Key Points:

Early returns gave Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes a 16-point lead over Senate President Warren Petersen

Petersen did not concede the race Tuesday night, but did acknowledge the “big gap” to overcome

The attorney general race hinged on Mayes’ record and her approach to the Trump administration

Attorney General Kris Mayes appeared to be on her way to reelection Tuesday night, with early results showing her with a significant lead over Senate President Warren Petersen. 

As of 10 p.m., Mayes had secured 58% of the vote, compared to 42% for Petersen. About 1.7 million ballots, or 68% of those cast, had been counted, the Associated Press reported. 

Mayes ran on a platform that included holding corporations accountable, prosecuting fraud in social services and government programs, and fighting the Trump administration on issues such as voting by mail and birthright citizenship. 

A Democrat, she pitched herself as a lawyer for everyday people. She has pledged to safeguard consumer protections and keep tackling major topics such as the proliferation of data centers. 

Mayes said Tuesday night at an election party hosted by Arizona Democrats that she believes voters supported her because of her record during the past four years. 

“Arizonans know that I don’t care how powerful you are or how big the corporation or how overbearing the federal government is, I’m not afraid to file a lawsuit against them,” she said. “If they’re harming Arizonans, I’m going to sue them and do everything I can to protect this state.”

Petersen, a Republican who has served in the Arizona Legislature since 2012, painted Mayes as partisan and extreme during his campaign, and said he would focus on rooting out fraud and corruption while restoring trust in the attorney general’s office. He pledged to protect constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment and free speech. 

Speaking at a Republican gathering hosted by gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, Petersen said Tuesday night that he was “sad for Arizona” to see Republicans behind across the major state races. “There is a big gap for us to cover,” he said. “We’ll know later on tonight exactly where we’re at, but right now the leads against us are huge.” 

Petersen boasted of numerous law enforcement endorsements during his campaign, but he consistently trailed Mayes in polling and fundraising. Polling released last week by Noble Predictive Insights and HighGround Public Affairs found Mayes to be up by four points and 11 points, respectively. 

As of Sept. 30, she had raised nearly three times as much money as Petersen and spent $5.4 million to his $2.1 million, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

Staff writer Carsten Oyer contributed to this report.