The two candidates for the Republican primary in the attorney general’s race took to the debate stage on Thursday.
Rodney Glassman and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) exchanged jabs about the legitimacy of the other’s status as an attorney.
Glassman first ran for public office as a Democrat in the 2010 U.S. Senate race, where his campaign video “Sweet Home Arizona” went viral. Glassman lost to the incumbent, the late Sen. John McCain. Since then, Glassman has made unsuccessful runs in other races as a Republican candidate: Arizona Corporation Commission in 2018, Maricopa County assessor in 2020, and attorney general in 2022.
Petersen has been a Republican since he first ran for public office in 2012, where he won in the Arizona House of Representatives race for the 12th district. He has served in the Arizona legislature since then.
During Thursday night’s debate, Glassman said Petersen was problematic for engaging in bipartisanship to secure a state budget every year under the Democratic leadership of Gov. Katie Hobbs and incumbent Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Glassman argued that Petersen allowing the passage of several state budgets with a Democrat attorney general in power, Kris Mayes, was improper for a Republican to have done. Glassman blamed Petersen for Mayes filing 42 lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Petersen said Glassman was “not a serious candidate,” in part for making that argument. Petersen said the implications of refusing to fund the attorney general’s office in the state budget would effectively defund law enforcement, which he called “reckless” on Glassman’s part. Petersen did clarify that the Republican-led legislature had cut Mayes’ budgeting.
“We have cut [Mayes’] funding, to hold her accountable, and she sued us [the legislature],” said Petersen.
Petersen claimed Glassman lacked any noteworthy professional experience, save for a status as a perennial candidate — first as a Democrat, then a Republican.
ICYMI: Rodney Glassman let the mask slip. He admitted he supports defunding law enforcement and opposes Republican budgets that fund public safety. Watch Warren Petersen completely dismantle him. Rodney spoke like a radical lefty. When someone tells you who they are, believe them pic.twitter.com/vcWocWKapB
— AZ Politics War Room (@AZPolWarRoom) May 29, 2026
Glassman said he supports President Donald Trump and his agenda. This represents a flip from the years leading up to this race in which Glassman aligned with mainstream Democrat policies on major issues like abortion, border security, campaign finance, public education, energy, healthcare, and taxation.
Glassman also stressed his experience as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force JAG Corps Reserve at Luke Air Force Base.
ICYMI👇
Last night, I went head-to-head with my Republican primary opponent. While he resorted to false, unproven attacks, I focused on what actually matters: experience.
Arizona Republicans want to fire Kris Mayes this November. I’m the only candidate with the background to… pic.twitter.com/gZKyJgwn8T
Petersen responded with a claim that personnel within the Luke Air Force Base legal department have denied knowing Glassman.
Petersen said under his administration, the state would enter into a 287(g) agreement to assist immigration enforcement with deportations. Petersen also promised to prioritize election integrity regardless of the party in power. Glassman vowed a loyalty to Trump on the matters of election integrity, alluding to some doubts about the validity of the 2020 election.
Petersen also said he would approach the state’s water crisis through a focus on water augmentation, specifically by 2.5 million-acre feet. Glassman didn’t offer a solution that could be heard (that portion of the debate faced technical difficulties), but instead cited his doctorate in arid-land sciences and environmental law degree from the University of Arizona.
Petersen called Glassman “a trust-fund baby” whose entire occupation is running for office, and that Glassman was a candidate “who lies about everything” and belongs in prison.
Recent polling shows Petersen as favored to win the Republican primary for attorney general.
Glassman has raised over $3 million for his campaign, $1 million of which came from his own pocket (33%). $77,500 came from interest or dividends received from banks.
Petersen has raised over $1.4 million for his campaign, $123,000 of which came from his own pocket (8%).
The Arizona Clean Elections Commission hosted the hourlong debate:
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Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is once again facing another Open Meeting Law complaint over a non-public advisory committee.
The complaint, filed last month with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, claims that SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel has again violated Open Meeting Law during his phased approach to closing schools.
