AZ Senate President Signals Impeachment Readiness Amid Pay-to-Play, Prosecutorial Allegations Against Hobbs and Mayes

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen escalated the political stakes in Phoenix on Friday, declaring that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes now face “disturbing allegations” of impeachable conduct. 

In a sharply worded post on X, Petersen said:

“Disturbing allegations are being made that Hobbs and Mayes, the two most powerful elected officials in the state, committed impeachable offenses. Impeachment is done by the House and conviction by the Senate. Should the House impeach, the Senate will hold a trial. We will not tolerate corruption.”

Disturbing allegations are being made that Hobbs and Mayes, the two most powerful elected officials in the state, committed impeachable offenses. Impeachment is done by the House and conviction by the Senate. Should the House impeach, the Senate will hold a trial. We will not…

— Warren Petersen (@votewarren) November 14, 2025

Petersen’s remarks add fuel to a rapidly intensifying set of investigations—one tied to a major child-welfare contractor with deep political connections to Hobbs, the other involving due-process concerns and outside political influence in Mayes’ high-profile “Alternate Electors” prosecution.

Sunshine Residential Homes: Donations, Rate Hike & Internal Warnings

The first matter involves allegations that Sunshine Residential Homes, a major foster-care provider, secured a substantial rate hike after donating more than $400,000 combined to Hobbs’ inaugural fund and the Arizona Democratic Party, according to documents first exposed by The Arizona Republic.

In 2023, Sunshine received a 30 percent rate increase from the Department of Child Safety—an increase that left its daily rate nearly 40% higher than the average paid to comparable providers. Internal DCS warnings cautioned that the move would worsen a projected $13 million shortfall at the agency, even as Sunshine’s own financials showed approximately $440,000 in operating income, contradicting its claims of deep deficits, debunked by the Republic.

Agency spokesman Darren DaRonco said DCS needed a provider with sibling-group capacity and that Sunshine held about 70% of the beds in that category, per KJZZ. Internal communications described by the Republic indicate Sunshine signaled it could shift some beds to higher-paying federal contracts if the state refused the increase.

The Republic also reported that Sunshine CEO Simon Kottoor was on Hobbs’ inaugural committee, and that Hobbs even praised the organization from the campaign trail, which contributed to an inaugural haul of nearly $1.5 million per KJZZ despite the event costing only $207,000, according to Capitol Media Services reporting.

Hobbs has denied involvement in the DCS rate decision, saying she was unaware it was being made at the time. Speaking at the Arizona Chamber’s 2025 Legislative Forecast Luncheon, she said she supports new disclosure laws for state contractors but dismissed a prior GOP-backed bill as a “political stunt,” arguing campaign contributions are already publicly reported per Capitol Media Services.

The discrepancy, critics argue, is that inaugural funds and legal-defense funds are not subject to the same disclosure rules as campaign committees—something Hobbs’ voluntary donor release earlier this year only partially addressed.

Both Attorney General Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell have opened investigations into the Sunshine matter.

Mayes, States United & the Fake Electors Case

The second set of allegations surrounds Mayes’ prosecution of 2020 alternate electors. A whistleblower memo from defendant and former Trump attorney Christina Bobb alleges:

• The States United Democracy Center, a liberal nonprofit closely tied to the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), helped draft the prosecution’s internal blueprint and advised Mayes’ office.
• DAGA contributed $200,000 to a legal-defense fund benefiting Mayes shortly after her 2023 inauguration—payments Bobb claims create a “significant appearance of impropriety.”

These are allegations from Bobb’s memo; they are not established findings.

In May, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers remanded the indictment in State of Arizona v. Kelli Ward, ruling that prosecutors denied defendants a “substantial procedural right” by failing to adequately explain the Electoral Count Act—central to their defense. The court did not issue a formal finding of political bias, though Bobb argues the ruling supports her claims of political influence.

The case still includes more than a dozen defendants.

House Advisory Committee & Legislative Fallout

House Speaker Steve Montenegro has formed a Republican-led advisory committee that will investigate the Sunshine matter and coordinate with ongoing legal reviews. As previously reported, the committee will include Reps. Selina Bliss, David Livingston, Matt Gress, Quang Nguyen, and Speaker Pro Tempore Neal Carter.

Montenegro said the reporting “raises serious questions the House cannot ignore,” pledging to “secure the records, ask the hard questions, and, if necessary, change the law” to prevent similar controversies in the future.

Sen. T.J. Shope (R-LD16), whose prior disclosure bill was vetoed by Hobbs, said DCS officials “felt pressured because a provider has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Governor,” calling the issue a matter of public trust, not partisanship.

The developments arrive as Arizona lawmakers pursue broader reforms on government transparency and election integrity, including a House hearing scheduled for November 14 examining the impact of artificial intelligence on election systems.

With Petersen’s statement, the political calculus shifts: House Republicans now face open pressure to decide whether the allegations against Hobbs and Mayes justify taking the rare step of impeachment—an action Arizona has used only once, with the successful impeachment and removal of Governor Evan Mecham in 1988.