Kris Mayes (D) defeated Abraham Hamadeh (R) and write-in candidate Samantha Severson (L) in the general election for Arizona attorney general on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Mark Brnovich (R) was term-limited.

Mayes served on the Arizona Corporation Commission as a Republican from 2003 to 2011.^[1] The commission regulated non-municipal utility companies and oversees the incorporation of businesses, securities regulation, and railroad and pipeline safety.

Hamadeh was an Army intelligence officer and worked as a prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Mayes and Hamadeh completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. They each answered the question, What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Mayes discussed climate policy in her response. Mayes said, in part:

“

As Attorney General I will appoint a Climate Director within the Environmental Enforcement section who will take the lead on fighting climate change, expand the number of lawyers in the Environmental Enforcement section, and will certify any clean energy rules that the Arizona Corporation Commission passes, in the hope of establishing the requirement for our state’s utilities of a 100 percent clean energy standard.^[2]

”

Hamadeh discussed law enforcement, gun policy, and creating an Office of Military Legal Assistance. Hamadeh said, in part:

“

There’s a war on our police waged by the radical left. Not only are they defunding the police in cities across the country, but more importantly, they’re demoralizing our law enforcement officers. There’s been a 27% increase in the homicide rate in Arizona, criminals no longer fear any repercussions for their crimes. As Attorney General, I will restore LAW and ORDER and restore morale with our law enforcement officers.^[2]

”

On October 19, Reuters' Tim Reid said the race was breaking fundraising records due to implications for election certifications and to the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision related to abortion earlier in the year. On the former issue, Reid wrote, "Arizona is a kingmaker state in U.S. presidential elections, and under Arizona law the attorney general must witness the certification of the election result, has the power to challenge certifications in the courts if they violate state law, and must approve the rulebook that governs how elections are run."^[3]

Hamadeh said there were people who "worked to rob President Trump in the rigged 2020 election."^[4]

Mayes said of Arizona candidates who said the 2020 election results were illegitimate, "Through fear, wild exaggerations and outright lies, they seek to delegitimize our electoral system by calling into question the honesty of thousands of Arizonans who participate as poll workers and elections officials in our 15 counties."^[5]

In September 2022, Sabato's Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. Arizona's attorney general election was rated as at least somewhat competitive: "Abe Hamadeh, a former prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the Republican nominee for attorney general, won a 6-way primary with less than 34% of the vote. He belongs to an entire GOP top-of-the-ticket in Arizona that was endorsed by Trump and that has largely echoed his allegations of election fraud, among other controversial stances. The Democratic nominee, Kris Mayes, has bipartisan credentials; she served on the Arizona Corporation Commission from 2003 to 2011 as a Republican, but has also worked for former Governor Janet Napolitano, a Democrat." Click here to read the analysis.^[6]

In the 2018 attorney general election, Brnovich defeated January Contreras (D) 51.7% to 48.3%. Arizona last elected a Democratic attorney general in 2006.

Democrats won top-ballot statewide elections in 2020—Mark Kelly (D) defeated incumbent Martha McSally (R) 51.2% to 48.8% in the special U.S. Senate election, and Joe Biden (D) defeated Trump (R) 49.4% to 49.1% in the presidential election in Arizona.

Arizona had a Republican governor, Republican attorney general, and Democratic secretary of state in 2022. The term triplex describes when one party controls all three of those offices. Sabato's Crystal Ball wrote that all three offices had competitive elections in Arizona in 2022.^[7]

As of October 11, 2025, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.

