Kris Mayes

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Kris Mayes
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Mayes in 2022
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27th Attorney General of Arizona
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2023
GovernorKatie Hobbs
Preceded byMark Brnovich
Chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission
In office
Template:En dash range
Preceded byMike Gleason
Succeeded byGary Pierce
Member of the Arizona Corporation Commission
In office
Template:En dash range
Preceded byJames Irvin
Succeeded byBrenda Burns
Personal details
BornScript error: No such module "person date".
Prescott, Arizona, U.S.
DiedScript error: No such module "person date".
PartyRepublican (before 2019)
Democratic (2019–present)
Children1
EducationArizona State University, Tempe (BA, JD)
Columbia University (MPA)

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Kristin Kay Mayes (born September 6, 1970)[1] is an American lawyer, politician, and journalist who has been the 27th Arizona attorney general since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Mayes was elected in 2022, defeating Republican Abraham Hamadeh by a margin of just 280 votes in one of the closest elections in the state's history.[2][3]

Previously Mayes was a professor of practice at Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission.[4][5][6]

Mayes is the second woman elected Arizona attorney general (after Janet Napolitano), the third openly lesbian woman elected attorney general of a state in the United States (after Maura Healey and Dana Nessel), and the second openly LGBT person elected to statewide office in Arizona (after Kyrsten Sinema).[7][8]

Early life and education

Mayes was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona.[9] After graduating from Prescott High School she attended Arizona State University (ASU) on a scholarship from the Flinn Foundation.[10] While attending ASU she served as editor in chief of the State Press, the university's newspaper.[11] She graduated valedictorian from ASU with a degree in political science.[11]

Journalism career

Mayes worked as a general assignment reporter for the Phoenix Gazette, and later as a political reporter for The Arizona Republic, covering the Arizona State Legislature.[11] Mayes then won the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and attended graduate school at Columbia University in New York, where she earned a Master of Public Administration.[10]

Following graduate school, Mayes returned to The Arizona Republic, where she covered the 2000 presidential campaigns of Senator John McCain, former Vice President Dan Quayle, publisher Steve Forbes and Governor George W. Bush.[11] From this experience, Mayes co-authored a book entitled Spin Priests: Campaign Advisors and the 2000 Race for the White House. After the presidential campaign, Mayes attended ASU College of Law and graduated magna cum laude.[11]

Early political career

Mayes was the press secretary for Janet Napolitano during the 2002 Arizona gubernatorial election.[12]

Arizona Corporation Commission

Governor Napolitano appointed Mayes, then a Republican, to the Arizona Corporation Commission in October 2003.[12] She devoted much of her effort towards pipeline safety, renewable energy and natural gas issues.[13]

Mayes was elected to a full term in a 2004 special election, defeating Libertarian nominee Rick Fowlkes.[14] In 2008, Mayes considered a candidacy for Arizona's 1st congressional district.[15] She was term-limited in 2010 and was succeeded in her position by fellow Republican Brenda Burns.[11]

In 2019, Mayes left the Republican Party and joined the Democratic Party, citing the expansion of Trumpism within the Republican Party.[16]

Arizona Attorney General

File:Kris Mayes (52614246161).jpg
Mayes speaking at a 2023 event

2022 election

Mayes was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 Arizona Attorney General election, running against Republican Abraham Hamadeh.[17] The race was one of the closest in Arizona history and required a mandatory recount because the vote difference was significantly less than the 0.5% vote threshold required by state law for recounts.[18] The recount started on December 5, 2022.[19]

In the final vote tally, Mayes led by 510 votes.[20] On December 29, Judge Timothy Thomason announced the results of the recount, confirming Mayes as the winner with a reduced margin of 280 votes.[21]

Tenure

Mayes took office as Attorney General on January 2, 2023.

In January 2024, Mayes announced that the Attorney General's office would file suit against Kroger's proposed acquisition of Albertsons, citing antitrust laws.[22] In June 2024, investigators from Mayes's office raided the Apache County Attorney's Office in connection to allegations of County Attorney Michael Whiting's "misuse of public monies" and "threatening and intimidating a political opponent".[23]

On November 1, 2024, Donald Trump spoke at a rally in Arizona in which he said of former congresswoman Liz Cheney, "She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. Okay, let’s see how she feels about it. You know when the guns are trained on her face — you know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building". That day, Mayes launched an investigation as to whether Trump's statement qualified as a prosecutable death threat under Arizona law.[24]

Mayes supported Arizona's constitutional amendment codifying abortion rights.[25]

Prosecution of 2020 fake electors

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In July 2023, Mayes's office announced that it was "investigating the transmission of an alternative slate of electors" by allies of former President Donald Trump to be counted by Congress during the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.[26] Mayes's office indicted 18 individuals in April 2024.

