Arizona AG rivals Mayes and Petersen trade attacks over experience, donors and deportation

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Senate President Warren Petersen debated Wednesday night ahead of their race for the state's top law enforcement job, spending much of the hour interrupting each other. Mayes touted lawsuits against a Saudi-owned water company and a rent-fixing software firm as proof of her record, while Petersen pointed to 14 years of tax-cutting legislative work.

Mayes hammered Petersen's brief legal career, noting he was admitted to the bar only two and a half years ago, and tied him to $615,000 in donations from a mobile-home company she has sued over air-conditioning failures. Petersen said he has no control over that independent spending.

Petersen countered by citing Mayes' two-year investigation into foster-care funding tied to Gov. Katie Hobbs, which cleared Hobbs of wrongdoing without an interview or grand jury indictment, and cast Mayes as selectively aggressive. The two also clashed over immigration enforcement, with Mayes suing over a federal detention facility and Petersen backing the administration's deportation push.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.