Highlights
- Petersen led Glassman by more than 47,000 votes Tuesday evening in the Republican primary for Arizona attorney general.
- Petersen earned endorsements from law enforcement associations and gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs; neither candidate received Trump's backing.
- The winner faces Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes, who won the 2022 race by 280 votes after a recount.
- Glassman, a military attorney and former Democrat, was making his second failed bid for the GOP attorney general nomination.
State Sen. Warren Petersen held a lead of more than 47,000 votes over Rodney Glassman on Tuesday evening in the Republican primary for Arizona attorney general, positioning the 14-year legislative veteran to face Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes in November.
Petersen secured endorsements from law enforcement associations and gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs, who won his own primary easily. Neither Petersen nor Glassman received an endorsement from former President Trump. KJZZ reported that Petersen held 58% of the vote with 39% of ballots counted as of Tuesday night.
Glassman, a military attorney and former Democratic Tucson city councilman, switched parties roughly a decade ago after moving to Phoenix. Before that, he was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010, losing to the late John McCain by nearly 400,000 votes, and ran twice for chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party without success. Tuesday marked his second failed attempt to win the GOP attorney general nomination; four years ago he lost the primary to Abe Hamadeh, who then narrowly lost the general election to Mayes by 280 votes after a recount.
Petersen has spent the past three years as Arizona Senate president and used that platform to intervene in lawsuits on behalf of laws Mayes declined to defend, including a near-total abortion ban from 1864 and the state's trans athletic ban. He has also said he would work to help the Trump administration remove recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Mayes, by contrast, has joined dozens of lawsuits opposing Trump administration policies, particularly on immigration and abortion access.
Why does this race matter to Arizona property and business owners?
Whoever wins the attorney general's office will set enforcement priorities across consumer protection, real estate fraud, and business regulation statewide. Mayes won in 2022 by 280 votes after a recount, making the November rematch one of the closest-watched statewide contests on the Arizona ballot.
The general election is scheduled for November 2026.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azmirror.com retrieved 22/07/2026 05:19
- kjzz.org retrieved 22/07/2026 05:19
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 22/07/2026 05:19. Every claim traces to a source.