This is one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer, responsible for enforcing state law and offering the state government advice on legal matters. In 43 states, the office is an elected post. There are currently 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections taking place in 2022.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Arizona

Kris Mayes defeated Abraham Hamadeh and Samantha Severson in the general election for Attorney General of Arizona on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kris Mayes (D)	49.9	1,254,809
	Abraham Hamadeh (R)	49.9	1,254,529
	Samantha Severson (L) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	3,052

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,512,390
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Michael Kielsky (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Arizona

Kris Mayes advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Arizona on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kris Mayes	100.0	556,351

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 556,351
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Diego Rodriguez (D)
Bob McWhirter (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Arizona

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Arizona on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Abraham Hamadeh	33.6	265,636
	Rodney Glassman	23.6	186,863
	Andrew W. Gould	16.7	132,253
	Dawn Grove	12.0	94,670
	Lacy Cooper	8.6	67,742
	Tiffany Shedd	5.6	44,453

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 791,617
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Arizona

Michael Kielsky advanced from the Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Arizona on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Kielsky (Write-in)	100.0	571

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 571
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Voting information

See also: Voting in Arizona

Election information in Arizona: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 11, 2022
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 11, 2022
Online: Oct. 11, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 28, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 28, 2022
Online: Oct. 28, 2022

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 12, 2022 to Nov. 4, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

N/A

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Kris Mayes

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Arizona Corporation Commission (2003-2011)

Submitted Biography: "I was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona and graduated from Arizona State University. From 2003-2011, I served as Arizona Corporation Commissioner, during which I helped create high-paying jobs, saved Arizona consumers tens of billions of dollars, and fought climate change by requiring utilities to produce more clean energy -- including solar, wind and energy efficiency. I pushed utilities to stop spending ratepayer money on corporate bonuses and advertising, in an effort to keep rates low. When a major natural gas company was charging too much in the wintertime, I required the company to provide customers rebates. In 2003, I took on one of the biggest gasoline pipeline companies in America and persuaded its CEO to repair or replace most of the company’s 617 miles of pipelines in Arizona after a major line ruptured in Tucson. In 2006, I spearheaded the passage of Arizona’s 15 percent Renewable Energy Standard. In 2009, I co- authored and passed one of the nation’s best Energy Efficiency Resource Standards, which saved Arizona ratepayers $9 billion. As Corporation Commissioner, I walked into the office every day with one thing on my mind: ‘How can I make Arizonans’ lives better?’ We got big things done by working with both Republicans and Democrats, including the largest expansion of water conservation in Arizona history. That’s what you can accomplish when you focus on looking out for the people instead of focusing on politics."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I am running for Attorney General to be an independent watchdog for the people of Arizona, protecting Arizonans against consumer fraud, elder abuse, and attacks on our constitutional rights. It’s long past time to take politics out of the Attorney General’s office and restore it to its core mission:  Consumer Protection - especially from fraud and scams aimed at elderly Arizonans  Water security and clean air - protecting Arizonans from pollution  Voting Rights and Secure Elections - protecting every Arizonan’s right to vote and have that vote counted  Protecting constitutional rights – including abortion rights – from politicians who want to meddle in private, family decisions

I am running for Arizona Attorney General to prevent the ongoing effort in our state to undermine democracy. Republicans in the Legislature and Governor Ducey have passed a series of measures designed to make it tougher for Arizonans to vote, and they have engaged in an ongoing assault on the 2020 election via the “audit” which was conducted last year. Our current Attorney General did nothing to stop this so-called audit from happening, even though it was both funded and conducted by partisan interests. As Attorney General I will legally intervene against such efforts and testify against them when they are launched at the Legislature.

I support full reproductive rights and freedoms and have been campaigning strongly in Arizona on this issue. I believe that we need a Democratic Attorney General who will fight the recently passed 15-week abortion ban, as well as the pre-existing law that would ban abortion in the event Roe is overturned. We also need an Attorney General who will fight for reproductive rights before the U.S. Supreme Court. Arizona’s constitution includes a privacy clause which is considered to be more broad than the 4th amendment to the US constitution. I believe that this privacy clause protects the right to abortion as well as many other rights, including the right to marry a same-sex partner.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Arizona in 2022.

