Petersen, Glassman Slam Mayes after Latest ‘Alternate Electors’ Loss

GOP primary rivals Warren Petersen and Rodney Glassman have both condemned Arizona’s Democrat incumbent, Kris Mayes, for yet another loss in her case against the alternate electors from the 2020 Presidential election. Both men expressed dismay over what many consider a wasteful, politically motivated attack on President Donald Trump and anyone associated with his 2020 campaign.

Mayes insists that she will continue pursuing her prosecution despite the decision returned yesterday, June 4, 2026, which declined to disturb a lower Court’s prior ruling requiring prosecutors to either return to the grand jury process or abandon the case. Mayes hoped that she could convince the Arizona Supreme Court to allow her to avoid returning the case to a grand jury, as mandated by a 2025 Maricopa County Superior Court ruling. This declination marks another setback in one of Arizona’s highest-profile political prosecutions, leaving Mayes with but two options: seek a new indictment or drop the case altogether. The two Republicans running to replace Mayes in 2026 agree that she should abandon the prosecution.

Last November, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen criticized Mayes’ decision to continue pursuing the case after an earlier appellate court defeat.

“Mayes is insistent on wasting more taxpayer dollars after an embarrassing loss at the Court of Appeals,” Petersen told the Arizona Globe.

Following the Court’s latest decision, Glassman, an attorney running in the contentious GOP primary against Petersen, also criticized Mayes’ continued prosecution.

“She should do what should have been done long ago: drop the case,” Glassman told the Arizona Globe.

Petersen told the Globe, “This is what a rogue AG looks like. Loses at every level and still isn’t tired of losing. She is wasting time and resources that would be better spent keeping Arizona safe.”

The case stems from indictments filed in April 2024 against 18 Republican electors and allies of President Donald Trump related to Arizona’s 2020 election. Prosecutors alleged the defendants participated in a scheme to overturn the certified election results. In May 2025, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers ordered the case returned to the grand jury after finding that prosecutors failed to present the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to grand jurors. Myers ruled that the federal law was central to the defendants’ argument that their actions were lawful and that omitting it deprived them of a substantial procedural right. Rather than immediately complying, Mayes appealed the ruling through Arizona’s appellate court.

As a result, after more than two years of investigations, indictments, motions, and appeals, the case, considered one of the most politically charged cases in recent Arizona history, is essentially back to square one.

You can read the Globe’s coverage of the earlier rulings here and here.