Arizona attorney general goes to the dark side

In our Kafkaesque world, Democratic elected officials urge protestors to confront federal agents. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz threatened to call out the National Guard to oppose the federal government, and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes counseled Arizonans on when they could lawfully kill ICE agents.

State attorneys general are among the most powerful officials in the United States. In the 43 states, including Arizona, in which they are elected separately from the governor, they are the arbiters of what laws to enforce, and when to seek judicial intervention.

AGs are expected to enforce the law without bias, and to guide their citizens with equanimity. Mayes does neither. She is a far-left partisan who is vulnerable to being defeated this November if Republicans choose a candidate who can appeal to centrists and independents.

Mayes recently told KPNX-TV political anchor Brahm Resnik that unlike most jurisdictions in which ICE is active, Arizona is a “stand your ground” state (meaning that there is no duty to retreat to avoid the use of deadly force). Betraying her oath as Arizona’s chief law enforcement officer, she then explained:

You have these masked federal officers with very little identification — sometimes no identification — wearing plainclothes and masks. And we have a stand your ground law that says if you reasonably believe your life is in danger, and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.

Resnik observed that, “Some might say you’re giving a license to an individual to shoot a peace officer,” and Mayes replied, “Absolutely not. But how do you know they’re a peace officer?”

Resnik tried again, asking “But to be clear, you’re not telling folks, you have a license, if you are threatened to shoot a peace officer?” Mayes tripled down, responding “No. But again, if you’re being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer, how do you know?” She then analogized uniformed federal agents without name tags and wearing masks to undercover agents who have no means of establishing who they are, and raised the specter that, as with the recent tragic murders of two legislators in Minnesota, the agents might be imposters.

This inapt analogy and speculation built on an extremely rare event is far worse than Tucker Carlson’s excuse that “I am only asking questions.” When a politician answers “No, but,” focus on the “but.” In response, the Arizona Senate passed a resolution calling for Mayes to resign.

Mayes launched her tenure as AG with a tendentious investigation of whether Donald Trump made an unlawful death threat against former Congresswoman Liz Cheney when he observed that military engagements look different to a congresswoman in Washington D.C. than they would if she had “guns trained on her face.”

She then indicted so-called fake electors, and several of Trump’s lawyers and advisors, based on a novel use of Arizona law that paralleled Fani Willis’ overwrought case in Georgia. Just as Willis’ vendetta was dismissed for improper tactics, Mayes’ abusive prosecution was thrown out when an Arizona court ruled that she had violated the defendants’ due process.

Prior to Trump’s first term, attorneys general rarely sued the federal government. Then, Democrat AGs filed at least 160 lawsuits seeking to block Trump’s policies during his first term. Republican AGs retaliated with nearly 120 lawsuits against the Biden administration. In just the first year of Trump’s second term, Democrat AGs filed 71 lawsuits to disrupt the administration. These lawsuits impede and may derail the president’s agenda. The positions taken by AGs from purple states, like Arizona, often receive additional attention.

Mayes has joined in at least 35 of the lawsuits against the Trump administration, opposing a wide range of spending cuts, voter ID, laying off federal workers, ending birthright citizenship, tariffs, fast-tracking energy projects, rescinding Biden’s student loan forgiveness, and charging fees for H-1B visas.

She was elected in 2022 by just 280 votes in a state that gave Trump a 5.5% margin and has a history of electing both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans hold the majority in both houses of the state’s legislature. Most of the statewide elected officials are also Republicans, though partially because of Kari Lake’s failed campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate, the governor, AG (Mayes), and both senators are Democrats.

As an extremist in a purple state, elected by the slimmest of margins, Mayes should be an easy pickup for Republicans. What Lake epitomizes, however, is that too often the GOP forfeits winnable races by selecting an extreme or inexperienced candidate.

Two viable conservatives are seeking the Republican nomination to oppose Mayes – Warren Petersen, president of the Arizona Senate, and Rodney Glassman, a former Tucson city councilor and litigator.

Though Petersen has performed well in the legislature, he received his law license just two years ago and has no experience in the criminal justice system. That is problematic for the state’s top lawyer, and would hinder his ability to win undecided voters. Glassman, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve, has 16 years as a JAG prosecutor and in private practice. Previously a Democrat, he can bring in independents and disaffected Democrats. The most recent campaign filings show that Glassman had $3.4 million, compared $2.1 million for Mayes, and just $1.3 million for Peterson.

With the rise of federal and local lawfare led by state attorneys general, electing Republican AGs is critically important. Mayes’ weak showing in the last election, and her progressive activism and dangerous musings present an opportunity that must not be squandered.