Some campaigns are born out of ambition. Others are forged in adversity.

On this episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, host Chuck Warren sits down with Greg Roeberg, an Arizona attorney now running for Attorney General, to discuss his background, his motivation, and the personal crucible that reshaped how he views law, government, and service.

It’s not a typical campaign story — and that’s the point.

From Georgetown to the Grand Canyon State

Originally from the East Coast, Roeberg attended college and law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Like many before him, a visit to Arizona turned into something more permanent.

“I visited Arizona in March,” Roeberg joked — a familiar migration story for anyone who now calls the state home.

After moving west in 2005, Roeberg built a career as a business law attorney, working with small and medium-sized businesses and everyday consumers. For nearly two decades, he stayed focused on practicing law — not politics.

That changed in 2016.

A Call to Get Involved

Roeberg describes himself as a longtime conservative Republican who voted reliably but stayed largely on the sidelines. The rise of Donald Trump, however, pushed him into action.

With existing relationships in Washington, Roeberg joined the Trump transition and inauguration teams, gaining firsthand experience inside federal government operations. He later returned to Arizona, carrying with him a sharper understanding of how policy decisions ripple outward — especially when the legal system fails to protect ordinary people.

Then came a far more personal test.

A Diagnosis That Changed Everything

In 2019, at just 38 years old, Roeberg was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

What followed was six months of chemotherapy — and a crash course in the realities of America’s healthcare and billing systems.

As an attorney, Roeberg could navigate the paperwork, fight improper charges, and challenge opaque billing practices. But sitting in the infusion center, he realized something unsettling.

“I looked around the room,” he recalled, “and the people around me were twice my age, with no legal background.”

That moment stuck.

If the system was overwhelming for someone trained in law, what chance did seniors, retirees, and working families have?

The experience didn’t embitter Roeberg — it clarified him.

“I came to peace with the process,” he said. “They were saving my life.”

A year ago, after his five-year checkup, doctors officially declared him cured.

Why Attorney General — and Why Now

Roeberg’s campaign for Attorney General is rooted in that experience: a belief that law should protect people who don’t have power, leverage, or legal training.

From medical billing and consumer fraud to accountability inside government, he argues that Arizona needs an AG willing to confront systems that quietly exploit everyday citizens.

The enthusiasm he’s seeing on the campaign trail — from Republican legislative districts to grassroots activists — suggests that message is landing.

Optimism, Roeberg says, is a choice.

“Like going to Disney World,” he explained. “You can focus on the lines — or you can focus on the fact that you’re there.”

For Roeberg, surviving cancer wasn’t the end of the story. It was the beginning of a decision to serve.

Transcript

Chuck Warren: Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds I’m your host Chuck Warren with Sean Noble and our in studio guest is Greg Roeberg. He is an attorney and he has decided to run for attorney general and. So you’re glutton for punishment basically what you’re telling me.

Greg Roeberg: That’s what that’s what they’re telling me.

Chuck Warren: How’s the campaign trail been for you so far?

Greg Roeberg: Really well. We’re getting a lot of traction. We’re going out. We’re visiting the Legislative District, Republican Party chapters and couldn’t have expected a better turnout, a better enthusiasm for our message and our mission here. We got a lot of folks that are excited to see us, excited to see us in the race. We’re optimistic.

Chuck Warren: So tell our audience a little bit about you. What’s your background? Why do you want to be AG? Why should they vote for you?

Greg Roeberg: So I’m originally from the the East Coast I went to college and law school at Georgetown and in Washington DC and I Visited Arizona probably like a lot of your listeners and happen to be March and a lot of folks who visit Arizona March time to move, right?

Chuck Warren: I always tell everybody when they come to move here say be here in July if you’re okay with it come.

Greg Roeberg: Right. Exactly to avoid the mad rush, right? So I moved here, set up shop, you know, coming up this about 20 year graduate law school in 2005. So 20 years ago, set up shop as a business law attorney working with, you know, in the old days, small and medium sized businesses, getting them set up and getting, you know, working with consumers, working with them. And I was excited and really happy with that field. And then about 10 years ago now, I can’t believe it was 10 years ago.

When Donald Trump came on the scene and entered the Republican political system. I’d always been conservative Republican. I’d always voted Republican, but I wasn’t really active in the party. Right. And so Donald Trump kind of inspired me to get more involved. And because I had relationships from Washington, D.C., I ended up going to work for the team and I worked for the transition team, the inauguration team, technically during transition period in 2016. Remember, Arizona wasn’t really a swing state in 16 and then came back to Arizona.

Had a little bit of a detour in life. I diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019. Yeah, it was a challenge, tested a life test, right? And I was very fortunate the type of lymphoma I had was curable and is cured. I went through six months of chemotherapy and very happy to say that about a year ago I had my post five-year checkup and they’re labeling me as cured.

Chuck Warren: I’m going to pause there for a minute stop you of this question, Greg. What did you learn about yourself during the six months you were battling that? I mean, we all have these moments, these crucibles. Yeah. What did you learn about yourself?

Greg Roeberg: So the big thing I learned when they were going through the diagnosis, I sort of had my come to Jesus moment where I was told in advance, listen, we’re doing some tests. Chances are what you have is going to be fine and you’re very lucky. However, if it comes back a different way, you you have to make arrangements.

Chuck Warren: That’s a nice conversation.

Greg Roeberg: And yeah, so I was, you know, I was in my, you know, and I kind of pulled an all nighter, sort of my come to Jesus moment. I stayed up all night and I sat there listening and thinking and, and, you know, I sort of came at peace with the process. I was sort of like, I’ve had a really great life at that point, I hadn’t had a family yet. I was engaged. So my fiance was going through this, but I was.

Chuck Warren: How old were you when this was happening?

Greg Roeberg: I would have been 38, so young guy. And so, but actually I learned a lot about, you know, I was an attorney and the diagnoses, the billing, dealing with providers was a nightmare. And, and, you know, I’m sure a lot of your listeners can relate to that. When I was so when I was going through the infusion at the infusion center, the chemo, I kind of looked around the room. Folks were twice my age, no legal background.

And I was able to navigate this. Another time I’ll come on your show and we’ll talk specifically about medical billing, medical fraud, but I got a crash course in that. And I was able to navigate it, but I was like, how are these folks with no legal background, some of them, seniors, retirees, how are they going through it?

Chuck Warren: They aren’t. Thats fingers crossed.

Greg Roeberg: Exactly. So that sort of touched me and wanted me to get more involved. But once I knew what was going on, I was very optimistic because they were telling me. I mean, nothing’s guaranteed, but your chances are really good with what type of treatment you have. And so I like to tell people, they say, how are you dealing with chemo? And I like to tell people, when you go to Disney World, you can focus on the fact that the lines are long, or you can focus on the fact that you’re at Disney World, right? So they were saving my life. I was up at the Mayo Clinic in North Phoenix. My then-wife, her insurance got me into the Mayo Clinic. So that’s kind of the focus.

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