Arizona Attorney General Republican Primary debate

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:25]Hello and welcome to this primary election debate for Republican candidates for Arizona's attorney general. This debate is sponsored by Clean Elections, the state's nonpartisan voter education agency. My name is Steve Goldstein. I'll be moderating today's debate and we're sharing this debate as part of an effort to support democracy in Arizona through a partnership with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Arizona Media Association, and Raster. It's a partnership designed to make these debates accessible to everyone in Arizona. And that means this debate and dozens more between now and November will air on a long list of local TV stations, radio stations, and digital platforms, including support from local newspapers. It's a shared effort between hundreds of local media brands across Arizona. The format of this debate may be familiar to you.

[00:01:06]We've tried to keep the rules simple.

[00:01:07]Each candidate will have up to one minute to make an opening statement and the same for a closing statement.

[00:01:12]Candidates have drawn straws to determine the order of each of those portions of this debate. Throughout the debate, we'll post questions to each candidate, allow them to answer, and then make sure the other candidate has a chance to respond. Whenever a question is directed to a specific candidate, only that candidate's microphone will be open. At all other times, every microphone will be open. Thank you to voters across Arizona who submitted questions for this debate. We've reviewed all of them to make sure every voice is heard. However, no candidates have been given advanced access to any of the questions. And with that, let's introduce the Republican primary candidates for this debate. Rodney Glman and Warren Peterson. Rodney Glassman, you have the first opening statement.

[00:01:49]One minute.

[00:01:50]>> Good evening. My name is Rodney Glassman. I'm running for Arizona Attorney General to protect our cops, to protect our kids, and to protect Arizona's prosperity. Tonight's about experience and the legal experience to defeat Chris May this November. I'm a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Jag Corps Reserve. I've been a prosecutor for over 17 years. I've prosecuted drug dealers and financial crimes and protected victims of sexual assault. I'm also a private attorney in town, both a corporate attorney and a commercial litigator. Uh my primary opponent, uh is a part-time legislator, a part-time realtor, and got his law license just 28 months ago. He's never filed a lawsuit as a lawyer. He's never prosecuted a criminal as a lawyer and he's never worked in a law office as a lawyer. And if Republicans nominate someone to run against Chris Mays this November with zero experience, all we're going to get is four more years of Chris Mays and Arizonans cannot afford that.

[00:02:52]>> Peterson, you have one minute for your opening statement.

[00:02:53]>> Thank you, Steve. I'm Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson. I'm running to keep Arizona safe, free, and prosperous. I do not want to allow Arizona to turn in into California, but Chris Mays is taking us into the wrong direction. When Chris Mays refused to defend girls in sports and when she refused to defend uh protect families from sex offenders, I stepped up and defended the law.

[00:03:23]I'm managing over 110 cases or amus briefs. That's why I've been called the de facto attorney general. As your next attorney general, I'm going to fight crime, defend the laws in the Constitution, and root out fraud and corruption. That's why I have the overwhelming support from law enforcement, from the legal community, and that's why President Trump has said I am one of the leaders who will turn this state around this fall. My opponent has lied about my experience and his experience. The attorney general is a leadership position focused on policy and management. That is my experience, not his. I look forward to speaking to you tonight and earning your support.

[00:04:10]Okay. Thank you both. Mr. Peterson, uh, one of the things that both of you have talked about, even in your opening statements, is the relative experience that you both have. I want to ask you, this is almost a two-part question in your two-minute answer. One is what are your qualifications? And what are your opponent's qualifications that you respect or don't respect?

[00:04:27]>> Yeah. Well, first of all, as I mentioned before, I was asked to run by former assistant attorneys general. I went out, I met with AGs from around the country.

[00:04:37]My opponent met with AGs from around the country. They have endorsed my campaign.

[00:04:43]I'm managing over 110 cases and amus briefs. And I have prosecuted nine trials, which means I've prosecuted nine more trials than Rodney Glman and Chris Mays because we can find no evidence that Rodney Glman has ever prosecuted a case. In fact, he says he leads the legal department at Luke Air Force Base.

[00:05:06]Well, somebody called Luke Air Force Base and they didn't even know who Rodney Glassman was. I thought Mr. Glassman would be intelligent enough to go down to the Luke Air Force Base and shake some hands and say hi to some people and say, "I'm Rodney Glassman."

[00:05:21]But two weeks later, people went called the Luke Air Force Base and asked for Rodney Glassman and they don't know who he is at the legal department. I am the Arizona Senate President. I manage about 200 people. If you ask anybody at the Arizona Senate who the Senate President is and who Warren Peterson is, they will all be able to tell you who I am. There is also a foyer request done at the legal department of Luke Air Force Base, and they could find no records of Mr. Glassman doing anything. So, it would be great if Mr. Glassman has prosecuted uh criminals that he could share some specifics on the cases because nobody can find any evidence that he has done so. But again, that is not what the attorney general does. Uh my opponent is running to be an attorney. Apparently, I am running to be the attorney general.

[00:06:16]This is a management ex uh this is a management and policy office. I'm the only candidate with extensive policy experience.

[00:06:25]>> Okay, Mr. Glassman, I'll give you one minute response to start.

[00:06:28]>> Well, Steve, first and foremost, uh, Warren's just full of information. In fact, you'd probably call him lies. He received his law license December 2023, 28 months ago. He has never filed a lawsuit as a lawyer. He has never prosecuted a criminal as a lawyer. When he talks about his experience, he was an intern in the city of Scottsdale while in law school, well before ever receiving his law license. But frankly, Warren, I'm a little disgusted. There's 500,000 There's 500,000 veterans in Arizona. And what Warren Peterson just described is that he's had campaign volunteers cold calling, crank calling the active duty legal office at Luke Air Force Base, asking for me by first name. During a time of war, Warren, you're trying to make political points by harassing the active duty military base. I have prosecuted drug dealers. I've prosecuted financial crimes. Warren, you can talk to the airman down at Davis Mothan Air Force Base who was convicted for not only using cocaine but distributing cocaine.

