A new political advertisement in Arizona’s Republican Attorney General primary is drawing attention to candidate Rodney Glassman’s lengthy history of changing political affiliations, highlighting records showing he switched registrations four times over the course of nearly two decades.

The ad points to a 2019 letter submitted by Glassman to the Maricopa County Attorney Selection Committee in which he disclosed his past voter registration history. The document, signed by Glassman, lists the following affiliations and dates:

• Republican — May 1996
• No Party Preference — August 1999
• Independent — May 2000
• Democrat — September 2001
• Republican — June 2015

The registration history shows four separate changes in affiliation before Glassman returned to the Republican Party in 2015, where he remains registered today. The issue has become a talking point in the Republican primary as candidates seek to distinguish themselves from one another before GOP voters. Political opponents have increasingly highlighted Glassman’s past as a Tucson Democrat, including his service on the Tucson City Council and his 2010 U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Senator John McCain. Glassman has previously acknowledged his political evolution and has spent the last decade actively involved in Republican politics. According to his 2019 submission, he was serving as an elected Republican Precinct Committeeman in Legislative District 28. The AG hopeful compared his party switches to those of Presidents Trump and Reagan before quickly pivoting to a familiar line of attack regarding his primary opponent’s experience.

Glassman told the Arizona Globe:

“Like President Trump and President Reagan, I left the Democrat Party. I’m also proud to be the only Republican candidate for Attorney General who has filed a lawsuit, prosecuted a criminal case, and run a law office. Those are the experiences our nominee will need if Republicans are going to fire Kris Mayes this November.”

Petersen responded to the Globe’s request for comment:

He stated, “President Trump did not run for Democratic Party chair twice, was never endorsed by Planned Parenthood, never dedicated a book to Ruben Gallego, and was not liberal Raul Grijalva’s aide for four years like Rodney was. I am the only candidate who has ever prosecuted a criminal case at the state level, as confirmed by a public records request. He has misrepresented both that fact and his own experience. He claims to lead the legal department at Luke Air Force Base, yet when people call, they often do not know who Glassman is. Furthermore, I am the only candidate currently managing more than 110 cases and appellate briefs, and I have been described as the de facto Attorney General because of the scope and significance of the work I handle. I am also the only candidate that polling shows can beat Kris Mayes. The bottom line is that Glassman is a con man and a trust-fund baby who spends most of his time running for office. Most people eventually figure that out. That is why he has lost six races in a row. And not to mention what matters most: I am the only lifelong Republican in this race—someone voters can trust to remain true to conservative principles.”

The resurfaced document provides one of the clearest public records of Glassman’s registration history and is now being used by critics who argue that party loyalty and political consistency are legitimate issues for Republican primary voters to consider.

With the Attorney General’s race expected to be one of Arizona’s most closely watched Republican contests, questions surrounding Glassman’s political past are likely to remain part of the conversation as the campaign enters its final stretch.