The Scottsdale resident who filed the complaint told AZ Free News that he felt compelled to look into SUSD’s process for school closures in response to the community shock over the governing board’s decision to close Pima Elementary School and Echo Canyon School last December.
The closures brought $2.5 million in savings to the district. SUSD began looking into the closing and consolidating of schools, among other solutions, to address an $8 million budget deficit driven by declining enrollment.
This latest complaint claims that SUSD’s non-public Phase II Design Advisory Team was formed at the direction of the board and therefore required to be open to the public. Superintendent Menzel encouraged the governing board to authorize the design advisory team during a regular governing board meeting last November.
The next month, during the same meeting to close the Pima and Echo Canyon schools, the governing board discussed the design advisory team’s formation. In that meeting, Menzel and SUSD governing board president Donna Lewis strategized on ways for the board to direct the design advisory team’s formation but style it as a superintendent’s committee. The board indicated that it wanted Menzel to move forward with the team, but didn’t take a vote to create the team.
The design advisory team operates under the classification of a Superintendent Advisory Committee, which is exempt from Open Meeting Law requirements. The newly filed complaint alleges that the governing board’s involvement in the creation of the Phase II Design Advisory Team makes that classification untrue.
The Phase II Design Advisory Team is charged with crafting recommendations on schools to the board, including further closures or consolidations.
The resident behind the complaint told AZ Free News that he filed against the district after SUSD personnel denied him entry to one of the design advisory team’s meetings in person.
SUSD told AZ Free News that it hasn’t received notification of this complaint.
SUSD got into trouble last year for similar non-public advisory committees.
Last summer, Attorney General Kris Mayes found SUSD had violated Open Meeting Law for using advisory committees in a manner similar to the alleged violation outlined in the complaint.
“The Open Meeting Law does not permit a governing board to evade the public meeting requirements by ‘informally’ forming or establishing, or by directing a superintendent to establish, a committee to perform work that would otherwise need to be conducted in public,” stated Mayes. “[W]e caution against an overly narrow reading of the law focused exclusively on the circumstances of a committee’s creation.”
The Phase II Design Advisory Team has held five meetings since it began in March. The team consists of two facilitators, Karen Benson and Quintin Boyce, and 45 members.
28 parents or guardians on the team represent current students at 11 schools: Anasazi Elementary School, Cheyenne Traditional School, Copper Ridge School, Desert Canyon Elementary School, Desert Canyon Middle School, Desert Canyon Mountain High School, Redfield Elementary School, Laguna Elementary School, Saguaro Middle School, Mountainside Middle School, and Mohave Middle School.
Other team members include eight SUSD staff members, six homeowners in the community, one community organization member, and one university partner.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Over the past three years, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has been executing a political agenda.
She has refused to defend state laws—while going out of her way to attack common-sense federal policies—simply on the grounds that she personally disagrees.
She’s failed to uphold our values. She’s destroyed common sense. And she has pursued an extreme political agenda to appease her party leadership—all the while undermining President Trump’s efforts to make America great again.
Principled, hard-working Arizonans have paid the price for her politically motivated dereliction of duty.
I’m running for Attorney General because Arizona desperately needs a top law enforcement officer who will uphold our laws and fairly represent Arizona families.
As Senate President, I’ve taken part in over 110 lawsuits to ensure Arizona’s laws and interests are defended when the Attorney General wouldn’t act. We have led an unprecedented campaign to protect Arizonans, and our action has provided unparalleled experience.
I’ve defended Arizona’s sex offender registration laws. The case in question, Doe v. Sheridan, argues whether our state can mandate convicted sex offenders to keep law enforcement informed, including reporting online identifiers used on social media and other platforms, so officers can investigate crimes and prevent future harms. The Arizona Legislature stepped up and successfully defended the sex offender registration laws in court after the Arizona attorney general failed to carry out her responsibility to do so.
