Arizona voters may oust 3 judges, including judge in ‘Bachelor’ paternity case

Three Arizona judges could lose their jobs after voters narrowly rejected them in unofficial election results.

Arizona voters don’t elect most judges. Instead, in judicial retention elections, they vote “yes” or “no” on keeping judges already on the bench. Judges are rarely removed this way.

In the latest Maricopa County election results, most voters said “no” to Superior Court Judges Julie Mata (51.3%) and Michael Rassas (50.6%) and Court of Appeals Judge Anni Hill Foster (50.2%).

Foster’s race may be close enough for an automatic recount under state law.

Foster was the top lawyer for former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who appointed her in 2022. While a state review panel found she meets performance standards, groups on the left and right urged voters to reject her.

The progressive group Civic Engagement Beyond Voting said she couldn’t be trusted to be fair because of her work for Ducey, including a U.S. Supreme Court brief urging an end to Roe v. Wade.

Republicans in Legislative District 4 urged a “no” vote over a ruling she joined that lets the county keep secret its electronic records of how each ballot was marked.

A ballot ruling, low marks and a lawyer’s campaign

In July, Mata allowed a Republican-backed measure limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs onto the ballot. Civic Engagement Beyond Voting cited that ruling in opposing her.

A state commission’s 2026 review found she meets standards. But about 4 in 10 people who appeared in her family courtroom, which handles divorces and custody fights, and returned surveys rated her poor or very poor on being unbiased.

Her best-known critic is David Gingras, a Phoenix lawyer who represented Laura Owens in her paternity case against former “The Bachelor” star Clayton Echard. After Mata ruled against Owens, Gingras urged litigants to ask for a different judge and filed a misconduct complaint. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct dismissed it, finding “not clear and convincing evidence of ethical misconduct.”

Rassas opposed over family cases

Rassas, a juvenile court judge, was opposed mainly by Republican groups.

Legislative District 4 Republicans pointed to his rulings in parental rights cases, including one an appeals court overturned because it relied on a father’s past housing problems.

Republican defends judges in judicial retention fight

Stephen Richer, a Republican and former Maricopa County recorder, criticized the groups.

“All three are conservatives. And, far more importantly and meaningfully, they were all thoughtful, ethical and respectful in their judicial conduct. They applied the law,” Richer wrote. “Judges are supposed to just follow the law and facts and then rule accordingly. They’re not supposed to rule for ‘their team.”

If the judges are not retained, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will appoint their replacements. Results are not official until the county canvass.

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