[00:07:35]You can talk to the airman who was sent to prison for sexual assault down at Davis Mothan Air Force Base. You can talk to the young airman who was convicted when I collaborated as the lead attorney at Luke Air Force Base, with the Department of Justice, and with the IRS after pursuing COVID relief fraud. I have experience. I'm proud of my experience. I'm proud of the fact that I've been a prosecutor in the Air Force for over 17 years. I'm now a lieutenant colonel. When I put on my uniform as a reservist to go out to Luke Air Force Base, I run the active duty legal office of over 25 Jags parillegal.

[00:08:11]Warren, when you describe your experience, it's like me getting a haircut yesterday and then traveling the state describing myself as a barber.

[00:08:19]>> Okay, Mr. Peterson, one minute response.

[00:08:20]>> Yeah, my opponent is showing you exactly why he has lost six elections in a row.

[00:08:25]And he is a joke in the legal community.

[00:08:27]Everybody knows in the legal community, Rodney Glman is not practicing law.

[00:08:31]Rodney Glman is a trust fund baby who lives in an 11,000 square foot home in the Builtmore who spends all of his time running for office. People know this.

[00:08:42]And name the people, Mr. Glassman. Name the people so that we can find out who you've prosecuted.

[00:08:50]They did a foyer request and you have not prosecuted anything. In fact, your office says they haven't done anything in more than three years. And yes, I have prosecuted nine more trials than Rodney Glassman. Again, Rodney Glman does not know the law. He doesn't understand what rule 39 is. If you ask him what the 10 amendments are, he can't even name them off to you. So, I'm the only candidate in this race with the experience to do what the attorney general does, and that is leadership, management, and policy. That is why I have the overwhelming support from the legal community, from law enforcement, and why President Trump said, "I will turn this state around this fall."

[00:09:29]>> Mr. Last, very short.

[00:09:30]>> Steve, I feel bad for my opponent because the reality is he did get his law license 28 months ago. He's never filed a lawsuit as a lawyer. He's never prosecuted a criminal as an attorney. He likes to describe his internship in the city of Scottdale during law school. Uh but if he was a practicing attorney, he would know that there is both an ABA, the American Bar Association, uh and an Arizona Bar Association or 1.6, which shares that I am not allowed to talk about my client. And Warren, when I put on my uniform to go out to Luke Air Force Base, or Davis Mothan Air Force Base down in Tucson, or is Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska, or Goodfellow Air Force Base in St. Texas or my 6 months of active duty with the Space Force in Colorado Springs. My client >> is the United States Air Force. Okay.

[00:10:19]>> But thank you for not even understanding the rules of what you're trying to pursue. Sadly, >> listen. Listen, criminals are not safe from knowing who they are. If there's a criminal, Mr. Glassman can tell us who they are that he prosecuted and put away. And I have done more in three years than Rodney Glman will ever get done for his entire life because he's a trust fund baby who is just looking for a place. He's been running for 15 years and he's lost six elections in a row because people do not trust Rodney Glassman.

[00:10:53]>> All right, Mr. Peterson, let's get to some >> Steve. People do not trust Rodney Glassman. I have ran before and I want to share one of my endorsements for one of my previous runs. I know the value of electing a county assessor with a successful business background who we can trust to put the taxpayer first.

[00:11:12]That is why I am supporting Rodney Glassman. Steve, do you know who signed that?

[00:11:16]>> Warren Peterson. Thank you for your support.

[00:11:18]>> Okay. Now, of course, we know we know.

[00:11:20]Hold on one second, guys.

[00:11:21]>> Yeah.

[00:11:21]>> No props. That was a prop. Please. No props. Go ahead.

[00:11:24]>> He gets one prop then, Steve. That's only fair.

[00:11:26]>> This is this is why it's so important that I'm running because this will be the last time that Rodney Glen ever runs again. I didn't know Rodney Glman was a perennial candidate. I didn't know Rodney Glman had run to be Democrat party chairman. You see, Rodney Glman is a charlatan who fooled me. He told me he was a conservative candidate. I didn't know that he was R. Graalva's aid for four years and that he was his mentor. I didn't know that he was endorsed by Planned Parenthood. And I didn't know that he had switched his parties four times. I would never in a million years support a charlatan like Rodney Glassman. He's fooled a lot of people.

[00:12:05]Fortunately, in the last 15 years, as he has run six times in a row, >> he has not been able to fool a majority of the people.

[00:12:13]>> All right, gentlemen. Let's No, no, no.

[00:12:14]Rodney, please. We're done with this.

[00:12:16]That's almost 12 minutes, guys. Mr. Peterson, I want to start with something that would actually involve the managing of the office. As you said, Mr. Glassman is running for attorney, not attorney general. So, let's talk about what the office will mean. Many of people have called it the biggest law firm in Arizona. So, I want to know if you take over, you've been a small G government person. So, you're going to have certain priorities for the office if you win, but would some of that involve reducing the workforce and how might that affect the people of Arizona?

[00:12:45]>> Look, when it comes to the role of government, one of the most important things that government does is protect your public safety. What I has always advocated for limiting are the portions of government that are not necessary.

[00:12:57]It's one of the questions I ask every time I vote for a law. Is this something government should be doing? Now, my focus on the attorneys general's office when I when I win is going to be to fight crime, keep Arizona safe, defend the Constitution and our laws, and root out fraud and corruption. Chris May's top focuses are her priorities have been political lawfare and environmental radicalism. So what I want to do again I am not going to allow Arizona to turn into California and that is the direction that our current attorney general is taking which is why I have the overwhelming support from the legal community and from law enforcement.