I’ve defended the integrity of girls’ sports. As Senate President, I’ve led the defense of Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act in federal court against special interests seeking to allow boys to play in girls’ sports. We’ve taken this case all the way to the Supreme Court, and we’re waiting on a major ruling from the nation’s high court on similar cases that could affect Arizona’s law.
I’ve defended laws dealing with the First Amendment. One of those cases was Chiles v. Salazar, where the Arizona Legislature joined a challenge to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban. Another was in NRA v. Vullo, where we challenged whether the State of New York could threaten banks with adverse regulatory actions if they provided services to the National Rifle Association.
I’ve defended laws related to the Second Amendment. One of those cases was Smith & Wesson v. Mexico, defending American firearms manufacturers from being held liable from frivolous lawsuits from foreign entities. Another was Miller v. Bonta, challenging California’s ban on the manufacture, distribution, importation, and possession of various firearms.
I’ve defended laws related to the Eighth Amendment. Under my leadership, the Arizona Senate filed briefs to allow cities to disband homelessness encampments, winning at the Supreme Court.
I’ve defended the state’s right to carry out justice regarding capital punishment.
I’ve defended election integrity. We intervened to defend Arizona’s ability to make sure only citizens are voting in our elections.
I’ve defended our state against radical environmentalists. In Petersen v. EPA, we sued the Biden-led EPA to overturn unattainable environmental standards that punished job creators, and detrimentally impacted America’s power grid. We joined a lawsuit to block a California rule forcing trucking drivers to use less efficient battery-powered vehicles, which would have further increased the costs of everyday items.
I’ve defended our state against unconstitutional executive overreach. We challenged then-President Biden’s executive order forcing federal contractors and their employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
And I’ve defended our state against rampant government encroachment on our lands.
Thanks to my involvement in these—and dozens of other legal efforts—I’ve been called Arizona’s de facto Attorney General, stepping in where our liberal Attorney General has shamefully abdicated her role. Our engagement in these matters has allowed me to serve our great citizens and provide leadership where none existed. It’s time for Arizona to once again have an Attorney General committed to serving all the people—not just partisan special interests.
The leader of the Arizona Senate is one of the top contenders to unseat Attorney General Kris Mayes this November, according to a recent poll.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) led among prospective voters polled about the upcoming primary election in the attorney general’s race.
The poll from Gray House surveyed 400 likely Republican voters and 450 likely general election voters across the state.
Petersen leads fellow Republican candidate Rodney Glassman, both before voters were advised of the candidates’ backgrounds and after. (The polling did include a third Republican candidate, Greg Roeberg; however, Roeberg withdrew from the race in February).
A majority of voters — 75 percent — said they were undecided prior to being informed about the candidates’ backgrounds.
After, 42 percent of the 75 percent of undecided voters put their support behind Petersen.
65 percent of likely voters polled said they were more likely to support Petersen after hearing his biography.
Petersen’s platform proposes a more conservative federalist approach to the attorney general’s office: defending the rule of law as opposed to acting on personal political preferences, curbing federal overreach, increasing criminal prosecutions, defending women’s sports, and protecting constitutional rights.
Petersen has served in the Arizona legislature since 2012—first in the state house, then the state senate. He also assumed a leadership role in the house; he served as the majority leader prior to his election to the state senate.
Glassman, by contrast, lost the support of 74 percent of the voters polled after hearing his biography.
Glassman’s platform focused on certain specific areas of interest, a continuance of the major flip he made from his years as a Democrat: prosecuting border crime and election fraud, advocating for law enforcement, defending the Second Amendment, and scrutinizing government expenditures.
Prior to this race, Glassman ran for attorney general in 2022 as a Republican (lost in the primary), Maricopa County assessor in 2020 as a Republican (lost in the primary), Arizona Corporation Commission in 2018 as a Republican (lost in the general election), and U.S. Senate in 2010 as a Democrat (lost in the general election).
Voters expressed indifference to Roeberg after hearing his biography, only inspiring an additional 17 percent more likely voters.
Among prospective general election voters, Petersen trailed behind Attorney General Mayes by two points, around 42 to 44 percent.
