By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Republican Warren Petersen edged out incumbent Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes in the money he raised in the last three months in his bid to unseat her in next year's election.
New figures show that Petersen listed $789,405 in total income for the period from July 1 through Sept. 30. By contrast, Mayes said she collected $621,991 in the same period.
But the difference between the pair actually is not that great. Petersen's figures also include $97,500 of his own money that he put into his campaign kitty in August and September.
He also has a ways to go to catch up with Mayes overall.
Petersen's report shows him with about $1.1 million cash on hand at the end of September. Mayes, however, has $1.5 million in the bank.
If Petersen is to take on Mayes in the 2026 general election, however, first he needs to defeat Rodney Glassman in the Republican primary.
Glassman took in less than $490,000 in the three-month period. But he actually has more money than both of the others combined, listing his cash on hand at more than $2.8 million.
But Glassman, too, is doing a bit of self-financing, having previously loaned his campaign $1 million.
In another race with a GOP primary shaping up, incumbent Tom Horne reported taking in less than $30,000 in the past three months.
But Horne still has more than $216,000 in the bank, including $100,000 of it in his own money. And there is the prospect of more self-funding if needed: He put almost $900,000 into his 2022 campaign to defeat incumbent Democrat Kathy Hoffman.
Before he gets to the general election here, however, he will have to defeat Kimberly Yee. The state treasurer, a relative recent entry into the fray, reported new contributions of nearly $43,000.
Yee, however, also has a surplus of more than $144,000 from her previous successful races for state treasurer. That puts her bank account just shy of $198,000.
Whoever wins will face off against Democrat Teresa Ruiz.
She brought in more cash than either of the Republicans in the last three months at $49,000. But at the end of the quarter, Ruiz had only $38,000 in the bank even with a $25,000 of her own money.
The race for secretary of state is shaping up as a head-to-head in the general election between incumbent Democrat Adrian Fontes and Republican challenger Alexander Kolodin.
Fontes' latest report shows he collected another nearly $245,000 in the past three months, bringing hs total donations above $545,000. He reports having more than $357,000 in the bank.
Kolodin, a state representative, said he brought in about $40,000 in the same period. But he also gave him campaign another $50,000 of personal money. And that's on top of a prior $45,000 loan.
All that taken into account, he has just shy of $203,000 cash on hand.
Meanwhile, in the race for the soon-to-be-vacant post of state treasurer, Republican Elijah Norton reports he is running a self-funded campaign with $1 million of personal cash. Once expenses are deducted, that leaves him with about $960,000 in the bank.
Democrat Nick Mansour reports he has so far collected more than $220,000, leaving him with about $130,000 in cash after expenses.
In the race for the Arizona Corporation Commission, Republicans Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers are trying to keep their seats. Both, however, are expected to run with public financing as they did in 2022.
They are being challenged in the GOP primary by two incumbent lawmakers. Both Ralph Heap and David Marshall also have said they will use public finances.
The same is likely true for Clara Pratte and Derrick Espadas, two Democrats who are in the race.
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