[00:13:37]There are three major law enforcement associations who have so far endorsed in this in this race. All three of them have endorsed my campaign. Not one of them has endorsed my opponent. But this is an even greater indictment on the city sitting attorney general because she is the top cop and she's the top law enforcement officer. But she was so reckless that she said gave legal advice and made people think it was okay to shoot law enforcement. She has been condemned for this. I have gone nationally to condemn her for this. even went on the Sean Hannity show to give the proper legal advice, which is if you shoot law enforcement in Arizona, you're going to be prosecuted for murder.

[00:14:23]>> Mr. Glassman, one minute response to that. What would you do with the office?

[00:14:26]First of all, >> Steve, you hit it on the head. We're running to run the largest law office in the state, over 400 attorneys and a thousand support staff. I've been a prosecutor for over 17 years. I'm a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Jag Corps as a reserveist. I run the active duty legal office when I put on my uniform at Luke and I've made a living in the private sector as an attorney. My opponent has never filed a lawsuit as an attorney, never prosecuted a criminal. And I'm sorry to be repetitive, but it's truly important.

[00:14:52]It's also I do want to to kind of clarify something you said. You described Warren as a small G government guy. The reality is is that uh one of Warren's greatest accomplishments in the legislature is every year collaborating with Katie Hobbes, our liberal governor, on passing a budget that doesn't stop Chris Mays from filing the very lawsuits that Warren likes to travel the state campaigning against. We live in a Republican state where President Trump won Arizona by over 5%. But we have an insane Democrat attorney general who sued the Trump administration 41 times in the past 16 months. 41 times with our tax dollars that are handed to her every year by Katie Hobbs >> and Warren Peterson.

[00:15:37]>> All right, Mr. Peterson, 30 seconds.

[00:15:38]We've been hearing about budget coming close.

[00:15:40]>> Arizona, I hope you're all watching right now. This is not a serious candidate. This guy is a joke. Every Republican, my first year as Senate President, we put together such a great budget. Every Republican voted for the budget. For him to say he would defund law enforcement, that is also reckless.

[00:16:01]Now, obviously, Chris Mace has done some crazy things, which is why I'm running against her. And we have cut her funding to hold her accountable. And she sued us, and I beat her in court, and she had to pay us 40,000 in attorney's fees. So, we have held her accountable while making sure that we're protecting law enforcement. This is a completely unserious and reckless statement from a joke of a candidate.

[00:16:25]>> 30 seconds more.

[00:16:26]>> Steve Warren talks about defunding law enforcement. I'm proud that the chairman of my campaign is the Maricopa County Sheriff, Jerry Sheridan. And upon learning that Jerry was chairing my campaign, the Senate President removed $2 million of funding from his budget.

[00:16:44]When you talk about running the largest law office in the state, I'm proud to have the former attorney general, Tom Horn, who's now our superintendent of public instruction, as one of my campaign co-chairs, because he knows the importance of experience. Experience as a lawyer, experience as a prosecutor, because you cannot lead lawyers, Warren, if you've never worked as one yourself.

[00:17:10]>> Okay, Mr. your last one. Let's move on to >> I need to respond to that.

[00:17:13]>> I'm going to give you 30 seconds. We need to move on.

[00:17:15]>> Thank you. Uh first of all, again, this is a joke of a candidate. I cannot remove $2 million from the sheriff. I can't unilaterally do that. That is a joke. Uh second of all, having Tom Horn's endorsement is not a good thing.

[00:17:28]And third of all, Sheridan told me when he endorsed Rodney, this is one of the only few endorsements Rodney has. I have 10 times as many endorsements by solid people. Sheridan said, "You know what?

[00:17:42]Sorry, Warren, but Rodney helped me raise $400,000 for my campaign." That's not a good reason to be Steve Warren to repeat the >> way he just described the super the sitting superintendent of public instruction and our former attorney general. How did you describe his name again, Warren, for the listeners in case they didn't hear you do that?

[00:18:03]>> So, Steve, >> what what is what is the superintendent of public instruction's name? Warren Peterson. Steve, >> what is his name? Warren.

[00:18:10]>> Steve, are you ask for attorney general question? Be respectful to elected officials. What is his name? Warren, what is his name?

[00:18:18]>> All right, we we went >> I said his name. Say it again.

[00:18:20]>> Can you not hear?

[00:18:21]>> I think Are you deaf, Rodney?

[00:18:23]>> That is disgusting.

[00:18:25]Someone needs to learn.

[00:18:26]>> You're disgusting. And you belong in prison. You're disgusting. Gentlemen, you are the most discuss about this. Gentlemen, we're going to reset. We're going to reset.

[00:18:40]>> This is an hour debate.

[00:18:43]People who are viewing, people who are listening want to know about you.

[00:18:46]They've learned a little bit so far.

[00:18:47]They also want to know where you stand on the issues, though. You're going to have a closing statement. You're going to have time to go back to these things if you want to. You're getting two minutes. You're getting one minute. I'm going to move on to the next topic. You can choose how to answer. Um, Mr. Glassman, let's go to ICE. There are some people who've been concerned about actions of ICE. Um, if you were the attorney general, how closely would you want the office to work with ICE? And if you had an issue with something that ICE had done, would you pick up the phone and call the White House?

[00:19:14]That's a beautiful question. And the answer is yes. Number one, I support the president. I support the president's agenda. He has done an amazing job of securing the southern border. I was just down uh in Yuma a few months ago with the Maricopa County Sheriff, my campaign chair uh Jerry Sheridan, and also the sheriff of Yuma County, Leon Wilmont. We spent hours down on the border, and the border is secure. The challenge is that what happens at the border doesn't stop at the border. Across our country, 48 of the states have had a decrease in fentanyl deaths. Arizona has gone up, the highest spike, over 20%. And that's because we need an attorney general more focused on protecting law enforcement, collaborating with law enforcement, collaborating with ICE, collaborating with the Department of Justice and our local law enforcement agencies, having their backs so that they can do the job.

[00:20:07]The reality is we have an attorney general who just 60 days ago was on TV as the chief law enforcement officer for the state describing when she thinks it's okay for Arizonans to shoot ICE agents. I'll be working with ICE. I'll be working with local law enforcement.