Glassman trailed Mayes by 7 points and Roeberg trailed Mayes by 9 points.
As state senate president, Petersen has been uniquely positioned among the candidates to challenge Mayes on her execution of the office directly. A significant portion of Mayes’ focus in office since last January has concerned fighting policies and executive orders put forth by the Trump administration.
Earlier this week Petersen referred Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to the Department of Justice for an investigation, alleging the pair were guilty of obstruction of justice and witness tampering for meddling with a federal probe into Arizona election records.
“The threats of the Attorney General and Secretary of State are incompatible with United States Constitution, which enshrines the grand jury in our constitutional order, and only serve to hinder voters’ confidence in our elections,” stated Petersen.
Today I referred Kris Mayes and Adrian Fontes to the Department of Justice for obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness. It is disturbing to see their resistance to an election integrity investigation.https://t.co/pRJ3mJgsuEpic.twitter.com/MwOS1wQBwB
Republican leaders across Arizona responded to the death of former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, remembering him as a dedicated public servant who left an imprint on the state’s legal and political landscape.
Brnovich’s family confirmed the 59-year-old’s passing on Tuesday, saying he will be “forever remembered and cherished by us as a beloved father, husband, son, and brother,” according to ABC15. The family asked for privacy as memorial arrangements are finalized.
Senate President Warren Petersen said Arizona lost “a devoted public servant” who defended state laws and the rule of law.
“His commitment to public service was matched by his love for this state and his pride in being an Arizonan,” Petersen said. He added that Brnovich “leaves behind a legacy of principled leadership and a record of service that will not be forgotten.”
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Senate Republican Leaders React to the Passing of Former Attorney General Mark Brnovich
In a post to X, Petersen added, “Mark was a devoted husband, father, and an outstanding public servant. Every time I saw him, he graciously thanked me for being one of the first to endorse his AG run. It was an easy decision—he was a strong conservative committed to keeping Arizona safe. Prayers for his wife Susan, their daughters, and the entire family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh said Brnovich understood the attorney general’s job “was not about politics, but about defending the law,” while Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope noted he was a “strong partner to the Legislature” who consistently defended Arizona’s sovereignty.
Senate Majority Whip Frank Carroll said Brnovich served the state “with conviction and courage” and carried out his duties “with integrity.”
The Arizona House Republicans released a statement posted to X, writing:
“The Arizona House Republican Majority mourns the passing of our friend and former Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Mark dedicated his career to defending the rule of law, protecting election integrity, and standing up for Arizona families. As Attorney General, he recovered millions for victims, protected small businesses, and worked tirelessly to make Arizona safer. Mark’s contributions as a public servant, veteran, and father will not be forgotten. We honor his life and extend our prayers and deepest condolences to his wife Susan, his children, and all who loved him.”
The Arizona House Republican Majority mourns the passing of our friend and former Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Mark dedicated his career to defending the rule of law, protecting election integrity, and standing up for Arizona families. As Attorney General, he recovered… pic.twitter.com/B1HZyN6x4L
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey also released a statement praising Brnovich’s passion for the law, his advocacy for victims, and his upbeat, “happy warrior spirit,” which Ducey said were hallmarks of his career in a statement per AZ Family. He added, “It was an honor to campaign with and serve alongside Mark Brnovich. His passion for the law, justice, and victims were hallmarks of his career in public service.”
Angela’s and my deepest prayers and condolences are with Susan and the entire Brnovich family. It was an honor to campaign with and serve alongside Mark Brnovich. His passion for the law, justice, and victims were hallmarks of his career in public service. For those of us blessed… https://t.co/lX8ldReEsq
Brnovich’s predecessor in office, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, called him “an outstanding, dedicated public servant and a devoted family man,” noting that political differences did not prevent a lasting friendship in later years.
Brnovich served two terms as Arizona’s 26th Attorney General from 2015 to 2023. During his tenure, he was known for high-profile legal actions and outreach as a state and federal prosecutor.
Memorial service details were not immediately released.
