Three people, two Republicans and one Democrat, have filed to run for Maricopa County Attorney.
Current County Attorney Rachel Mitchell was first appointed to the position in 2022 following the resignation of Alistair Adell. Mitchell won election to serve out the remainder of Adell's term later that year, defeating Democratic candidate Julie Gunnigle.
Prior to his appointment, Mitchell served as director of the county attorney's office, overseeing the prosecution team, specifically the sex crimes bureau. Because of her experience, she was appointed by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to testify during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's hearings in 2018.
Mitchell has filed a letter of intent seeking re-election as a Republican Congressman in April 2023.
Gina Godbehere filed a letter of intent in February seeking the Republican nomination. If no other Republicans enter the race, the primary will be a rematch of the 2022 primary in which Mitchell handily defeated Godbehere.
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Mr. Godbehere is a former chief and trial attorney who handled juvenile, gang, homicide and recidivism cases for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. She retired as Goodyear's City Attorney in 2022 after serving as the designated prosecutor for bias crimes for more than a decade.
Tamika Wooten, who filed a letter of intent to run as a Democrat this week, has also previously run for county attorney.She announced her candidacy for the 2020 election But they couldn't get enough signatures to put it on the ballot..
Wooten has been an attorney for more than 30 years. She practiced defense law and served as chief prosecutor in Glendale and as a municipal judge in multiple jurisdictions. She currently works as a professional judge.
The minimum number of voter signatures required for a county attorney candidate to appear on the primary ballot in Maricopa County is 4,225 for Republicans and 3,905 for Democrats. The Maricopa County Elections Department says all required nomination documents are expected to be submitted by the close of business on April 1st.
The primary election is July 30th. Originally scheduled for Aug. 6, a new state law moved the primary election forward by a week to give county officials more time to respond to a potential recount.
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