Petersen Widens Lead To 15 Points Over Glassman In Latest Attorney General Poll

Petersen Widens Lead To 15 Points Over Glassman In Latest Attorney General Poll

By Matthew Holloway |

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) has widened his lead over attorney Rodney Glassman in the Republican primary for attorney general according to a new statewide poll released by NextGen Polling.

The survey found Petersen leading Glassman 43.4 percent to 28.2 percent, with 28.5 percent of likely Republican primary voters undecided. The poll was conducted July 8-9 among 1,707 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Petersen’s advantage increased from approximately six points in a June survey conducted by the same firm. That poll placed Petersen at 25.8 percent and Glassman at 19.5 percent, while 54.6 percent of respondents remained undecided.

Between the two surveys, Petersen’s support increased by nearly 18 percentage points, while Glassman gained approximately nine points. The undecided share fell by more than 26 points.

“This race proves again that Arizona voters continue to reject political charlatans who attempt to buy their seats in public office,” Petersen said in a statement released by his campaign. “I am truly grateful for the trust voters have placed in my candidacy for Attorney General. These polls demonstrate that Republicans understand we need a candidate who can defeat liberal Kris Mayes in November.”

Petersen’s campaign pointed to Glassman’s spending advantage while announcing the polling results. Campaign finance data compiled by Transparency USA through March 31 showed Glassman reporting nearly $284,000 in expenditures, compared with approximately $107,000 by Petersen, a ratio of about 2.7-to-1.

The same records showed Glassman reporting more than $2.3 million in contributions and Petersen reporting approximately $1.2 million. Those figures cover activity through the end of March and do not include spending during the final months of the primary campaign.

The July 21 primary will determine which Republican advances to face Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes in the Nov. 3 general election. Mayes is seeking a second term and faces no opposition in the Democratic primary.

Petersen and Glassman have centered much of their campaign on their respective qualifications to oversee the Attorney General’s Office and their ability to defeat Mayes in November.

Petersen represents Legislative District 14 and has served as president of the Arizona Senate since 2023. He earned his law degree from Arizona State University in 2019 and was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in December 2023.

Glassman is a private attorney, former Tucson City Council member, and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and has since sought several offices as a Republican, including attorney general in 2022 and the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2018.

Both candidates have said they would place greater emphasis on working with law enforcement, prosecuting crime, addressing border security, and cooperating with the Trump administration. A May primary debate between the candidates focused heavily on their legal experience and political records.

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.

WARREN PETERSEN: Arizona Should Lead America’s Golden Age—Not Prosecute It

WARREN PETERSEN: Arizona Should Lead America’s Golden Age—Not Prosecute It

By Sen. Warren Petersen |

Earlier this spring, a federal judge in Phoenix had to step in and protect law-abiding Americans from a prosecutor who had lost all sense of limits. He struck down Kris Mayes’s case against the prediction market Kalshi and, in doing so, exposed one of the more reckless abuses of government power our state has seen in recent memory.

The story should alarm every Arizonan, regardless of whether you have ever placed a trade. In March, Mayes made Arizona the first state in the nation to bring criminal charges against a federally regulated exchange—twenty counts against an American company operating under the direct supervision of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission. And she didn’t stop at the criminal docket, either; her allies in the state government pressed a parallel civil campaign to choke an American innovator out of existence.

It took a respected federal judge, appointed by President Trump, to end the spectacle. In finding that federal law leaves “no room for state regulation” of these markets, he warned against precisely the “inconsistent regulatory patchwork that Congress intended to avoid,” and that Mayes tried to foist on Arizonans. Mayes’s crusade was doomed from the start, and any honest lawyer in her office could have told her so. Instead, she torched your tax dollars and Arizona’s reputation, all to chase a headline.

This is what the weaponization of a prosecutor’s office looks like. We have watched the radical left turn the law into a club against the people they dislike: parents, police, people of faith, and President Trump himself. Mayes has now turned that club on the future. Prediction markets let ordinary citizens put their own judgment, and their own money, behind what they actually believe will happen in the economy and the world. They cut through the noise of the mainstream media and pundit class, and they are one piece of a sweeping wave of financial innovation that is remaking the global economy in real time.

President Trump understands this in his bones. While Mayes was busy criminalizing the future, the President was busy building it. His CFTC Chairman, Michael Selig, has led the charge, defending federal authority in courtrooms across the country, advancing clear and sensible national rules, and declaring that America’s financial markets are ready for a new Golden Age. The President has been emphatic that the CFTC must retain exclusive authority over these markets, and he is right. That is America First leadership: clear rules, room to grow, and the confidence that fifty different prosecutors won’t be allowed to strangle American innovation in its crib.

