SCOTTSDALE — Abuse allegations and pointed attacks on legal experience dominated the heated Republican Attorney General primary debate Thursday night, as Senate President Warren Petersen and attorney Rodney Glassman traded sharp exchanges. The debate, hosted by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and the Arizona Media Association, was dominated by personal attacks from Petersen, which intensified after he referenced criminal allegations against Glassman. The allegations have circulated on social media for weeks, despite media skepticism over their explosive nature.

The debate was contentious from the outset.

Petersen challenged Glassman’s experience, saying, “I’ve prosecuted nine trials. That’s nine more trials than Rodney.”

Legal experience was seen as one of Glassman’s best arguments, given that he’s been an attorney longer than Peteresen. Glassman, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps Reserve, has been a practicing attorney since 2008. He emphasized his prosecutorial work but declined to name a specific case due to “federal disclosure rules.”

The debate took a nasty turn when Petersen raised allegations that Glassman had sexually abused his younger brother as a child, citing them as a reason he might not be able to support Glassman were he to become the GOP nominee. Petersen referenced a recorded conversation involving a former business associate of Glassman’s brother, a California attorney, that has been widely circulated on social media. Glassman forcefully denied the claims.

“Those allegations have been refuted and denied by everyone involved,” he said, stressing that he has never been charged with any crime.

Both men accused each other of misrepresenting their records, with some viewers expressing concern that the personal barbs overshadowed policy discussions on border security, election integrity, and holding state agencies accountable.

After the debate, the press scrum was nearly as intense as the debate itself, with multiple reporters asking Glassman about the allegations and his relationship with the accuser.

As exchanges grew increasingly tense, the Arizona Globe asked Glassman whether he still stands by the left-leaning climate change ideology he had previously promoted in a children’s book he co-authored when he was a Democrat. Glassman stated that he stood by his involvement in the Jeremy Jackrabbit series, defending the project as educational work on sustainability themes developed in conjunction with his wife.

For Republicans eyeing a general-election matchup against incumbent Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, the fireworks carried risk. Mayes won her 2022 race by only a few hundred votes. presiding over what many consider a turbulent term. Thursday’s debate left Glassman navigating fresh damage from public allegations and questions about his experience, while Petersen appeared willing to engage on difficult terrain. If Petersen emerges as the nominee, Mayes will likely use a similar line of attack against him. Primary voters will decide on July 21, 2926, which approach better positions the party to unseat the unpopular Democrat incumbent.