Arizona attorney general's race is a nasty affair

PHOENIX — The race to become Arizona's next attorney general has turned into a slugfest where the two Republican candidates have set up websites devoted exclusively to savaging each other.

The plans that Republicans and Democrats in the Aug. 24 primaries have pushed to confront Arizona's border woes, fight crime and protect consumers have been overshadowed by nastiness, most of which comes from GOP candidates Andrew Thomas, former Maricopa County Attorney, and Tom Horne, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In short, Thomas calls Horne a bona fide con man with flimsy conservative credentials and little respect for the law, while Horne charges Thomas with wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in baseless prosecutions against his political enemies.

"It has become very personal," said Fred Solop, chairman of Northern Arizona University's politics and international affairs department. "In some ways, the nastiness of the race has brought both candidates down in the dirt."

The tone of the Democrats in the primary — former state financial regulator Felecia Rotellini, state Rep. David Lujan and former state prosecutor Vince Rabago — is much more subdued.

The two Republican candidates cited fighting crime and cracking down on illegal immigration as their priorities, while the Democrats said consumer protection and attacking immigrant and drug smuggling networks are top issues.

Thomas served more than five years as Maricopa County's top prosecutor before resigning in April to run for attorney general, a post he sought but lost in 2002. His tenure as county attorney was marked by his efforts to confront illegal immigration, prosecute metro Phoenix's Baseline Killer and Serial Shooter cases and pursue criminal cases against county officials.

Horne, the state's school chief since 2003, has advocated for more accountability in the schools. He helped Republican legislative leaders in a legal and political dispute over Arizona's school programs for students learning English, and pushed for a bill targeting a school district's ethnic studies program.

Thomas pointed out that Horne, who operated an investment firm while in law school in the early 1970s, lost his license to sell securities for failing to keep accurate books and not keeping enough capital on hand for purchases and sales. Thomas then teed off on Horne's failure to disclose in 1997-2000 corporation filings for his law firm that his investment business from his law school days had gone bankrupt.