SE Arizona News

Senator Jake Hoffman (R-AZ) has come out in strong criticism of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes after her announcement that two county board supervisors were indicted by a Grand Jury for questioning the results of Arizona's 2022 election. The indictments are causing a stir among Republican lawmakers, who see it as an attempt by the Democrat Attorney General to weaponize her office.

"Democrat Kris Mayes is engaged in a disgusting weaponization of the AZ Attorney General’s office. Make no mistake, this is ELECTION INTERFERENCE by an extremist AG who wants to chill any future efforts by local election officials to challenge potentially inaccurate elections.", said Jake Hoffman.

In her announcement, Mayes indicated that Peggy S. Judd and Terry Thomas "Tom" Crosby, Supervisors from Cochise County, are facing Class 5 felonies for challenging the 2022 Arizona election outcomes. The supervisors initially refused to certify the results, especially in races where Democratic candidates, including Kris Mayes herself, eked out victories by slim margins. Following a court directive due to lack of evidence supporting their claims, Judd and Crosby were mandated to accept and verify the results. Post court intervention both opted to comply as reported by 12 News.

Hoffman and other Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about Attorney General Mayes possibly overstepping her authority following the indictment announcement. "The dangerousness of the precedent that could be set here is monumental," said Hoffman as quoted on platform X.

Mayes defended her actions stating, "The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable," according to a press release from her office. She pledged that she will continue upholding her oath of law enforcement and supporting election officials in carrying out their duties responsibly.

Arizona Rep. Rachel Jones echoed Hoffman's concerns asking fellow Republicans what steps would be taken against Mayes' actions that seem directed against Arizona citizens using her AG office influence, as mentioned on the X platform.

The November 2022 election results have been a cause for numerous allegations from Republican lawmakers, with prominent figures like former Republican candidate for attorney general Abe Hamadeh and ex-Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake raising concerns. Hamadeh had a narrow loss against Mayes by only 280 votes as reported by Arizona Daily Independent.