Arizona's next attorney general will play a key role in elections. Will Trump endorse a Republican?

Former President Donald Trump's role as the decider in Republican primaries and elections is getting tested this year in states across the country, including Arizona.

While Trump has made endorsements in two of the top state races in Arizona, he has yet to do so for any the attorney general candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the state's Aug. 2 primary.

Several candidates hope that he does, though only one said he is actively seeking Trump's endorsement.

Part of the appeal to the former president, both here and across the country, is a loyalty test of how strongly a candidate will back the false claim that Trump won the presidential election.

Outgoing Attorney General Mark Brnovich's has received Trump's wrath in the aftermath of the election, even as he now tries to win over the Trump base through a widely criticized investigation of the Maricopa County election.

For Republican voters in Arizona, the extent to which the candidates for attorney general show fealty to Trump could decide the race. Given that, The Arizona Republic asked each candidate whether they are seeking Trump's endorsement, and whether they believe Joe Biden won Arizona in the presidential election.

Only one candidate, Abe Hamadeh, gave directs answer to both questions. Three others responded, but did not answer both directly. One contender declined to answer and another did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Reasons for Trump to Endorse AG

The attorney general is one of three elected officials who has a role in certifying election results, among other election-related duties, and Trump already picked his favored candidates for the other two races.

He has endorsed Kari Lake, a former local TV anchor, for governor, and state Rep. Mark Finchem for secretary of state. Both candidates have falsely declared that Trump won the 2020 election and are heavily touting Trump's backing.

Given the attorney general's prosecutorial powers for election fraud and other issues, some see it as logical for Trump to weigh in.

"Trump has already endorsed for governor and secretary of state, but in reality, for what he wants, attorney general is maybe even more important. He believes that there was fraud in the last election, so I don't know why he wouldn't endorse in that campaign," Barrett Marson, a Valley-based GOP consultant, told The Republic.

The presumed Democratic nominee for attorney general is Kris Mayes. She has criticized Brnovich's handling of alleged voting fraud, as he has stepped back from his initially firm position that Trump lost Arizona.

Role of attorney general in elections

Terry Goddard, a Democrat and former Arizona attorney general from 2003 to 2011, noted the attorney general's pertinent role in elections, such as certifying results and approving language on things like ballot propositions.

For the certification of elections, the secretary of state, attorney general and governor form a committee to validate the results.

Another responsibility of the attorney general is prosecuting wrongdoing in elections.

"The AG has the authority over elections officials if there is reason to believe that there's been wrongdoing," Goddard said.

While duties related to elections were traditionally within the boundaries of the Attorney General's Office, the bureaucracy expanded under Brnovich with the addition of an Election Integrity Unit to handle related matters.

Candidates on the record

Over the course of several weeks, The Republic attempted to query all Republican candidates for attorney general on Trump's endorsement and whether each believed that Biden had legitimately won Arizona in 2020.

While some contenders were easily accessible and forthright, others were not.

Abe Hamadeh

Hamadeh is a former prosecutor in the Maricopa County's Attorney's Office and intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.

He was the sole candidate to answer the question of whether he was actively seeking a Trump endorsement.

"Yes, after having already received the endorsement of President Trump's National Security team, I would be honored to have President Trump's endorsement in this race," Hamadeh told The Republic.

Those endorsements include Trump's acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and Kash Patel, his chief of staff for the Department of Defense.

In addition, Hamadeh said he did not believe Biden legitimately won Arizona.

"No, the 2020 election was rotten, rigged, and corrupt. Never again will we sit by as the media, activist judges, and big tech openly work to rob a sitting president of an election," he said. "As AG I will prosecute the election fraud of 2020 and secure the 2024 election so when Donald Trump runs and wins again in 2024, everyone will know it’s legitimate.”

Rodney Glassman

Glassman, is an attorney and a member of the United States Air Force JAG Corps.

While Glassman appeared to want Trump's endorsement, he would not say whether he was actively seeking it.

"Rodney would be honored to be endorsed by President Trump," Brady Smith, a consultant to the Glassman campaign, told The Republic.

Glassman also does not believe that Biden legitimately won Arizona.

"President Trump was cheated out of Arizona’s electoral votes by unprecedented media bias, the refusal of the Arizona Supreme Court to strike down an unconstitutional ballot initiative resulting in $25 million of out-of-state dark money for Democrats, and Attorney General Brnovich's refusal to enforce Arizona's existing election laws," he told The Republic.

Lacy Cooper

Cooper is a former border security section chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

She also appeared to want Trump's endorsement but would not say if she was doing anything to obtain it and focused her answer on border issues.

"President Trump and I are very closely aligned when it comes to border security. I led a team of people who spent their days in the trenches enforcing our nation’s border laws," Cooper told The Republic.

"I believe it was largely because of my commitment to border security that I was selected for appointment as the Interim U.S. Attorney by the Trump Administration."

Cooper said that she could not answer whether Joe Biden legitimately won Arizona in 2020 because the results are still being questioned.

"Since there is an ongoing investigation at the AG’s office that relates directly to that question, I don’t think it’s appropriate for any AG candidate to comment on it," she said.

Dawn Grove

Grove is vice president and corporate counsel for Karsten Manufacturing, the parent company of the PING golf dynasty, which her family founded.

Grove did not answer the question of whether she was taking steps to obtain Trump's endorsement, but noted other Trump allies who support her.

"Dawn Grove has already secured the endorsements of several close Trump allies including the former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and has the best ability to carry an America and Arizona First agenda forward into the general election and into the Attorney General’s Office," Ryan Sabel, Grove's campaign manager, told The Republic.

Grove expressed concerns about potential voting fraud while acknowledging that Biden became president after the process set forth by the founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention. She said she was concerned about ballot harvesting and lack of voter identification. However, she did not address the question of whether Biden legitimately won Arizona.

"Once Arizona elected officials certified Arizona’s election results and the Electoral College voted in favor of President Biden, he became the officially elected president. That said, a very large portion of the Arizona electorate have rightful questions about the integrity of the 2020 election."

Tiffany Shedd, Andy Gould

Eloy lawyer and cotton farmer Tiffany Shedd declined to comment on both questions.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Andy Gould did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

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 GOP attorney general candidates on Trump endorsement, Biden win