Incumbent Rachel Mitchell, 2 others file to run for Maricopa County attorney in 2024
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Three candidates, two Republicans and one Democrat, have filed to run for Maricopa County attorney.
Current County Attorney Rachel Mitchell was first appointed to the position in 2022, after the resignation of Allister Adel. Mitchell then won an election to serve out the rest of Adel's term after defeating Democrat nominee Julie Gunnigle later that year.
Before taking the helm, Mitchell's time at the County Attorney's Office included serving as bureau chief overseeing teams of prosecutors, notably the sex-crimes bureau. That experience led her to be tapped by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to question witnesses during the hearing over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
Mitchell filed her statement of interest to seek reelection as a Republican in April 2023.
Gina Godbehere filed a statement of interest in February to seek the Republican nomination. If no other Republicans join the race, the primary will be a rematch of the 2022 primary, in which Mitchell easily defeated Godbehere.
Godbehere is a former bureau chief and trial attorney who handled juvenile, gang, homicide and repeat offender cases at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. She was the designated bias crimes prosecutor for more than a decade and retired from serving as a municipal prosecutor in Goodyear in 2022.
Tamika Wooten, who filed her notice of intent to seek the office as a Democrat this week, also has previously run for county attorney. She announced her candidacy for the 2020 election but failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
Wooten has been an attorney for more than 30 years. She has practiced defense law, served as a chief prosecutor in Glendale and as a municipal judge in multiple jurisdictions. She is currently serving as a judge pro tem.
The minimum number of voter signatures required for a county attorney candidate to get on a primary ballot in Maricopa County is 4,225 for Republicans and 3,905 for Democrats. All the necessary nomination paperwork is due by close of business on April 1, according to the Maricopa County Elections Department.
The primary election is July 30. It was scheduled for Aug. 6, but a new state law pushed the primary a week earlier to give county officials more time to deal with potential recounts.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County attorney candidates: Mitchell, Godbehere, Wooten