PHOENIX ( Associated Press) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s in-house attorney has dropped his bid for the Republican nomination as the top prosecutor in Maricopa County.
Annie Foster announces her decision End your campaign on social media Monday night, His decision comes days after the Republican-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously elected Rachel Mitchell as interim county attorney.
Foster, Mitchell and Goodyear City Prosecutor Gina Godbeyer announced runs for the seat in the days after former County Attorney Alister Adele stepped down last month. The five-member board interviewed three Republicans to replace him earlier last week and then selected Mitchell as a temporary replacement.
The board was required to choose a Republican because Adele was a member of the GOP.
Godbehaer has said that she will remain in the primary race and retire from her job at Goodyear to focus on her campaign. In Foster’s announcement, she said it was time to unite around Michelle as the GOP candidate.
The only Democratic candidate is Julie Gunnigal, who also sought office in 2020.
Some criticized the board for nominating someone seeking office as interim top prosecutor because it immediately gave Mitchell the status of a current runner up.
Michelle is a longtime county sex crimes prosecutor. She gained national attention in 2018 when she was nominated by a US Senate Republican to question a woman during a confirmation hearing for now-US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The woman accused Kavanaugh of sexual abuse.
Adele 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. He was also facing investigation into whether a problem with alcohol abuse was affecting his ability to do his job.
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