Arizona attorney general candidate Rodney Glassman discusses party switch to GOP, multiple runs for office

Rodney Glassman sees the role of attorney general — the state's top prosecutor — as partisan and does not believe Joe Biden won Arizona in the 2020 presidential election.

He's one of six contenders running in the Republican primary for attorney general Aug. 2, the latest of several tries for elected office over the past few years.

A private attorney who serves in the U.S. Airforce Judge Advocate General's Corps Reserves, Glassman's first and only elected position was to the Tucson City Council in 2007 — as a Democrat. He credits former President Donald Trump's candidacy in 2015 for his switch to the GOP.

While studying at the University of Arizona, he established the nonprofit Glassman Foundation, which has given more than $250,000 to community organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Arizona.

Glassman, 44, announced his candidacy last September. He lives in Phoenix with his wife, Sasha, and two young daughters.

His Republican challengers include former U.S. Attorney’s Office border security section chief Lacy Cooper, former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould, Karsten Manufacturing corporate counsel Dawn Grove, former Maricopa County prosecutor Abe Hamadeh and Eloy lawyer Tiffany Shedd.

Arizona primary is Aug. 2: Everything you need to know to vote in the election

What makes this run different?

Glassman has run unsuccessfully for elected positions since 2010. That year, he resigned from Tucson City Council to run for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat against the late Sen. John McCain. He has come up short in several elections for various positions since, the latest being Maricopa County assessor in 2020.

When asked what makes this run different, Glassman said it was the nature of the position.

"I have always been interested in putting myself out for community service and to serve the community," Glassman said in an interview with The Arizona Republic, citing among other things, his work in the JAG Corps since law school and in the nonprofit sector, such as serving on the boards of the Honor Health Foundation and the Arizona Chapter of the Jewish National Fund.

"The substantive difference, or what makes this race, the job, so meaningful, is that it is the job of the attorney general to protect you from the government," he said, a role that is not mentioned in Arizona's Constitution or in statute.

Election guide: 2022 primaries

U.S. Senate | Governor |Secretary of state|Legislature | Treasurer | County attorney |Attorney general| Superintendent | Corporation Commission | District 1 | District 3 | District 4| District 5| District 6|District 8| District 9 | City council

A 'maturation' into conservativism

Glassman, who also ran for chair of the Arizona Democratic Party in 2011, was a former legislative aide to Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, from 2003-2006.

He said his ideological switch could be explained in three words: "You grow up."

Going from a self-described "Tucson Democrat" to a "pissed-off Democrat" and now a registered Republican, Glassman's conversion to conservatism stemmed from the advent of Trump when he was in his late 30s.

"The Democratic Party went left at the same time that I matured and grew up. But it wasn't until I saw Donald Trump come down the escalator, a business guy who was willing to put everything else on hold and who was going to fight to protect what he perceived as, and what I agree was, our way of life, that inspired me to officially make the switch," he said.

Role of Attorney General's Office

Glassman sees the role of attorney general as partisan and argued in a televised debate in May that he would use his position to promote his right-wing ideological positions.

"The Democrats are out there publicly, you know, chanting about just how partisan they are and just how much they're going to flaunt the law," he said, referring to the presumptive Democratic candidate for attorney general, Kris Mayes, saying she would not prosecute abortion providers on abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Mayes cited Arizona's constitutional right to privacy as justification for that position.

"And so the reality is, I believe that Arizona families and Arizona business people deserve and need a Republican conservative fighter as the attorney general to counteract what the left has committed to break," Glassman said.

What makes Glassman different?

Glassman has sought to distinguish himself from the other five Republican candidates running for the office through having the most endorsements from police, his private practice experience and his work during the 2020 presidential election.

Glassman, who has run a law office, said he alone has the pertinent expertise to run what amounts to Arizona's largest law firm.

He specializes in corporate law and business strategy at the Beus Gilbert McGroder law firm in Phoenix.

Glassman also touts 10 endorsements from law enforcement and first responder organizations, including the Arizona Corrections Association. and the Chandler Law Enforcement Association.

"Everyone running is going to say: I want to protect the police. But the relevant question to ask is ... who do the police want protecting them?" Glassman said.

"And when I say conservative Republican fighter," he said, alluding to how he sees himself as an activist attorney general, "I supported the last one that we had as President of the United States. And I think that's critical."

Tara Kavaler is a politics reporter at The Arizona Republic. She can be reached by email at tara.kavaler@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @kavalertara.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona attorney general primary 2022 candidate: Rodney Glassman