With embattled State Senator Analise Ortiz and Senator Ruben Gallego in attendance, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced her bid for re-election at an early evening downtown Phoenix event on September 5, telling those assembled that:
“Once in a generation Americans are called upon to stand up for their country and THIS is our time. In the coming years, each of us will play a role in this battle for America..Each of you is a PATRIOT – and never, ever let them take that word away from us.”
The full text of the Mayes speech is below.
“Thank you Jim McLaughlin and Sen. Analise Ortiz!
Good evening, Arizona! Are you as excited to be here tonight as I am?!? And let’s give a hand to all of the incredible artists who made this place so special! We have so many talented people in our state.
It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your 27th Arizona Attorney General – and first-ever mom AG – over these past two and a half years. And what a wild ride it’s been… There was a LOT to fix as many of you are aware. And I’m proud of the work I’ve been able to accomplish with my dedicated team, to follow through on the promises I made to all of you during my last campaign.
I vowed then to be your lawyer for the people. And thanks to the 280 votes that lovingly earned me the nickname Landslide Mayes, I’ve been able to keep that promise and fight like hell for everyday Arizonans, for our environment – and over the past 8 months for our country against a wanna-be dictator who is trampling our beloved Constitution on a daily basis.
And so tonight, I’d like to ask you a few questions:
- Have I fought like hell to protect our reproductive rights? YES!
- Have I fought to protect Arizona renters from unscrupulous and greedy corporate landlords? YES!
- Have I fought like hell to stop a grocery store mega-merger that would’ve raised already too high grocery bills and cut good, union jobs? YES!
- Have I fought to get more deadly fentanyl off our streets than anyone in Arizona’s history? YES!
- Have I fought like hell to protect our most precious natural resource – water – by suing the foreign company trying to suck Arizona dry to feed their cows who live almost 8,000 miles away? YES!
- Have I fought to expose and prosecute those taking advantage of our no-guardrails ESA system that is decimating our public schools? YES!
- Have I fought like hell to protect our seniors and sued those who are physically and financially exploiting them? YES!
- Have I fought like hell to get hard-earned money back into the pockets of Arizonans from scammers and fraudsters? YES!
- Have I fought to protect tenants and mobile home renters with broken AC units and shady utility billing practices? YES!
- Have I fought to stand up to our state’s utility monopolies who want to penalize those with solar and raise our bills that are already too damn high? YES!
- And will I continue to fight like hell alongside my fellow 23 Democratic Attorneys General to uphold the rule of law, protect our democracy and make sure we have future elections to vote in! YES!
As you know, I have sued Donald Trump 25 times along with the Democratic AGs. We have saved Arizona $1.5 billion dollars through those 25 lawsuits. With those lawsuits we are protecting Birthright Citizenship and preserving funding for our police and saving Meals on Wheels. We saved Americorps from destruction and kept $132 million from being ripped away from our schools. We’ve kept community health clinics operating and we are fighting to put an end to the illegal tariffs that are raising prices for every single Arizonan.
And every time I file one of these lawsuits, I think about past generations of Americans who fought and died for our country. And I believe in my heart that those previous generations are speaking to us across the ages and they are saying FIGHT! FIGHT for your country.
Once in a generation Americans are called upon to stand up for their country and THIS is our time. In the coming years, each of us will play a role in this battle for America..Each of you is a PATRIOT – and never, ever let them take that word away from us.
We will do this with what I call the three C’s: Courage, Crowds and the Courts.
My friends, I’m Kris Mayes. I grew up on a tree farm in Prescott, Arizona with my pharmacist dad and public educator mom. My siblings and I have hiked, camped and swam in every corner of this beautiful state we call home. I am a single mom to an amazing 12 year old daughter named Hattie who is my shining star. I am a sister, a friend, your Lawyer for the People, and your fighter.
And I would be so honored if you all would support my reelection campaign to serve you for four more years.
Thank you and let’s go Arizona!”
In a social media post, Republican political consultant and commentator Chuck Coughlin offered that he felt Attorney General Kris Mayes had an advantage with the Democratic base because of the perception, through her court fights, that she is beating back against Trump and MAGA.
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