AZ attorney general race: Kris Mayes on 2026 campaign

Welcome back. 730 You Decide Arizona. It is one of the most closely watched races on the ballot this November. Democratic incumbent Chris Mayes is seeking a second term as Arizona Attorney General, defending her seat against Republican challenger and Senate, State Senate President, that is Warren Peterson. So incumbent Attorney General Chris Mayes joins us here live in studio this morning. Nice to see you. Good to see you guys. Thanks for having me. Four days out. What's it like right now for you? Oh boy, we it's a frenzy of activity. We've got events this weekend, a lot of events, a lot of rallies, a lot of get out the vote kind of events. We really want people to get out there and vote. Get your ballot in. We know we got some rain coming this weekend, so everybody's watching that really closely. If you have a chance to get your vote in, please do it. So it's go time. Let's talk about this because you and your opponent have both been crisscrossing the state. What are some of the big issues that they are saying are going to be? So what I'm hearing from Arizonans is that they are they are worried about Prices, they're worried about rent, they're worried about paying for groceries. Electricity prices, as you know, I've been fighting the APS and TEP rate increase proposals. I'm the first attorney general to ever formally intervene to oppose rate increases. People are worried about data centers, and we are looking at potentially filing a nuisance lawsuit against one data center in Ahwatukee. And so, and people are worried about, you know, Protecting their families, we have a huge fentanyl problem, as you know, I'm the. I've seized 27 million fentanyl pills as Attorney General more than any other AG in the history of the state. So people are focused on that and we're focused on that in the office. You know, fentanyl, I was just doing some research on it, 50 times more powerful than heroin and you think, my goodness, no wonder people are dying from this drug. Yes, and now the cartels are starting to lace other drugs with fentanyl like Xanax and other pills. So just people have to be very, very careful and We're also seeing the introduction of drugs like car fentanyl, which are even more powerful and harder to combat than fentanyl. You know, you mentioned data centers, the one in Ahwatukee, I know a lot of residents are very upset about. There was one out in the West Valley that Glendale City kind of just worked on 160 acres, I believe. Right. How do you balance the growth that probably we need with maybe some of these companies coming in and respecting residents as well? Yeah, I mean it's tough, but the truth of the matter is that too often they are putting these data centers in I think it's not too much to ask these data center developers to find an appropriate place to put them. The one in Ahwatukee is literally right across the street from a neighborhood. Imagine if somebody were to come and drop a data center right next to your house. Those are really simple issues, and there can be nuisances associated with these things. They emit sounds 24-7, light pollution. And then there's the rate increases, the electricity increases associated with them, and their water use. I'm very concerned about all of those things, and so are Arizonans. Let's talk about water. Obviously, that is a top of mind here. You caught a little bit of flack earlier this week. There was a conversation that you had talking about golf courses, where you said there's, quote, "'probably too many golf courses.'" Your opponent jumped on that, saying that Chris Mays wants to take away golf courses here in Arizona, so. Do you want to take away golf courses? Definitely not. And that is not what I said. And I like golf, actually, also. So let me be clear about that. You know, I think that what we have to do and what I have done for the last four years as attorney general is say we can't afford to do dumb things with water anymore. And that's why I sued the Saudis in western Arizona for growing so much alfalfa that they were dewatering the wells of their surrounding neighbors. And that's why we're That's why we are, I was the first statewide elected official to come out and say we need a pause on data centers until we get our hands around the fact that we just took a 30% cut of our Colorado River water supplies. So what I think is we have to really tackle these industrial scale water users and say, hey, what can we afford to do as a state anymore? And that's why we've been so aggressive with data centers and with the Saudis in Western Arizona. The residents in Gilbert saw a huge increase in their water bill recently. I think a lot of people around the valley, they're looking at zero scaping their yards. They're concerned about their water. Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. And really, with regard to, well, number one, cities have to be careful about those rate increases. And the Corporation Commission needs to do a better job. You know, I've been kind of critical of this Corporation Commission, which I think it's just been rubber-stamping rate increases, including for the electric utilities, but they also regulate, you know, hundreds I think hundreds of private water utilities and there's a concept called gradualism where you are not supposed to jack up people's rates at a very high level or rapid level at any one time and so I think that elected officials need to do a better job on that front. Thank you so much. We appreciate your time here this morning. Good to see you, Chris Mays. Good to see you guys. Hope you get some sleep. I will. Let's go vote. Let's go vote. It's been a very busy season, I know for you. All right, for information about the election and our voter guide here at home, and to learn about the candidates and all eight statewide propositions, scan that QR code you see on your screen. Head to fox10phoenix.com slash politics.