Ducey lawyer drops bid to be top Maricopa County prosecutor

By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s in-house lawyer has dropped her bid for the Republican nomination as the top prosecutor in Maricopa County.

Anni Foster announced her decision to end her campaign on social media Monday night. Her decision came days after the Republican-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously chose Rachel Mitchell to be interim county attorney.

Foster, Mitchell and Goodyear City Prosecutor Gina Godbehere all announced runs for the seat in the days after County Attorney Allister Adel stepped down last month. The five-member board interviewed the three Republicans seeking to replace her early last week and then chose Mitchell as the temporary replacement.

The board was required to choose a Republican because Adel was a member of the GOP.

Godbehere has said she will remain in the primary race and retire from her Goodyear job to focus on her campaign. In Foster’s announcement, she said it was time to unite around Mitchell as the GOP candidate.

The sole Democratic candidate is Julie Gunnigle, who also sought the office in 2020.

Some criticized the board for naming someone seeking the office as the interim top prosecutor because it immediately gave Mitchell front-runner status as the incumbent.

Mitchell is a longtime county sex crime prosecutor. She gained national attention in 2018 when she was named by U.S. Senate Republicans to question a woman during the confirmation hearing for now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The woman accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Adel resigned last month amid criticism of her performance, including the dismissal of 180 misdemeanor cases because charges were not filed before the statute of limitations expired. She also was facing scrutiny over whether an admitted alcohol abuse problem was affecting her ability to do the job.