Learn more about the candidates in the Maricopa County attorney race: incumbent Rachel Mitchell and challenger Tamika Wooten.
The Maricopa County attorney’s office is one of the largest prosecutorial agencies in the country, with more than 1,000 employees. The county attorney is responsible for prosecuting all felonies that occur in Maricopa County and all misdemeanors that occur in unincorporated areas. The office processes more than 30,000 criminal cases annually. In addition, the county attorney serves as legal counsel for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and all county departments.
Rachel Mitchell
Party: Republican
Website: rachelmitchell.com
Mitchell is running for her first full term as Maricopa county attorney. The county Board of Supervisors appointed Mitchell in March 2022 to replace Allister Adel, who resigned the office due to health issues. In November 2022, Mitchell was elected in a special election to fill out the remainder of the term.
Mitchell has been with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office since 1992. She was promoted to the Maricopa County prosecutor's office sex crimes division in 2004. Mitchell spent 12 years in charge of the sex-crimes bureau, which prosecutes crimes including adult sexual assault and child molestation.
In September 2018, Mitchell took a leave of absence from the County Attorney's Office in order to serve as investigative counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, who was being considered for an associate justice position on the United States Supreme Court.
Tamika Wooten
Party: Democrat
Website: tamikawooten.com
Wooten attended UCLA and University of Arizona Law School. She began her career as a Tucson prosecutor. She has been a practicing attorney for 34 years.
She was Glendale’s chief prosecutor for five years beginning in 2003. She has served as a judge pro tem in Avondale, Surprise, Scottsdale, and Mesa. She has also served as a defense attorney in private practice.
-
Get information on Arizona races to watch, vote centers, ballots and the latest 2024 election news. -
Every two years, Arizonans cast their votes in primary and general elections. And every two years, critics complain it takes too many days for all the votes to be counted. Through KJZZ’s Q&AZ project, a listener asked: Why does the vote counting process take so long?