Abraham Hamadeh

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "Abraham is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and just returned from a 14 month long deployment to Saudi Arabia. On behalf of the United States Army, Abraham negotiated military sales and managed the training for Saudi Arabia’s domestic security forces both in the Kingdom and in the United States. He implemented the first of its kind new enhanced security vetting in response to the 2019 Pensacola terrorist attack. His direct counterparts were generals, colonels, and lieutenant colonels in the Saudi forces as well as high ranking civilians in their respective ministries. Abraham is a former prosecutor of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Abraham has appeared in court to prosecute criminals, uphold victims’ rights, and seek justice for the community. Abraham earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Arizona State University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law. During his law studies, Abraham was awarded the Udall Fellowship by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council which placed him at the city, county, state, and federal prosecutor offices."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Border Security is National Security. Our borders are not protected, and they’re not secure. As Attorney General, I will enforce state laws since the federal government refuses to take action. Create a Task Force unit within our law enforcement agency to target border crimes. Drug cartels are invading our southern border and even our neighborhoods; we must classify them as terrorists and protect our communities.

Our country demands free and FAIR elections. As Attorney General, I will rebuild the confidence of our elections by prosecuting election fraud to the fullest extent of the law. The day I take office in January 2023 we will prioritize the Election Integrity Unit and increase the number of prosecutors and investigators in order to be prepared and protect the 2024 election. Confidence in our elections is the cornerstone to our country – we must restore voters trust.

The left has infiltrated every aspect of our lives and is trying to erase history in order to reshape the future. We cannot accept their radical dismantling of our nation’s history. Our society demands freedom of speech and thought. Many Arizonans themselves have been censored by Big Tech. The behemoths of the tech world have made their success due to the free-market America affords them, yet they openly criticize it and stifle free speech. Big Tech has even censored President Trump while allowing terrorists to have a global platform. As Attorney General I will always protect Arizonans’ First Amendment rights.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Arizona in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

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Abraham Hamadeh (R)

Border Security is National Security. Our borders are not protected, and they’re not secure. As Attorney General, I will enforce state laws since the federal government refuses to take action. Create a Task Force unit within our law enforcement agency to target border crimes. Drug cartels are invading our southern border and even our neighborhoods; we must classify them as terrorists and protect our communities.

Our country demands free and FAIR elections. As Attorney General, I will rebuild the confidence of our elections by prosecuting election fraud to the fullest extent of the law. The day I take office in January 2023 we will prioritize the Election Integrity Unit and increase the number of prosecutors and investigators in order to be prepared and protect the 2024 election. Confidence in our elections is the cornerstone to our country – we must restore voters trust.

The left has infiltrated every aspect of our lives and is trying to erase history in order to reshape the future. We cannot accept their radical dismantling of our nation’s history. Our society demands freedom of speech and thought. Many Arizonans themselves have been censored by Big Tech. The behemoths of the tech world have made their success due to the free-market America affords them, yet they openly criticize it and stifle free speech. Big Tech has even censored President Trump while allowing terrorists to have a global platform. As Attorney General I will always protect Arizonans’ First Amendment rights.

Kris Mayes (D)

I am running for Attorney General to be an independent watchdog for the people of Arizona, protecting Arizonans against consumer fraud, elder abuse, and attacks on our constitutional rights. It’s long past time to take politics out of the Attorney General’s office and restore it to its core mission:  Consumer Protection - especially from fraud and scams aimed at elderly Arizonans  Water security and clean air - protecting Arizonans from pollution  Voting Rights and Secure Elections - protecting every Arizonan’s right to vote and have that vote counted  Protecting constitutional rights – including abortion rights – from politicians who want to meddle in private, family decisions

I am running for Arizona Attorney General to prevent the ongoing effort in our state to undermine democracy. Republicans in the Legislature and Governor Ducey have passed a series of measures designed to make it tougher for Arizonans to vote, and they have engaged in an ongoing assault on the 2020 election via the “audit” which was conducted last year. Our current Attorney General did nothing to stop this so-called audit from happening, even though it was both funded and conducted by partisan interests. As Attorney General I will legally intervene against such efforts and testify against them when they are launched at the Legislature.

