By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes and Republican challenger Warren Petersen faced off in their first televised debate Wednesday night, clashing over a number of issues including police support.
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In his opening statement, Petersen targeted Mayes’ record on law enforcement. He brought up remarks she made earlier this year warning that masked immigration agents could cause lethal confrontations.
Republicans claimed those comments endangered federal agents, and Gov. Katie Hobbs called on Mayes to walk them back. Petersen used that controversy to go on the offensive.
“Her comments put law enforcement in danger and she was condemned by the Arizona Police Association, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Sheriff’s Association. Kris is too liberal for Katie Hobbs. Even Katie Hobbs rebuked her,” Petersen said.
Mayes responded to Petersen’s remarks.
“Well, yeah, it’s too bad that, Warren, you can’t do anything but read off of your sheet there. But, you know, we’ll go ahead and respond. First of all, it’s you that should be answering for your anti-law enforcement record. You voted 100 times to oppose pro-law enforcement measures and bills at the Legislature,” Mayes said.
The candidates also sparred over data centers, which have emerged as a major political issue this year.
Petersen supports more data centers with local control. Mayes wants to pump the brakes.
Mayes is a native Arizonan who grew up in Prescott and beat Republican Abe Hamadeh by just 280 votes in 2022 to become Arizona’s attorney general. The winning margin triggered a recount.
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Petersen is a third-generation Gilbert resident who went to ASU and won the GOP nomination in the July primary by beating Rodney Glassman.
Another major split is how they handle Washington and the Trump administration.
Over the past two years, Mayes has filed more than 50 lawsuits against the White House, including those over Trump’s mail-in ballot restrictions, his global tariffs and vaccine rules.
Petersen has been an avid Trump supporter and said the 2020 election results were certified “prematurely.” Petersen said if elected, he’ll drop those legal challenges on day one.
Undecided race
The race is likely to be close on Election Day, and August polls reflect that. A poll from AARP showed Mayes up by roughly five points over Petersen.
A survey from Noble Predictive Insights showed Mayes had a six-point lead over Petersen, with her getting 17% of Republican support. However, approximately 20% of voters remain undecided.
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