PHOENIX — A company that runs mobile home parks throughout the United States is backing Senate President Warren Petersen to be the next Arizona attorney general after running afoul of the current officeholder.

New financial disclosure reports show that The BoaVida Group and its subsidiaries have given more than $600,000 to the Restore Order Arizona political action committee. That organization has spent more than $1.2 million in advertising to promote Petersen’s candidacy in the Republican primary and attack Rodney Glassman, his foe.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sued the company last year on allegations that it failed to repair the electrical system at the Redwood Mobile Park in Tucson, something her office said has left residents without air conditioning during summer months.

While some changes have been made, an aide to Mayes said they are not to the office’s satisfaction. The lawsuit is still pending.

BoaVida, a Sacramento-based real estate investment and property management firm, owns manufactured housing communities and RV resorts in Arizona and across the United States. 

“We’re not a fan of the AG’s practices,” BoaVida founder Eli Werner said in a statement. “It seems like she’s looking for targets of publicity.”

Werner said that, by contrast, Petersen has supported bills favorable to mobile homes, which he considers affordable housing.

Another $50,000 came from Blue Sky Vantage, a consulting group managed by Jack McCain, son of former Sen. John McCain. And $100,000 came from Services Group of America, which invests in food companies and property development.

One PAC commercial attacked Glassman, a former Democrat, as someone who “can’t be trusted.”

Political action committees can take individual contributions beyond the $5,500 limit, as well as corporate money, which is forbidden to candidates. Arizona law, however, prohibits candidates from coordinating the expenses of these PACs with their own expenditures.

Petersen reported $1.8 million in donations directly to his campaign, and about $524,000 cash on hand as of June 30, the end of the latest reporting period.

Glassman’s report shows $3.6 million in donations. He also reported $2.4 million in available cash that, while not broken out in his latest report, apparently includes $1 million he gave to his own campaign.

He also has not been shy about attack ads. A new one paid for from his own campaign funds highlights Petersen’s 2021 divorce. It noted that he sponsored a 2022 law limiting spousal maintenance awards to “only for a period of time and in an amount necessary to enable the receiving spouse to become self-sufficient.”

Earlier this year, Petersen backed an even more restrictive measure to set an absolute four-year limit on spousal maintenance. The Senate president said that it would not have benefited him because his wife had since remarried.

Incumbent Mayes, not facing a primary foe, reported donations so far of $4.3 million, with $2.3 million in the bank. There so far have been no reports of outside money spent for or against her.

Secretary of State race

In another high-profile Republican race, state Rep. Alexander Kolodin reported he has collected more than $398,000 in his bid to be the party nominee for secretary of state. After expenses, Kolodin said he had nearly $292,000 cash on hand.

Gina Swoboda, the former chair of the Arizona Republican Party, said she has raised about $227,000 since entering the race after giving up on a congressional bid. That also includes nearly $54,000 in personal loans.

That leaves her with about $22,600 in the bank. But she also has something that Kolodin does not: a history of backing by President Donald Trump, including a specific endorsement when she was first considering a run for Congress this year.

So far, the president has made no formal endorsement in the secretary of state race. But Trump did repost, on his own Truth Social platform, Swoboda’s endorsement from the Arizona Police Association.

The winner of the GOP primary will take on incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes, who has no primary opposition. He listed more than $1.8 million in donations and more than $1 million cash on hand.

State superintendent race

Tom Horne is attempting to hang on to his post as state schools chief for another four years. 

Like some others with a close primary, his $474,500 in spending for the past three months far exceeds the $34,200 he took in. Still, that leaves him with almost $390,000 in the bank, with Horne’s campaign aided by $561,000 of his own money.

State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, trying to oust Horne, had a more balanced cash flow in the last reporting period, with receipts pretty much equaling expenses. Her cash on hand is listed at nearly $246,000.

But there’s another player in this two-way election.

A group called Arizonans for Election Integrity spent close to $200,000 on a TV commercial that uses stereotypical Chinese imagery and music to attack Yee as the “Empress of DEI.” In a social media post, Yee condemned the ad as a “disgusting racist attack.”

Horne denied any role in the ad and condemned it himself. Campaign finance reports show that Arizonans for Election Integrity got all of its funds from another group, Citizens for Effective Government. But there is no record in the Secretary of State’s Office of any such registration.

On the Democratic side, Brett Newby’s campaign for schools chief is pretty much self-funded with $125,000 of his own money. His latest report listed less than $19,000 in expenses, leaving him with about $109,000 cash on hand.

Teresa Ruiz, the other Democrat in the race, has reported raising nearly $283,000, with about $146,000 in the bank.

Treasurer race

The race to replace Yee as treasurer has set up a Republican primary between Elijah Norton and Katherine Haley.

Norton also is largely running a self-funded campaign, with $2.7 million of the nearly $3 million coming from his own pocket. After expenses so far, that leaves him with close to $302,000.

Haley also has put her own money into the race, though only $75,000 of the $301,000 in revenues. She reports nearly $82,000 in cash on hand.

Nick Mansour, running unopposed in the Democratic primary, reports having raised more than $1.25 million, leaving him with almost $822,000 after expenses.

Corporation Commission race

In the race for the corporation commission, incumbent Republicans Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson are looking to run with public funding after agreeing not to take special interest dollars. 

That entitles them to $147,836 for the primary and another $221,754 if they advance to the general election. One of them will, with Ralph Heap the only GOP challenger, who also intends to run with public funds,

The same is true of Democrats Jonathon Hill and Clara Pratte, who also are publicly funding their campaigns.