I support full reproductive rights and freedoms and have been campaigning strongly in Arizona on this issue. I believe that we need a Democratic Attorney General who will fight the recently passed 15-week abortion ban, as well as the pre-existing law that would ban abortion in the event Roe is overturned. We also need an Attorney General who will fight for reproductive rights before the U.S. Supreme Court. Arizona’s constitution includes a privacy clause which is considered to be more broad than the 4th amendment to the US constitution. I believe that this privacy clause protects the right to abortion as well as many other rights, including the right to marry a same-sex partner.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Abraham Hamadeh (R)

Republicans can’t afford more politicians who are low energy, perennial losing candidates, or lobbyists. Arizona needs an Attorney General with bold leadership who will bring new energy, big ideas, and BOLD action to fight back against the radical left. As Attorney General, I will FIGHT for our state, our country, and ALWAYS defend the Constitution.

There’s a war on our police waged by the radical left. Not only are they defunding the police in cities across the country, but more importantly, they’re demoralizing our law enforcement officers. There’s been a 27% increase in the homicide rate in Arizona, criminals no longer fear any repercussions for their crimes. As Attorney General, I will restore LAW and ORDER and restore morale with our law enforcement officers.

Without the Second Amendment, no other Amendment is secured. I oppose “red-flag” laws, and as Attorney General, I will fight back against the federal government’s intrusion into our sacred right to defend ourselves.

As Attorney General, we will create an Office of Military Legal Assistance that will provide free services to Active-Duty, Reserve, National Guard, and retired service-members on civil law matters. There’s a limit on what military JAG lawyers can assist with, and the Arizona Attorney General’s new Office of Military Legal Assistance will help bridge that gap to the 10% of Arizonans who have answered their nation’s call to serve.

Kris Mayes (D)

I am the only candidate running for Attorney General to make fighting climate change a top priority. As Attorney General I will appoint a Climate Director within the Environmental Enforcement section who will take the lead on fighting climate change, expand the number of lawyers in the Environmental Enforcement section, and will certify any clean energy rules that the Arizona Corporation Commission passes, in the hope of establishing the requirement for our state’s utilities of a 100 percent clean energy standard. I will also testify before the Arizona Corporation Commission and intervene where appropriate on clean energy and environmental issues.

Given the reality of climate change, public opinion has shifted in recent years. The change in the public discourse from discussing “global warming” to discussing “climate change,” demonstrates the salience of public education. Arizona’s leaders need to speak openly to the public about the challenges we face and how we can meet them. Extreme heat, drought and wildfires are realities that Arizonans are aware of. As Attorney General, I will work with leaders from both parties to help the public understand why we need to address clean air and water. The Attorney General can advocate for clean air and clean water programs and use her or his bully pulpit before entities such as the Legislature and Arizona Corporation Commission on these issues. The AG can

also approve rulemakings by the ACC on clean energy.

The National Association of Attorneys General has described the office as being at the "intersection of law and public policy." What does that mean to you?

Kris Mayes (D)

The Attorney General essentially leads a large public interest law firm which seeks to right wrongs, crack down on bad actors, and protect the public from powerful interests who run afoul of the law. At the same time, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal advisor to state agencies, specifically to the legal counsel in each agency. Helping the state agencies to follow the law is part of the same mission as serving the larger public, but there are six separate Divisions (including Operations), each of which has sections within it. The State Government Division is responsible for advising most state agencies.

The attorney general often sets policy priorities for law enforcement. For example, a state's attorney general may decide to dedicate extra resources to combat human trafficking. Are there certain areas of law enforcement that you would emphasize?

Kris Mayes (D)

I believe that the Attorney General’s office should expand the Environmental Enforcement section so there will be more bandwidth to protect Arizona from polluters. This is especially true with our air and water, which must be protected. Arizona relies on three sources of water to make life in the desert possible: groundwater, Colorado River water, and surface water. With the Colorado River water diminishing, it’s only practical to do whatever we can to protect the health of surface water such as intermittent streams.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Kris Mayes

September 7, 2022

June 23, 2021

View more ads here:

Abraham Hamadeh

October 4, 2022

September 27, 2022

July 7, 2022

View more ads here:

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Endorsements

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election spending