic incumbent, and $1,000 to Nick Mansour, Democratic candidate for Arizona State Treasurer.
The pair also donated $10,800 to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ reelection campaign in October 2024. Mirja donated $10,000 to ActBlue Arizona and $10,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party in December 2022.
Last June, KJZZ interviewed Riester on President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Riester dismissed the “Made in America” movement as rooted in white prejudice, not patriotism.
“The first documented usage was in [1800s] San Francisco, in the cigar industry, and Americans were concerned because of the mass immigration of Chinese residents who were moving to the United States. And they were afraid they were going to be able to make the products much more quickly and inexpensively,” said Riester. “So they created a label that, really, was about prejudice. It was a white label, and it meant that the cigars were made by white people instead of by Chinese people. And that evolved into the Made in America brand that over the years we’ve seen used periodically.”
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