Lawsuits against the Trump administration

As of October 2025, Mayes' office has filed 39 lawsuits against the Trump administration. Collectively, these lawsuits protected $1.5 billion in federal funds allocated to Arizona.[27]

Personal life

Mayes is openly lesbian and has a daughter, Hattie. Mayes is the second woman elected Arizona Attorney General (after Janet Napolitano), the third openly lesbian woman elected attorney general of a state in the United States (after Maura Healey and Dana Nessel), and the second openly LGBT person elected to statewide office in Arizona (after Kyrsten Sinema).[7][8]

Electoral history

2004 Arizona Corporation Commission special election [28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Script error: No such module "Political party". Kristin Mayes (incumbent) 1,175,778 74.90
Script error: No such module "Political party". Rick Fowlkes 394,078 25.10
Total votes 1,569,856 100.0
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2006 Arizona Corporation Commission general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Script error: No such module "Political party". Kristin Mayes (incumbent) 653,344 26.1
Script error: No such module "Political party". Gary Pierce 638,466 25.5
Script error: No such module "Political party". Richard Boyer 581,885 23.2
Script error: No such module "Political party". Mark Manoil 541,562 21.6
Script error: No such module "Political party". Rick Fowlkes 91,684 3.7
Total votes 2,506,941 100.0
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2022 Arizona Attorney General election[29]
Party Candidate Votes % Page Template:Tooltip/styles.css has no content.Template:Encodefirst
Script error: No such module "Political party". Kris Mayes 1,254,809 49.94% +1.68%
Script error: No such module "Political party". Abraham Hamadeh 1,254,529 49.93% −1.80%
Total votes 2,512,390 100.0%
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See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kris Kay Mayes". Arizona Memory Project. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kavaler, Tara (November 19, 2022). "As close as it gets: Why Arizona's attorney general race is one of tightest in state history". The Arizona Republic.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Giles, Ben (November 21, 2022). "Kris Mayes defeats Abe Hamadeh in Arizona attorney general race". KJZZ. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kris Mayes". Arizona State University. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bio". sfis.asu.edu. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kris Mayes Named Chairman of Corporation Commission)" (PDF). Arizona Corporation Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kavaler, Tara (December 29, 2022). "'Thankful': New Arizona Attorney General Mayes responds after recount affirms win". The Arizona Republic.
  8. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Riley, John (December 29, 2022). "Lesbian Candidate Kris Mayes Wins Arizona Attorney General Race". Metro Weekly.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ms. Kristin K Mayes Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  10. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Powell, Brian (March 13, 2023). "Kris Mayes praises Flinn Scholarship's impact on road from Prescott to Attorney General". Finn Foundation. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kristin Mayes chosen to head new program on law and sustainability". ASU Global Institute. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kavaler, Tara (July 6, 2022). "Kris Mayes: Democrat with rural roots wants to be Arizona's next attorney general". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Who Is Kris Mayes? Inside the Career of Arizona's Attorney General - The Complete Lawyer". thecompletelawyer.com. May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hobbs, Katie. "2004 General Election Results". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Young, Ty (February 19, 2008). "Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes considers run for Congress". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."'Democracy runs through Arizona': candidate for attorney general says fate of the nation is at stake". the Guardian. July 29, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Latch, Lacey (June 23, 2021). "Kris Mayes, consumer advocate and attorney, enters Arizona's attorney general race". The Arizona Republic.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.The Washington Post (November 23, 2022). "GOP candidate for Arizona attorney general sues to reverse results". MSN. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kavaler, Tara (November 21, 2022). "'We feel confident': Upbeat Kris Mayes leads by 510 votes as AG race heads to recount". Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2022 General Election Results". Arizona Secretary of State.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."CV2022-015915: Order Regarding Recount Results". Maricopa County Superior Court. December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Video: AG Kris Mayes cites antitrust laws for reason Arizona will oppose the Kroger-Albertsons merger". KTAR.com. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Reagan, Kevin (June 7, 2024). "Kris Mayes explains why her office searched the Apache County Attorney's Office". 12news.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Arizona attorney general's office probing Trump's violent comments about Liz Cheney". NBC News. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Statement from Attorney General Mayes on the Signing of Proposition 139 | Arizona Attorney General". www.azag.gov. November 25, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hillyard, Vaughn; Gregorian, Dareh (July 13, 2023). "Arizona's attorney general is probing 'alternate electors' who backed Trump in 2020 election". MSNBC. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fischer, Morgan (October 6, 2025). "All 26 lawsuits Kris Mayes has filed against Trump: What to know". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hobbs, Katie. "2004 General Election Results". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."CV2022-015915: Declaration of Kori Lorick". Maricopa County Superior Court. December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.

Notes

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