[00:20:22]And yes, Steve, my response will be to pick up the phone because the reality is is down in Yuma, we visited the Yuma Medical Center where during the Biden surges, they provided over $20 million of unreimbured services to illegals. We now have an attorney general who's so busy fighting and suing and fighting and suing the administration that she can't pick up the phone and try to bring those resources home. As a practicing attorney, >> often you don't hire your attorney to file a lawsuit. Sometimes it's just to find a solution. So, as attorney general, I will always pick up the phone first to find solutions in the best interest of Arizona so I can protect our cops, protect our kids, and protect Arizona's prosperity.

[00:21:01]>> Mr. Peterson, one minute.

[00:21:02]>> I'm glad Mr. Glman brought up his trip to Yuma. That was when he lied about having the endorsement from Sheriff Wilmont and he had to retract that.

[00:21:09]That's public record. I have the most experience when it comes to border security. I I co-sponsored the Border Security Act and I also authored the Arizona ICE Act. As attorney general, I will enter into a 287G agreement with the federal government to make sure that we fully enforce immigration laws. I also did a border trip to uh with AGs from around the country, conservative AGs, and we went down there to witness the most the safest and most secure border in the history of America. We didn't need new laws. We just needed a new president. It's the same thing with the attorney general's office. We don't need new laws. We needed an a new attorney general. That's why I have the overwhelming support from the legal community, from law enforcement, and why President Trump said, "I'm going to be a leader who turns this state around this fall."

[00:22:01]>> 30 second response.

[00:22:02]>> Well, first and foremost, I know Warren likes to talk about honesty and how honesty he is. Uh the reality is uh think about how crazy it would be to have an attorney general working with ICE who in their entire 28-month legal career has never prosecuted a criminal as an attorney.

[00:22:25]It's a joke. Uh the reality is that President Trump has not made an endorsement in our race. And part of that reason is because he has not decided yet. We were at an event, >> an event where the president announced people's names. He announced it Jeremy Ronic from the NHL, Danica Patrick.

[00:22:43]>> I'm gonna cut you off in five seconds.

[00:22:45]>> From NASCAR and elected officials that were there, including my opponent, he wraps that up into an ad to once again try to mislead voters. Mr. Warren brought up misleading. I'm glad I'm glad Rodney Glman brought up this event because this is an event when Rodney Glman's name was mentioned. He got booed and I got the shout out from President Trump and we got cheered because they know I'm the best candidate for attorney general >> along with excuse me we're going to listen.

[00:23:13]>> This is an unserious unprofessional candidate. Please let me finish my my talking. The I work closely with the White House. We talk to them about two ho two two times a month. We work collaboratively. So when it comes to enforcing our immigration laws, we are already working with the White House on several issues. In fact, I have a letter from the White House thanking me for working with them collaboratively this session and help Trump deliver his agenda.

[00:23:42]>> All right, let's continue with this. Two minutes, Mr. Peterson, about the importance of going after drug cartels.

[00:23:48]Would you be willing to have the attorney general's office work with the Mexican government on that?

[00:23:53]>> Absolutely. We'll work with anybody to help make Arizona safer. And one of the things that I mentioned is that I would enter into a 287G agreement and make sure that we're collaborating with uh law enforcement with the federal government to keep our border secure.

[00:24:10]Now, I was one of the key people to help pass the Border Security Act. We I have I have been the Senate President under two presidents. Biden completely open borders and Trump secure borders. So the Border Security Act is there and in place if we ever get a Biden again. It allows local law enforcement to do immigration law. I helped sponsor that.

[00:24:35]I helped author that. I co-sponsored that and helped get that passed. We put that on Katie Hobb's desk and she vetoed it. So then we sent it to you, the voters, and you passed it overwhelmingly about 2 to one. Now, when it comes to the Arizona ICE Act, I was also the author of that very measured bill. It said, "If we catch you breaking the law here in Arizona, ICE will have at least 48 hours to come pick you up." We put that on Governor Hobb's desk.

[00:25:06]Unfortunately, she vetoed that. As attorney general, I'm the only person who has policy experience. I'm going to work with the legislature. When we get a new Republican governor, we'll run the Arizona ICE Act again, and we we'll make sure that it gets passed.

[00:25:21]>> Mr. Glassman, one minute to start.

[00:25:22]>> And Steve, who's in charge of enforcing Arizona's laws? Who is the chief law enforcement officer? The attorney general. My opponent got his law license 28 months ago. He's never filed a lawsuit. He's never prosecuted a criminal as an attorney. And why does that matter? Because it's the attorney general in charge of enforcing the laws of our state. That is my background. I have the ability to lead prosecutors.

[00:25:51]I've prosecuted drug dealers. I've prosecuted financial crimes. I've defended and protected victims of sexual assault. It's that kind of experience that I will take to the attorney general's office, running the largest law office in the state. And it's the reason why the Maricopa County Sheriff who represents 60% of our state, that's why he's chairing my campaign because it's all just politics. When you say you're going to stand with law enforcement, it's something else when you've actually worked as a prosecutor.

[00:26:22]I'm also proud to have the support of the dean of the Arizona delegation, Congressman.

[00:26:30]>> We five seconds. We've both gone over.

[00:26:32]Five seconds is fine. I'm proud to have the support of Congressman Paul Gosar, okay, in this race for attorney general because he says I'm the Republican that he trusts will be able to do the job.

[00:26:43]>> More than 5 seconds mentioned Sheridan endorsed him because Rodney helped him raise money. When it comes to criminal law, misdemeanors are crimes. Mr. Glman apparently doesn't know that. and I prosecuted nine trials >> as an intern city of Scottsdale three years before getting your law license, >> Mr. Were you? Am I able to speak? Were you a licensed attorney? We're going to turn We're going to turn off both your microphones in a sec. So, go ahead, Mr. Mr. Peterson. Please finish your answer.

