Kris Mayes

Arizona Attorney General

Kristin Kay Mayes was born on September 6, 1970, and is a native of Prescott, Arizona. She grew up on a tree farm with her brother and sister. Her mother was a public school teacher and her father worked as a pharmacist. Mayes is the first mom and second woman elected to serve as Arizona's Attorney General, a position she has held since January 2, 2023. She is also the first LGBTQIA+ person to serve as Arizona's chief law enforcement officer. Additionally, she is the third openly lesbian woman elected attorney general of a state in the United States.

Education

Mayes attended Arizona public schools and earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science and journalism from Arizona State University, Tempe. She later continued her education at Columbia University, where she earned a Master of Public Administration, and returned to Arizona State University to earn her Juris Doctor. She was admitted to the Arizona State Bar on January 10, 2005.

Political Experience

Early Career: After graduating from Arizona State University, Mayes began her career as a journalist focused on holding the powerful accountable. In 2002, she joined Janet Napolitano's campaign for governor as press secretary and later earned a senior role in the Napolitano Administration in the early 2000s.

Arizona Corporation Commission: Governor Napolitano appointed Mayes to the Arizona Corporation Commission, where she served from 2003 to 2010, serving as Commission Chair from 2009 to 2010. During her tenure, she helped create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, saved Arizona consumers billions of dollars, authored Arizona's first renewable energy standard, and worked to preserve Arizona's water resources by requiring utilities to produce more clean and efficient energy, including solar and wind.

Academic Role: Prior to her election as Attorney General, Mayes worked as a senior sustainability scientist at Arizona State University's School of Global Sustainability and taught energy law courses for the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU.

Attorney General: Mayes was elected as Arizona's 27th Attorney General in 2022 in one of the closest races in state history, defeating Republican Abraham Hamadeh by just 280 votes. As Attorney General, she has focused on consumer protection and public safety initiatives, including seizing over 16.7 million fentanyl pills in 2023, holding opioid manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies accountable, and establishing an Elder Affairs Unit to prosecute elder abuse cases.

Political Party: Democratic