Mitchell Surges Ahead in County Attorney GOP Primary

Incumbent county attorney Rachel Mitchell has taken a significant lead over her Republican challenger Gina Godbehere, holding an 18-point advantage after the initial ballot count.

Mitchell’s strong early performance suggests she is well-positioned to advance to the general election, where she would face the sole Democratic candidate, Tamika Wooten. Early results indicate that Mitchell has garnered 59.19% of the vote, compared to Godbehere’s 40.81%.

Mitchell has a long history with the county attorney’s office, where she has worked as a prosecutor for over thirty years, including leading the division responsible for prosecuting sex crimes. In 2018, she handled a high-profile hearing during the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, addressing allegations of sexual assault made by Christine Blasey Ford.

Mitchell was appointed acting county attorney after Bill Montgomery resigned to join the state Supreme Court. She continued in this role until the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Allister Adel. Following Adel’s resignation, Mitchell won a 2022 special election against Democratic nominee Julie Gunnigle to become the interim county attorney once again.

During her tenure, Mitchell has been focused on expediting the execution of death row inmate Aaron Gunches. This effort has led to a clash with Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes regarding which office should represent the state in seeking a death warrant from the Arizona Supreme Court.

Gina Godbehere, a former prosecutor at the Maricopa County attorney’s office and now a victims’ rights attorney, previously served as chief prosecutor for Goodyear. She lost the 2022 primary to Mitchell, despite being a strong contender to replace Bill Montgomery. Godbehere’s campaign portrays her as an “America First” candidate. She has criticized Mitchell as “soft on crime” and vowed to create an “Election Integrity Task Force” and avoid political lawfare.

Godbehere has secured endorsements from several noted election skeptics, including Kari Lake, Abraham Hamadeh, Joe Arpaio, and former Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

On the Democratic side, Tamika Wooten stands as the sole candidate after running unchallenged in her primary. Wooten is a former defense attorney and chief prosecutor for Glendale and currently serves as a judge pro tem in multiple cities including Avondale, Surprise, Scottsdale, and Mesa.