[00:27:12]>> Can I Can I please talk?

[00:27:14]>> This is an unserious, unprofessional um candidate. I prosecuted nine trials.

[00:27:22]That's nine more trials than Rodney Glman. He has no proof that he has prosecuted any trials. Rodney, bring forward the proof. But that is not what the attorney general does. The attorney general manages the attorneys and he and they do policy. That's why I have he talks about supporting law enforcement, but he doesn't have their support. I have the overwhelming support of law enforcement. Three police associations have endorsed. They've all endorsed my campaign. And that is why President Trump and law enforcement ha law enforcement has supported me and President Trump has said I'm going to be a leader who will turn this state around this fall.

[00:27:58]>> You've we've both talked a lot about President Trump. Mr. Lman, I'm going to give you two minutes to start. Um Mr. Peterson made reference to having to work under having worked under two presidents, President Biden and President Trump. I want to ask you a two-part question here. Did Joe Biden win Arizona in 2020? And are you someone who in the attorney general's office would look to relitigate that or would you not in fear of perhaps um upsetting President Trump?

[00:28:24]>> Well, first and foremost, uh as you know, uh the 2020 election was certified for Joe Biden.

[00:28:33]Was there fraud in the 2020 election?

[00:28:37]Unfortunately, we'll never know, Steve, because there's only one statewide elected official with the ability to open an investigation, to secure the ballots with no chain of custody issues, and to move forward, who could have moved forward with a true investigation on the potential fraud of 2020, and that was the attorney general.

[00:29:01]But may he rest in peace, he did not do that. Sadly, sadly, he did not do that. And so, the 2020 election is lost to history because if you've prosecuted before, you know that in order to convict someone, you must convict them, Warren, beyond a reasonable doubt. And that means the attorney general would have need to secure the ballots, would have need to not have challenges in chain of custody.

[00:29:29]And Steve, I I I remind Arizonans of the story of 2006 down in Tucson, the regional transportation authority. It's the equivalent of our MAG up here in Maricopa County. There was a taxing election in 2006. And all the polling showed that it wasn't supposed to pass.

[00:29:46]And at the last minute, it did. And you know what? The Democrats in southern Arizona cried out election fraud. And who did they call? Steve, the attorney general. And the attorney general in 2000 tix sent his gun carrying badge carrying investigators down to Tucson to secure the election ballots, the ballots, the election materials, and brought them back up to Maricopa County where the former county recorder did a recount, a handc count, and reertified that election. While the results didn't change, it restored election integrity.

[00:30:17]>> So regardless of party, it's about having someone that knows how to prosecute, knows how to investigate, and know how to do the job. And that's why I am the only choice for Republicans who care about election integrity in this.

[00:30:29]>> We're gonna dig in. Mr. Peterson, you're gonna have a response in a sec. Did you answer my question though? Did Joe Biden win in 2020? It was certified, but >> it was certified.

[00:30:36]>> Okay.

[00:30:36]>> Period.

[00:30:37]>> Okay.

[00:30:37]>> And the only person that could have opened an investigation, secured the ballots without chain of custody issues, and given us any insight, okay, >> was our elected attorney general. And that's why it's so important to elect an attorney general with the experience to do the job. You've made that point. I appreciate that. Mr. Peterson, let's talk about Hold on. Let's Did Joe Biden win and how important is election integrity to you and how would you bring that about going forward?

[00:31:02]>> Thank you for that question, Steve.

[00:31:03]>> I want to give you two minutes for that.

[00:31:04]>> Thank you. Well, if it comes down to knowing how to prosecute, that disqual disqualifies Rodney Glassman. Uh I'm the only person with proof of prosecuting a trial. But again, that is not what the attorney general does. This is Rodney's only issue that he's hanging on to >> experience >> because >> Okay. Well, that >> I apologize.

[00:31:24]>> Restart, please.

[00:31:24]>> Yeah, thank you, Steve. So, nobody uh nobody has done more for election integrity and to secure our elections than I have. I was the author of the Florida style elections bill, which is the bill that makes sure that we will get timely results here in Arizona.

[00:31:39]We'll get the results the night of the election instead of having to wait two weeks, three weeks. Arizona was actually 50th in the nation in delivering our electoral votes. That is ridiculous.

[00:31:53]That is unacceptable. So, I authored the Arizona the Florida style elections bill. The House was very kind to mirror the bill. We put it on Governor Hobb's desk. She vetoed it. This is another bill that needs to get signed when we have a Republican uh governor. I was the person I was the judiciary chairman for two years. I'm the only one with that experience. Every judicial bill came through my committee.

[00:32:16]As judiciary chairman, I was the one who signed the subpoena for the 2020 audit.

[00:32:22]Recently, when the Department of Justice issued a subpoena against the wishes of our current attorney general and secretary of state, who said we shouldn't hand over our records that we have regarding the 2020 election. I immediately handed over the records to the Department of Justice and I referred Chris Maize and Adrienne Fontes to the Department of Justice for tampering with a witness and for obstructing justice.

[00:32:50]If people look up the case Mi Familia versus Warren Peterson, what they will see is that the that is the case that is all about making sure only citizens are voting in our election. Okay. When it comes to election integrity, I was part of forming the election integrity unit and I will make sure that that that has currently been gutted with Chris Mays. I will make sure we have the most robust election integrity unit in the history of Arizona and people will restore full faith and confidence in our election.

[00:33:23]>> Mr. Peterson, I'm going to get before you get a response. Did Joe Biden win in 2020? Is that is that something you want to read?

[00:33:27]>> We are in 20 We are in 2020.

[00:33:29]>> I understand, but President Trump, whose endorsement you'd like, keeps bringing it up. is the real issue. Okay, >> I'm talking to you about real issues.

[00:33:36]>> I know what you guys are, what the media is trying to do here. The real issue is, do people have faith in our elections?

[00:33:42]Clearly, you can tell by the polls.

