2022 Maricopa County Attorney special election

The 2022 Maricopa County Attorney special election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona. The election was held concurrently with other federal and state elections, as well as a special election for District 2 on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.^[1] The special election was called due to the resignation of Allister Adel in March 2022.

The primary occurred on August 2, 2022. The general election occurred on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Rachel Mitchell defeated 2020 nominee Julie Gunnigle with 52.8% of the vote.

Background

The office of Maricopa County Attorney had undergone leadership turmoil since the election of Andrew Thomas in 2004.^[2] Thomas resigned in 2010 amid controversy eventually leading to his disbarment.^[3]^[4] Bill Montgomery then defeated former County Attorney Rick Romley in the 2010 special election.^[5] After Montgomery was controversially appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court,^[6]^[7] Allister Adel was appointed County Attorney in 2019. She was elected to a full term in 2020, defeating Democrat Julie Gunnigle with 46.45% of the vote.^[8]^[9] Adel announced her resignation in March 2022 amid numerous controversies.^[10]

On April 20, 2022, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Rachel Mitchell as the interim county attorney.^[11]

The timing of Adel's resignation was significant. If she had resigned two weeks later, the appointed interim attorney would have served until the 2024 election. Candidates had just 13 days to meet the qualification deadline by gathering and submitting approximately 4,000 valid signatures by April 4.^[12]

Republican primary

Nominee

Rachel Mitchell, appointed incumbent^[13]

Eliminated in primary

Gina Godbehere, Goodyear city prosecutor^[14]

Withdrew

Anni Foster, general counsel to Governor Doug Ducey^[15]
James Austin Woods, attorney and son of former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods^[16]

Results

Republican primary results^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rachel Mitchell (incumbent)	235,299	57.1
	Republican	Gina Godbehere	175,137	42.5
	Write-in		1,704	0.4
Total votes			412,140	100.0

Democratic primary

Nominee

Julie Gunnigle, legal director for Poor People's Campaign Arizona and nominee in 2020^[18]

Results

Democratic primary results^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Julie Gunnigle	312,331	99.5
	Write-in		1,461	0.5
Total votes			313,792	100.0

General election

2022 Maricopa County Attorney special election^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rachel Mitchell (incumbent)	776,615	52.83%
	Democratic	Julie Gunnigle	692,217	47.09%
	Write-in		1,167	0.08%
Total votes			1,469,999	100.0

References

^ "Attorney Thomas Galvin picked for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors vacancy". KTAR. December 8, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ Richardson, Bill (July 13, 202). "Electing the Maricopa County attorney is a big deal. Look at the duds we've had in office". AZCentral. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ Weiss, Debra (April 2, 2010). "Controversial Maricopa Co. Attorney Resigns to Run for Ariz. AG". ABA Journal. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ Ray Stern (April 10, 2012). "Andrew Thomas and Lisa Aubuchon Disbarred". Valley Fever. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
^ "Montgomery, Arpaio beat Romley". Phoenix Business Journal. August 25, 2010.
^ Montini, EJ (September 4, 2019). "Gov. Doug Ducey's rigged system gets Bill Montgomery on the Arizona Supreme Court". The Arizona Republic.
^ Cooper, Jonathan J. (September 5, 2019). "Ducey appoints Montgomery to Arizona Supreme Court". Arizona Public Media. Associated Press.
^ Maricopa County Recorder (November 13, 2020), General Election Final Results, page 21.
^ Castle, Laura (November 9, 2020). "Allister Adel elected Maricopa County attorney; voters select woman for first time". Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
^ "Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel announces resignation following months of turmoil". ABC15. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
^ Jenkins, Jimmy (April 20, 2022). "Rachel Mitchell appointed interim Maricopa County attorney". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ Garcia, Nicole (March 21, 2022). "Allister Adel: Candidates emerge in fight to replace now-resigned Maricopa County Attorney". FOX10. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ Tolan, Casey (June 30, 2022). "Some big-city district attorneys vow not to prosecute abortion cases, setting up legal clashes in red states". CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ Schwenk, Katya (April 6, 2022). "4 Candidates on Primary Ballot for County Attorney". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ "Republican Anni Foster drops out of Maricopa County Attorney race". KTAR. April 25, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ Resnik, Brahm (March 23, 2022). "Top prosecutor enters race for county attorney after calling on Allister Adel to step down". 12NBC. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Primary election. Final Official Results
^ Jenkins, Jimmy (April 12, 2022). "These 4 candidates for Maricopa County attorney will be on the ballot". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "2022 General Election Results" (PDF).

External links

Official campaign websites

[1] "Attorney Thomas Galvin picked for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors vacancy". KTAR. December 8, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[2] Richardson, Bill (July 13, 202). "Electing the Maricopa County attorney is a big deal. Look at the duds we've had in office". AZCentral. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[3] Weiss, Debra (April 2, 2010). "Controversial Maricopa Co. Attorney Resigns to Run for Ariz. AG". ABA Journal. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[4] Ray Stern (April 10, 2012). "Andrew Thomas and Lisa Aubuchon Disbarred". Valley Fever. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.

[5] "Montgomery, Arpaio beat Romley". Phoenix Business Journal. August 25, 2010.

[6] Montini, EJ (September 4, 2019). "Gov. Doug Ducey's rigged system gets Bill Montgomery on the Arizona Supreme Court". The Arizona Republic.

[7] Cooper, Jonathan J. (September 5, 2019). "Ducey appoints Montgomery to Arizona Supreme Court". Arizona Public Media. Associated Press.

[8] Maricopa County Recorder (November 13, 2020), General Election Final Results, page 21.

[2020election-9] Castle, Laura (November 9, 2020). "Allister Adel elected Maricopa County attorney; voters select woman for first time". Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 19, 2022.

[10] "Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel announces resignation following months of turmoil". ABC15. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.

[11] Jenkins, Jimmy (April 20, 2022). "Rachel Mitchell appointed interim Maricopa County attorney". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[12] Garcia, Nicole (March 21, 2022). "Allister Adel: Candidates emerge in fight to replace now-resigned Maricopa County Attorney". FOX10. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[13] Tolan, Casey (June 30, 2022). "Some big-city district attorneys vow not to prosecute abortion cases, setting up legal clashes in red states". CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[14] Schwenk, Katya (April 6, 2022). "4 Candidates on Primary Ballot for County Attorney". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[15] "Republican Anni Foster drops out of Maricopa County Attorney race". KTAR. April 25, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[16] Resnik, Brahm (March 23, 2022). "Top prosecutor enters race for county attorney after calling on Allister Adel to step down". 12NBC. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

[primary-17] Primary election. Final Official Results

[18] Jenkins, Jimmy (April 12, 2022). "These 4 candidates for Maricopa County attorney will be on the ballot". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[19] "2022 General Election Results" (PDF).

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