Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes was laid into Monday by her former opponent, Republican Abe Hamadeh, for threatening legal action against local election officials.
Over the weekend, Mayes sent a letter to Mohave County supervisors floating potentially "serious" lawsuits against the officials if they go through with a vote to hand count ballots in the 2024 elections.
"I understand that you will be voting tomorrow on whether to direct the Mohave County Elections Department to count the ballots for the 2024 elections by hand, rather than automatic tabulating equipment," Mayes' letter read.
"Before you take that vote, I want to make sure you know that a 'yes' vote would direct your Elections Department to violate the law," it added.
Mayes also claimed that she heard reports that the country received "incorrect legal advice from bad-faith actors" – but did not name who they were.
Hamadeh, who narrowly lost to Mayes in 2022, subsequently called her out on X. He further elaborated on his concerns in a statement to Newsmax.
"Kris Mayes' sad attempt to block the hand count of ballots in Mohave County is just more evidence of a completely corrupt legal system, designed to interfere in our elections and cover-up her illegitimacy," Hamadeh said.
"The far-left lunatics orchestrating this circus know that they can't win at the ballot box. So instead, they are trying to burn down the integrity of the justice system," he continued. "The continuous weaponization of the law is dangerous, delusional, and it's destructive. But unfortunately, at this point, it's not at all surprising."
The former attorney general candidate is still challenging the results of his 280-vote election loss to Mayes, arguing in a new lawsuit that enough voters were disenfranchised to change the election results, NPR's KJZZ reported.
He previously lost a lawsuit regarding the 2022 election in December. A complaint by Hamadeh on the presiding judge was later tossed as well, the Arizona Capitol Times noted.
Meanwhile, Hamadeh is now running for Arizona's eighth United States congressional district in a Republican primary battle to succeed Rep. Debbie Lesko, per Ballotpedia.
One of his primary opponents is former Senate candidate Blake Masters, who he ran alongside on the state's Republican ticket just two years ago.
The seat is solidly Republican, and the winner of the primary will likely go on to serve in the House.