[00:33:44]You've seen the polls and you heard from people, the printers, the fights that we're seeing right now at the at the at Maricopa County. We have everywhere I go, I talk to constituents. They are concerned about election integrity. I will The real issue is, are elections safe and secure? Under my leadership, there will be no doubt that the elections in Arizona are safe and secure.

[00:34:06]>> Mr. Glassman, two minutes, please.

[00:34:08]>> No, Steve is speaking to election integrity first.

[00:34:11]>> The only statewide elected official with the ability to investigate and prosecute election fraud is the attorney general. And right now we have an attorney general in Chris Mace who's literally suing the Coochis County Board of Supervisors for having the audacity to want to count their own ballots. As I travel the state, I ask residents across the state, "Do you feel that Arizona's current election laws are being enforced?" And no matter where I go, Steve, the answer is no. Ballot harvesting is illegal. Dropboxes are supposed to be monitored. And who's in charge of enforcing those laws? The Arizona Attorney General in charge of investigating and prosecuting election crimes. And in this Republican primary, voters have only two choices. I'm a lieutenant colonel and the United States Air Force Jag Corp. I'm now a reservist.

[00:35:10]When I go out to loop, I run the active duty legal office. I've prosecuted drug dealers and financial crimes and protected victims of sexual assault. My opponent, who keeps going on and on and on about his nine cases, is talking about his experience as an intern in the city of Scottdale. It's unfortunate, Warren, that during the 2020 audit, after that election, you were still three years away from getting your law license. You look at the challenges of that audit. You didn't know about chain of custody. You didn't know about securing the ballots. You didn't know about how to run a proper investigation.

[00:35:54]And in fairness to you, Warren, it's because you weren't even a licensed attorney. So, be careful what you take credit for because not only was it not done correctly, but I don't remember you calling out the attorney general saying, "Do your job. Do your job. Do your job."

[00:36:09]Because there's only one statewide elected official in charge of investigating and prosecuting election fraud. It's my turn. And that's the attorney.

[00:36:15]>> It's my turn.

[00:36:16]>> One minute.

[00:36:16]>> It's my turn.

[00:36:18]>> Have you figured this out yet, America?

[00:36:20]Arizona, this man is a charlatan. This man is a fraud. He lies about everything. show us the proof about these cases you prosecuted. But you know what? That's not even the job. That's why after Rodney Glassman went and met with the AGs and I met with the AGs, the AG's endorsed me because because they know what the qualifications are for the job. If you haven't figured it out yet, folks, Rodney Glassman is a pathological liar and he lies about just silly things. He recently, he's been going around telling everybody I'm 50 years old. I'm not 50 years old. Not sure why he lies about that. That's a dumb thing to lie about. He said, "I had no service. Never done anything with the Boy Scouts. I'm an Eagle Scout. I received the Silver Beaver Award in scouts for my exceptional community service." He lied about his campaign finance reports. He's facing 30 campaign finance violations right now. He's li He lied about the will.

[00:37:20]>> I'll give you five more seconds. So folks, here's what you will learn. The more you get to know Mr. Glassman, when he's opening his mouth, he's lying.

[00:37:29]>> Okay, Mr. Glassman, you're going to get 30 seconds. When someone calls you a liar, you got 30 seconds. Go ahead.

[00:37:32]>> Tired attacks and false allegations.

[00:37:37]Warren, there's very few things more unamerican than attacking a service member. We have 500,000 veterans in the state of Arizona. I'm a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Jag Corps Reserve. I've been assigned at Davis Mothan Air Force Base uh down in Tucson. Luke Air Force Base, the 56 Fighter Wing, is Air Force Base outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Good fellow in St. Angelo, the Space Force in Colorado.

[00:38:07]Warren, you have never worn a uniform.

[00:38:10]You have never volunteered to fight for our gentleman. Very unamerican, Warren.

[00:38:15]Very uname. You're you're both you're both this is let's let's let's get this back on track.

[00:38:21]>> You need to respond.

[00:38:21]>> I I don't think you do. I think we've had enough. I'm going to ask you a fresh question now. And if you want to put it in your answer, that is up to you.

[00:38:27]>> Um Attorney General May, as we mentioned, has sued the Trump administration dozens of times, Mr. Peterson, as you've cited.

[00:38:34]>> So, if you were to be the attorney general, and let's say in 2028 there's a Democrat in the White House. You've accused Chris Maize and others have as well of being too political with her lawsuits. If there were a Democrat in the White House, would you be inclined to do that as well? Or would you be thinking, "How does this affect Arizona?

[00:38:49]How can I affect Arizona?" Two minutes, please.

[00:38:51]>> Yeah. Well, first I want to respond to the last thing that was said.

[00:38:55]>> If you'll notice, my poor opponent is a victim here. All right. I guess uh when he's 6'4 and I'm 5'9, I'd need to pick on somebody my own size. Poor guy is a victim here. This is a person, this is not a serious candidate. This is not somebody you can trust. This is the same person who four years ago took this stage and tried to tell Arizona that Supreme Court Justice Andy Gould was not qualified to be the next attorney general. In fact, he was telling all the attorneys on the stage that you know who was not qualified to be the attorney general? This guy right here. Absolutely unqualified. When it comes to um lawsuits with the administration, I've been on both sides of this issue. Here's the good thing about Republicans. We actually believe in following the law.

[00:39:47]We actually believe in the Constitution.

[00:39:50]Unfortunately, the Democrats do not. Uh Biden was reckless. He was doing unconstitutional things. So, here's the thing, though. If there are Republicans who are violating the law in the Constitution, absolutely, I will go against them. I am for the law. I think it was John Adams who said he was for the law. I am for the law. I'm going to I'm going to support the law. If I don't agree with the law, I'm not going to be like Chris Mays who thinks she's the legislature. I support I will support the law and enforce the law. And if I disagree with it, I will go down to the legislature and go through the prop proper channels. I'm the only one that knows how to do that and has the experience to do that. I will go to the legislature and we will make those changes, whatever those are. If it's to make Arizona safer or or whatever it is, if it's interference of of the federal government like the government not doing it the federal government not doing its job like the border security act. So the answer is I will follow the law.

