PHOENIX – Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said he wasn’t thinking about running for state attorney general until others urged him to do so.
“Honestly, it wasn’t really on my radar,” the Gilbert Republican told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Friday. “It’s something that came to me. Folks who had worked at the office before brought it to my attention, encouraged me to run.”
Petersen earned a law degree from Arizona State University during his time as a legislator. As Senate president, a role he’s held since 2023, he has standing to defend state laws.
“Consequently, I’m in over 80 lawsuits because we’re at odds with our current AG. And I think people have come to me and said, ‘Warren, you’re the de facto AG in this in the area of constitutional law, defending our laws. You should run for the office,’” he said.
Earlier this month, he threatened to sue Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over the state’s 2025 Elections Procedures Manual.
How long has Warren Petersen been in Arizona Legislature?
Petersen, a real estate professional, has been in the Legislature since he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012.
He filed his 2026 statement of interest for attorney general on Jan. 26, shortly after his current term in the Senate began.
“It’s a critical office to do some of the most important things that government should do, which is protect people’s rights, their life, their liberty, their property. And so, I decided to run,” he said.
Perennial office-seeker Rodney Glassman is the only other Republican to file a statement of interest for attorney general. Glassman has mounted unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate, Arizona Corporation Commission, Maricopa County assessor and state attorney general in past elections.
Petersen said he’d bring a different approach to the office than his likely general election opponent, Democratic incumbent Attorney General Kris Mayes.
“A lot of people have told me that she’s politicized this office more than they’ve ever seen,” he said. “And what you’re going to get from me is that I will be fulfilling the role of the office. I’m going to be keeping … Arizona safe, and I’m going to keep Arizona from drifting toward what we’re seeing in places like California.”
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