Gina Godbehere - Ballotpedia

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Gina Godbehere (Republican Party) ran for election for Maricopa County Attorney in Arizona. She lost in the Republican primary on July 30, 2024.

Godbehere completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Gina Godbehere was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She earned an associate degree from Glendale Community College in 1989 and a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 1991. She earned a law degree from Arizona State Law School in 1995. Her career experience includes working as an attorney and prosecutor.^[1]

Godbehere has been affiliated with the following organizations:^[1]

Leadership West
Pendergast Elementary School District Foundation
State Bar of Arizona
National Federation of Republican Women
Alpha Gamma Delta Valley of the Sun Alumni Association

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2024)

General election

General election for Maricopa County Attorney

Incumbent Rachel Mitchell defeated Tamika Wooten in the general election for Maricopa County Attorney on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rachel Mitchell (R)	54.4	1,037,586
		Tamika Wooten (D)	45.5	866,438
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,584

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,905,608
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maricopa County Attorney

Tamika Wooten advanced from the Democratic primary for Maricopa County Attorney on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tamika Wooten	99.5	264,270
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	1,215

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 265,485
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maricopa County Attorney

Incumbent Rachel Mitchell defeated Gina Godbehere in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Attorney on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rachel Mitchell	56.4	212,100
		Gina Godbehere	43.3	163,024
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,138

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,262
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Godbehere in this election.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2022)

General election

Special general election for Maricopa County Attorney

Incumbent Rachel Mitchell defeated Julie Gunnigle in the special general election for Maricopa County Attorney on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rachel Mitchell (R)	52.8	776,615
		Julie Gunnigle (D)	47.1	692,217
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,167

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,469,999
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for Maricopa County Attorney

Julie Gunnigle advanced from the special Democratic primary for Maricopa County Attorney on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Gunnigle	100.0	312,331

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 312,331
= 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.

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for Maricopa County Attorney

Incumbent Rachel Mitchell defeated Gina Godbehere in the special Republican primary for Maricopa County Attorney on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rachel Mitchell	57.1	235,299
		Gina Godbehere	42.5	175,137
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	1,704

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 412,140
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Anni Foster (R)

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Gina Godbehere completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Godbehere's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Gina Godbehere. I am a 4th generation Arizonan, a wife and the proud mother of two beautiful daughters. I’ve spent the last 28 years protecting this community, 25 years with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, as a violent crimes prosecutor and Bureau Chief, before becoming Goodyear’s Chief Prosecutor. Currently I serve as a Crime Victims Rights’ Attorney. I have personally seen the downstream impact of my opponent’s policies on our communities and on crime victims. I come from a law enforcement family, and I am a proud supporter and advocate for law enforcement. I am running because Maricopa County is seeing an epidemic of leniency and a lack of accountability under my opponent’s leadership. Homelessness is rising, and shoplifting is occurring daily in our neighboring stores. My opponent has not addressed the revolving door in our criminal justice system, but instead has expanded dangerous liberal diversion policies and continues to offer lenient pleas to repetitive offenders that should be in prison. Additionally, crime victims have lost their voices, and far too many felonies are being turned down or sent to the cities as misdemeanors. As we face a new era of crime and threats from an unsecured border, it is time to address these issues head- on. It is time for action not words. I am running to make impactful these changes that will ensure justice, accountability and a safer Maricopa County for all our families.

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?

I’m committed to returning trust, transparency and fairness back to the office of the Maricopa County Attorney. When tough decisions have to be made, I will be available to answer questions. I will participate in forums and have dialogues with community leaders and members to build trust and transparency for all who are concerned about justice in Maricopa County. I will be a proactive leader who works to address teen violence, the revolving door in our justice system, and build a strong team of leaders to work with me to solve problems. The public must feel like the justice system is fair. We cannot have a two-tiered system with even the appearance that justice is favored toward the rich or powerful or the politically connected.
I’m committed to fixing our broken criminal justice system, and ending the liberal policies and lenient plea agreements fueling our revolving door of justice. Under my opponent’s leadership, far too many repetitive offenders are reinstated to probation. As County Attorney, I will work to get my attorneys the training to help identify those individuals who are the best candidates to rehabilitate and those who must be separated from society to protect the community. We must address the issues with our current probation system and better address mental health and addiction issues. I will work to address these issues with the Court and legislature to make sure dangerous offenders are not continuously let back out on our streets.
I am committed to returning the voice to crime victims that have become increasingly silenced under my opponent’s administration. Spending time as a Crime Victims Rights’ Attorney has been a big eye-opener for me. I work every day to support victims of crime, and I know and see first hand that we are not giving them the justice and service they deserve in Maricopa County. We must listen to victims, give them a voice, and consider the trauma they suffered when determining a just sentence for an offender. As County Attorney, I will be present at the legislature to make sure we are making good criminal justice policy for Arizona; both for crime victims and individuals in the justice system.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about criminal justice reform policy and updating our victims’ rights laws to ensure they remain current and the best in the country. Criminal justice reform policy will include probation reform, lending my voice in support of rehabilitation and reentry programs when appropriate, restorative justice programs, victim support and enhancing support services for victims of crime to ensure they have access to resources and support throughout the legal process. I will work to ensure we have a balanced fair justice system that includes accountability and a voice for crime victims.
I am also passionate about reform surrounding sexual offense laws and domestic violence to ensure we are putting the most dangerous people.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The County Attorney needs to have Integrity, legal knowledge, excellent judgment and the ability to communicate effectively. To excel and tackle the complex issues of the revolving door in our criminal justice system, it is imperative that the County Attorney is also an innovative collaborative leader.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am determined to do what is right and necessary to address the revolving door in our criminal justice system to protect this community and ensure our laws are followed. I am an innovative thinker and a proven collaborative leader who knows how to break down silos to address the complex issues of mental health, addiction and homelessness straining our criminal justice system.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The County Attorney is entrusted to be a fair administrator of justice for the community. The County attorney must enforce the law while ensuring that the accused and the victims rights are protected.

What legacy would you like to leave?

A legacy of integrity and fairness by consistently applying the existing laws to ensure justice is served.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that had the most impact on me was the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Everyone was excited to see the first teacher go up into space. My school followed the selection process and the excitement leading up to the big day. I remember watching the event live in my cafeteria and the confusion that happened immediately after the explosion. This was the first tragedy I remember experiencing in real time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as a Justice Court Clerk. My Grandmother retired as a court clerk and helped “train” many young attorneys in her time. When she heard I wanted to be an attorney, she encouraged me to start as a clerk so I could learn “how to do things the right away.” I worked my way through college and law school as a court clerk. My experience taught me how to communicate with the public, to multitask and to effectively manage high caseloads.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Scottsdale and Peoria Police Unions, Victims, former Attorney General Mark Brnovich, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Goodyear Mayor Joe Pizzillo and Council Members, Non-Profit and community leaders from across Maricopa County. I am also proud to be endorsed by the Scottsdale Realtors and the West and Southeast Realtors of the Valley.

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.

2022

Gina Godbehere did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

External links

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Candidate

Maricopa County Attorney

Personal

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 10, 2024

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