[00:40:48]>> Okay. Mr. Glen, I'm going to give you two minutes to respond please.

[00:40:51]>> Thank you, Steve. I talk about my military experience. I'm a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Jag Corps Reserve. Warren attacks me. I talk about my prosecution experience.

[00:41:03]Warren attacks me. I talk about I talk about working as a prosecutor prosecuting drug dealers and financial crimes and protecting victims of sexual assault. Warren attacks me. The reason he's doing that is because he has zero experience as a practicing attorney.

[00:41:24]When it comes to the role of attorney general, experience matters. We live in a Republican state where President Trump won by over five percentage points. We have an insane Democrat attorney general who sued the Trump administration over 41 times in the past 16 months. On day one as Arizona attorney general, I will withdraw Arizona from the 41 clickbait lawsuits that Chris Mays has filed against the Trump administration. And I will also rescend the political indictments that Chris Mays has made against good Republicans across the country simply for supporting President Trump. Chris Mays ran on building a resistance resume. She files lawsuits. She sends out press releases and she asked liberals across the country to send her money. She's trying to destroy Arizona's school choice program. She files lawsuits. She sends out press releases and she asks liberals across the country to send her money.

[00:42:19]She's suing the seven largest apartment owners in the state because she doesn't believe in private property rights and doesn't think they should be able to decide how much they charge their tenants in rent. She's suing farmers across the state because she does not believe that water rights are property rights and she doesn't like the types of crops that they grow. Chris Mays is suing the hefty garbage bag company, Steve, because she doesn't like the way they design their boxes. All while attacking our cops, attacking our kids, attacking our private sector, attacking election integrity, and you know who's funding all those lawsuits by Chris Mays, Governor Katie Hobbs, and her best friend, State Senate President Warren Peterson.

[00:42:59]>> Okay, Mr. Peterson, let's move on to something Mr. Glassman mentioned. I'm going to give you two minutes for this.

[00:43:03]>> I'd like to respond to that.

[00:43:04]>> Well, would you Okay, I'll give you 30 seconds.

[00:43:06]>> Thank you. Okay, this is an unserious candidate, folks. We have defunded and cut funding to Chris Mays to hold her accountable. We have also held Katie Hobbes accountable and we've been winning in the budgets. These have been Republican budgets. Apparently, my opponent doesn't even understand basic law that a governor has to sign a budget for to get a budget passed. Every single Republican has voted for many of these budgets that he's talking about. This is a false argument by an unserious candidate.

[00:43:37]>> Okay, gentlemen, let's talk about water.

[00:43:38]Mr. Glassman, you mentioned water. Mr. Peterson, let's talk for that two minutes on what you would do to protect Arizona's water supply. We're in a long drought. Colorado River water affects Phoenix and Tucson in particular. So Chris Mays, as Mr. Glassman mentioned, has gone after certain companies. What actions would you like to take two minutes to protect Arizona's water supply?

[00:43:57]>> Yeah. So what we really need when it comes to water is we need water augmentation. I've visited with the Trump administration four times in the last 12 months to talk about this issue and I'm actively engaged right now in the negotiations for the settlement uh of the the seven basin states on our the water aotment. Now unfortunately that should be led by Governor Hobbes but we're having to step in due to our lack of ability to negotiate this. What I have been proposing and bringing forward is we brought forward a short-term term solution that would incentivize people to take less water off of the river that would allow the water to be the whole system would be um would be functional and um and then we have long-term I've proposed long-term solutions which include several infrastructure projects that would augment the the river. That is the real solution that we need for this problem. We have water that's being dumped out into the ocean. We have water that's not being used. We need to build dams. And we need to find a way to increase and augment the river by 2.5 million acre feet. I am the only person who has the experience on this, who's worked on this, and I've been working closely with the with the Trump administration trying to protect Arizona and make sure we don't get shorted at the table. Arizona unfortunately in the past we have settled for deals long this is a long time ago that put us at a very low priority and so it has it has really weakened our negotiation position so what we really need is a solution that fixes the whole system all seven states that is what I am proposing nobody loses all seven states win we need to augment the river by 2.5 million acre feet Mr. Lastly, let's talk about protecting Arizona's water supply as attorney general. One minute, please.

[00:46:01]>> Thank you for that question, Steve.

[00:46:02]Before uh earning my law degree uh from the University of Arizona, I actually earned my PhD in aid land resource science uh from the Universe.

[00:46:58]43,000 support staff that include includes the lawyers for the state land department. It includes the lawyers for the department of environment water and with Arizona.

[00:48:45]The only person long pro conservative record consistently ranked number one, number two, number three, one of the most conseries four times. He wrote to be the Democrat party chairman six times in a row and why Arizona does not trust Rodney Glasman. 30 seconds and then we'll get off this.

[00:49:15]>> Warren likes to bring up my registration and yes, it's true, Warren, that like President Trump and like President Reagan, I left the Democrat party. I registered Republican June 16th, 2015, the day that President Trump came down the escalator. And it's sad, Warren, to hear you with your 28 months of a law license using the word evidence because as we stand here today, there's only one of us on this stage who's had a law license for 18 years. There's only one of us on this stage who holds a PhD in arid land resource sciences.

[00:49:50]Accusations, gentlemen, we have very limited amount of time.

[00:49:53]>> Retired attacks are not evident.

[00:49:55]>> There's only one person on the stage who has had their law license for 18 years and not used it.

[00:50:00]>> Okay, here's here's the question for you. You're just going to get 30 seconds on this one because we're wrapping up pretty quickly here. Mr. Peterson, if you did not win this primary, let's just say, would you support Mr. Glassman against Chris May?

