Kristin Kay Mayes (born September 6, 1971) is an American attorney, reporter, and politician who is the

Arizona Attorney General The Arizona attorney general is the chief legal officer of the State of Arizona, in the United States. This state officer is the head of the Arizona Department of Law, more commonly known as the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The state attorn ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, Mayes was elected in 2022, defeating Republican

Abraham Hamadeh Abraham Jamal Hamadeh (born May 15, 1991) is an American politician, attorney, U.S. Army intelligence officer, and former prosecutor currently serving as the U.S representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district since 2025. A member of th ...

by a margin of just 280 votes in one of the closest elections in the state's history. Previously Mayes was a Professor of Practice at

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is the law school at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. Created in 1965 as the Arizona State Unive ...

and Chair of the

Arizona Corporation Commission The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the Arizona, State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Constitution of Arizona, Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commission ...

. Mayes is the second woman elected Arizona Attorney General (after

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...

), the third openly lesbian woman elected attorney general of a state in the United States (after

Maura Healey Maura Tracy Healey (born February 8, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 73rd governor of Massachusetts since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served as Massachusetts Attorney Ge ...

and

Dana Nessel Dana Michelle Nessel (born April 19, 1969) is an American politician and lawyer, serving as the Michigan Attorney General#List of Attorneys General of Michigan, 54th Michigan Attorney General, attorney general of Michigan since January 2019. She ...

), and the second openly LGBT person elected to statewide office in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

(after

Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema ( ; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and former social worker who served from 2019 to 2025 as a United States senator from Arizona. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent ...

Early life and education

Mayes was born and raised in

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

. After graduating from Prescott High School she attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

(ASU) on a scholarship from the Flinn Foundation. While attending ASU she served as

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

of the ''

State Press ''The State Press'' is the independent, student-operated news publication of Arizona State University. In August 2014, it became an all-digital publication. It published a free newspaper every weekday until January 2013, at which point its print ...

'', the university's newspaper. She graduated

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

from ASU with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Journalism career

Mayes worked as a general assignment reporter for the ''

Phoenix Gazette The ''Phoenix Gazette'' was a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1881, and was known in its early years as the ''Phoenix Evening Gazette''. History In 1889, it was purchased by Samuel F. Webb, who at th ...

'', and later as a political reporter for ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

'', covering the

Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the ...

. Mayes then won the

Harry S. Truman Scholarship The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic excellence ...

and attended

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where she earned a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

. Following graduate school, Mayes returned to ''The Arizona Republic'', where she covered the 2000 presidential campaigns of Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, former Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

and Governor

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. From this experience, Mayes co-authored a book entitled ''Spin Priests: Campaign Advisors and the 2000 Race for the White House''. After the presidential campaign, Mayes attended ASU College of Law and graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

Early political career

Mayes was the press secretary for

during the

2002 Arizona gubernatorial election The 2002 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican Party (United States), Republican governor Jane Dee Hull was term-limited. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee, Arizona Attor ...

Arizona Corporation Commission

Governor Napolitano appointed Mayes, then a Republican, to the

in October 2003. She devoted much of her effort towards

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

issues. Mayes was elected to a full term in a

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

special election, defeating

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

nominee Rick Fowlkes. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Mayes considered a candidacy for

Arizona's 1st congressional district Arizona's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona, covering northeastern Maricopa County. Before 2023, geographically, it was the eleventh-largest congressional district in the country and inc ...

. She was term-limited in 2010 and was succeeded in her position by fellow Republican Brenda Burns. In 2019, Mayes left the Republican Party and joined the Democratic Party, citing the expansion of

Trumpism Trumpism, also referred to as the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, is the political movement and ideology behind U.S. president Donald Trump and his political base. It comprises ideologies such as right-wing populism, right-wing ...

within the Republican Party.

Arizona Attorney General

2022 election

Mayes was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 Arizona Attorney General election, running against Republican

. The race was one of the closest in Arizona history and required a mandatory recount because the vote difference was significantly less than the 0.5% vote threshold required by state law for recounts. The recount started on December 5, 2022. In the final vote tally, Mayes led by 510 votes. On December 29, Judge Timothy Thomason announced the results of the recount, confirming Mayes as the winner with a reduced margin of 280 votes.

Tenure

Mayes took office as Attorney General on January 2, 2023. In July 2023, Mayes's office announced that it was "investigating the transmission of an alternative slate of electors" by allies of former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to be counted by Congress during the

2021 United States Electoral College vote count The count of the United States Electoral College, Electoral College ballots during a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the 117th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, on January 6–7, 2021, ...

. Mayes's office indicted 18 individuals in April 2024. In January 2024, Mayes announced that the Attorney General's office would file suit against Kroger's proposed acquisition of Albertsons, citing antitrust laws. In June 2024, investigators from Mayes's office raided the

Apache County Apache County is a county in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupie ...

Attorney's Office in connection to allegations of County Attorney Michael Whiting's "misuse of public monies" and "threatening and intimidating a political opponent." On November 1, 2024,

spoke at a rally in Arizona in which he said of former congresswoman

Liz Cheney Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (; born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and politician. She represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021. Cheney i ...

, "She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. Okay, let’s see how she feels about it. You know when the guns are trained on her face — you know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building". That day, Mayes launched an investigation as to whether Trump's statement qualified as a prosecutable

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

under Arizona law. Mayes supported Arizona's

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

codifying abortion rights.

Personal life

Mayes is openly lesbian and has a daughter, Hattie. Mayes is the second woman elected Arizona Attorney General (after