Arizona ought to be racing to the front of that parade. Instead, our Democratic officials keep stomping on the brakes. I led the fight to make Arizona the first state in the country with a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, only for Governor Katie Hobbs to veto it. I pushed to let Arizonans pay their taxes in digital currency. Again and again, the message from this state’s Democrats has been the same: if you dare to build something new, we will tax it, ban it, or drag you into court. Innovators don’t flee to Texas and Florida by accident. They flee politicians who treat builders like criminals.

I have spent fourteen years at the Capitol doing the opposite—defending the Constitution, guarding taxpayers, and standing up for the right to build without first begging permission from the government. As your attorney general, I will never turn the power of that office into a weapon against a company for the crime of innovating. I will use it to defend Arizonans, to enforce the law as it is actually written, and to show Washington’s worst instincts, and our own state’s, exactly where the line is drawn.

This task is too important to leave to my opponent in the Republican primary. Rodney Glassman didn’t merely vote for Democrats, he ran for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat at the request of another liberal Democratic attorney general, Terry Goddard. So, ask yourself: when the radical left comes for innovation, for crypto, for free markets—and they will come—who do you want holding the line? A proven conservative who has already taken the arrows, or a man who spent the prime of his career carrying the other team’s banner and discovered his “convictions” only when trying to grab President Trump’s coattails?

The attorney general’s job is not to chase headlines by prosecuting the future. It is to be the wall that protects the rights, the savings, and the freedom of Arizonans. Kris Mayes tore that wall down. I intend to rebuild it.

President Trump is leading America into a Golden Age of growth, opportunity, and renewed confidence. Arizona belongs at the front of that charge, but is instead being dragged from behind, handing out indictments to the people who create our jobs. Give me the honor of serving as your attorney general, and I’ll make sure that our great state is exactly where it should be.

Warren Petersen is the President of the Arizona State Senate and represents Legislative District 14. He is currently running to be Arizona’s next Attorney General.

New Poll: Petersen Holds 16-Point Lead Over Glassman In Republican Attorney General Primary

New Poll: Petersen Holds 16-Point Lead Over Glassman In Republican Attorney General Primary

By Matthew Holloway |

A new survey of likely Arizona Republican primary voters shows Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) with a lead over Rodney Glassman in the race for the Republican nomination for attorney general.

According to the poll, conducted by Stealth Analytics, Petersen leads Glassman 35% to 19% while 46% of respondents remain undecided. The poll surveyed 816 likely GOP primary voters from June 2-4 and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The findings suggest that while Petersen currently holds a significant advantage, a large portion of the Republican electorate has yet to settle on a candidate ahead of the July primary.

The survey also found Petersen with a stronger favorability rating among Republican voters. According to the poll, 46% of respondents viewed Petersen favorably compared to 12% unfavorably, while Glassman recorded a 38% favorable rating and a 22% unfavorable rating.

According to Stealth Analytics, Republican voters ranked illegal immigration (24%), election integrity (23%), water supply concerns (20%), and border security (14%) as the top priorities for Arizona’s next attorney general.

The survey also measured the potential influence of President Donald Trump on the race. According to the results, 67% of likely Republican primary voters said a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to support a candidate, while 20% said it would have no impact and 13% said it would make them less likely to support that candidate.

The poll comes as Republican voters prepare to choose a nominee in one of Arizona’s most closely watched contests.

The two candidates recently participated in a debate sponsored by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission. During the debate, Petersen highlighted issues including public safety, election integrity, and enforcement of Arizona law, while Glassman emphasized his legal experience and criticized incumbent Attorney General Kris Mayes’ handling of the office.

The winner of the Republican primary will advance to the November general election, where Democrat incumbent Attorney General Kris Mayes is seeking another term.

The full Stealth Analytics survey can be viewed here.

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.

GOP Attorney General Candidates Spar Over Track Records In Debate

GOP Attorney General Candidates Spar Over Track Records In Debate

By Staff Reporter |

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. 

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.

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:

AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.

New Poll: Petersen Holds 16-Point Lead Over Glassman In Republican Attorney General Primary

Poll: Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen Leads GOP Attorney General Primary

By Staff Reporter |

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.

Mayes and Fontes advised the county recorders against complying with the federal subpoena. 

AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.