[00:50:12]>> There have been serious criminal allegations raised against Mr. Glassman, I don't know how I could support somebody. Uh, they seem very uh I've I've listened to some of this. I've I've read some of this. I don't I cannot support a criminal. So, I may I may be put in a situation where I'd have to leave my ballot blank.

[00:50:31]>> Mr. Mr. Glman, would you support Mr. Peterson?

[00:50:33]>> Steve, I want to address that. There's been disgusting attacks by Warren Peterson's donors and supporters after he got done crank calling the active duty military base and harassing them. They then started pushing >> false allegations by a disgruntled former employee of my brother who is now that former employee extorting my brother. There's been criminal charges.

[00:51:01]filed for over half a million dollars.

[00:51:03]Those allegations have been refuted and denied by everyone involved. And Warren, I want to call on you tonight to ask your supporters to stand down to stop pushing those false.

[00:51:14]>> This is absolutely false.

[00:51:15]>> Okay.

[00:51:16]>> I did not prompt anyone to Warren, every single person on the internet pushing your Warren, do you pledge Mr. Peterson to stand down?

[00:51:25]>> Mr. Peterson, speak. Mr. Glasian, >> that is a lie.

[00:51:27]>> One of the people.

[00:51:28]>> No, no, no, no. Stop. Yes. This this this is unbelievable. Okay. One of the people is an attorney whose friends with the glassman's had no reason to lie who said this. Listen to the audio. Arizona.

[00:51:42]You will be convinced. Also, what about the young woman who came forward from Tucson?

[00:51:49]>> False allegations.

[00:51:51]>> They signed by Warren Peterson.

[00:51:55]Do you do you call on them to stand down, Warren? False allegations.

[00:51:59]>> Here's what I will do. False allegations denied. Everyone involved. Of course, please talk. Go ahead. This is ridiculous. This person has no self-control because he's a rich trust fund baby that is used to buying everything with his millions. Okay, Rodney, you have to show some respect and wait your turn there. Here's what I will do as the next attorney general. If somebody if there is evidence that has come forward of sexual abuse of children, I will take that seriously and I will prosecute it to the full force of the law. People are not going to call the attorney general's office and feel like it's a waste of their time.

[00:52:40]>> Mr. I am disgusted by this. I'm disgusted by the fact that Warren Peterson's campaign is pushing full. You will have one full minute. Mr. Peterson, you have five minutes by everyone involved. You need to have your you need to have your campaign step down. And here's why, Steve. Because the reality is we must defeat Chris May this November. I want you to step down. I want you to ask your supporters, your major donors who show up at every event pushing false allegations that have been denied by everyone to stand down. But Steve, to answer your question, yes, I am going to work with whoever wins this Republican primary because job number one for us as Republicans is to fire Chris Mays this November. She's hurting our cops. She's hurting our kids. She's hurting Arizona's prosperity. And Warren, you need to stand down and you need to stand with me and make sure that we defeat her this November. That should be our >> Mr. Peterson. 20 seconds to closing statements. Go ahead.

[00:53:35]>> Uh, first of all, I will never stand with a criminal. Okay? That's never going to happen. And we have somebody standing up here. No, they were not my supporters. Okay, some of them have been, but many of them have not been my supporters. These are more lies from Rodney Glassman.

[00:53:53]>> They didn't. These people coming forward didn't max out to my campaign.

[00:53:57]>> We're going to have to wrap it up.

[00:53:58]>> Okay. So, this is the This is the bottom line. All right.

[00:54:02]>> Disgusting. This is disgusting.

[00:54:04]Gentlemen, thank you both.

[00:54:05]>> Thank you candidates. Now, it's time for closing statements. Each of you have one minute to keep us on time. We'll politely cut you off if you run over.

[00:54:11]Mr. working in the private sector as an attorney. My opponent is a part-time legislator, a part-time realtor who received his law license 28 months ago.

[00:54:22]He's never filed a lawsuit as a lawyer.

[00:54:24]He's never prosecuted a criminal as a lawyer. He's never worked in a law firm as a lawyer. He has zero experience. And if Republicans nominate someone with zero experience to be our nominee in November, okay, against Chris Mays, all we're going to get is four more years of Chris Mays. And Arizona can't afford that.

[00:54:43]>> Peterson, one minute, please.

[00:54:44]>> Thanks for listening tonight. Every single poll has shown that I am the only person who has the ability to beat Chris Mazize. Rodney Glman will be absolutely destroyed. He does not practice law to feed his family. The trust fund feeds his family. And when you call the Luke Air Force Base legal department, they don't even know who he is. As you've learned tonight, my opponent is a charlatan that cannot be trusted. He wrote a Green New Deal book that is still for purchase on Amazon. It's a Green New Deal book for children that is dedicated to Ruben Ggo. He has changed his parties four times. He's facing 30 campaign finance violations. He lied about his experience. He's lied about his endorsements. He donated to Democrats after he was a Republican.

[00:55:32]That is why he has lost six elections in a row and why he will lose again. I'm a lifelong conservative Republican. I always will be. Arizona wants a winner.

[00:55:41]I've won seven elections in a row. I manage one of the largest institutions in the state. I'm managing over 110 cases in AMA's brief, which is why I've been called the de facto AG. And I will close. That is why I have the overwhelming support from law enforcement, the legal community, and why President Trump has said I will be a leader that will turn the state around this fall.

[00:56:02]>> All right, gentlemen. Thank you both.

[00:56:03]This wraps this primary debate with the Republican candidates for attorney general. As a reminder, the Arizona primary election is July 21st. Early voting starts June 24th. All registered voters can participate in the primary, including independents. The voter registration deadline is June 22nd. To register to vote, head to acleanelections.gov.

[00:56:21]Head to a media.org to see a list of every local media partner, plus upcoming debates, and where you can find them on TV, radio, and digital platforms. You can also see the full debate schedule, and learn more by heading to a clean elections.gov. On behalf of our partners at Clean Elections, the Arizona Media Association, Rester, and Sneaky Big Studios, thanks for joining us.