Grant Woods Dies At 67 In Phoenix: Former AG Was Key McCain Ally

PHOENIX, AZ — Former Attorney General Grant Woods, a longtime Republican eager to reach across the aisle like his good friend John McCain, died Saturday in Phoenix. He was 67.

Woods had a heart attack, according to The Arizona Republic.

Woods served two terms as attorney general from 1991 to 1999, winning re-election in a landslide with nearly 90 percent of the vote. He supported John McCain and was credited with helping the senator win re-election in 2010. Woods endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

Woods had five children with his wife, Marlene.

“Grant was the love of my life," Marlene Woods said in a statement, according to azfamily.com. "My best friend. My heart is broken. I just cannot believe he is gone. I can’t believe our time together is over. He was the best husband, the best father anyone could have wished for.

“I am so proud of the man he was, public servant, advocate for the everyday person, lover of music and stories and sports. He made me a better person. I can’t even fathom our lives without him. But we are strong, and a close family and we will work hard to honor his life.”

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey issued a statement: "My deepest sympathies are with the family and loved ones of Grant Woods. He was well-known in the Arizona community."

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat, tweeted, "Grant Woods was an incredible Arizonan with a long record of public service to our state - and a friend whose support meant so much to me. His leadership helped deliver lasting results for Arizona over many years. I will miss him and my heart is with Marlene and their children."

Woods graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law in 1979. He was McCain's chief of staff when McCain served in Congress. When he became attorney general, he joined attorneys general in other states in successfully suing the tobacco industry for hiding the risks of smoking in the 1990s — leading to the largest settlement of its kind at the time.

"Woods was widely expected to seek higher office after serving as Arizona‘s attorney general," azfamily.com wrote. "But during an interview three years ago, he told reporter Morgan Loew he decided to stay out of national politics because of the toll it would take on his family. He said it was more important for him to stay close to home while his children were young."

McCain's death in 2018 hit Woods hard. That same year, he left the Republican Party and registered as a Democrat because he disagreed with President Donald Trump's policies. He said he was disappointed more Republicans didn't stand up to Trump like McCain did.

"The one person who did it and acted upon it was John McCain and with him, no longer with us, that caused a lot of us to step back and say, 'Well, now what do we do?'" Woods told azfamily.com in 2018.

Woods said McCain inspired him to change his party affiliation.

"(McCain) was very Republican, OK?" Woods told azfamily.com. "And I don't think he would've liked that that much.

"Having said that, he was very much to his core a maverick and he knew we had to act upon principle so that's what I'm doing."

Woods founded the Mesa Boys & Girls Club, the Mesa Education Foundation, the Mesa Arts Academy and the Maricopa Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance, according to azfamily.com.

"People talk about Renaissance men," Mike Riikola, an Arizona attorney and friend of Woods', told azfamily.com. "He was truly just a gifting human being."