Ten states held attorney general elections in 2016.
HIGHLIGHTS
Of the ten seats up for election in 2016, six were held by Democrats, while four were held by Republicans.
Four incumbent officeholders—one Republican in Indiana and three Democrats in Missouri, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—did not seek re-election, which put those four seats at greater risk of changing party hands. For several years prior to 2016, state attorneys general filed multi-state lawsuits that significantly altered national policies and regulations in industries such as tobacco, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, and healthcare.
Click on a state flag to jump to election details:
Partisan analysis
| Partisan Breakdown: Attorneys General
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| Party
|
As of November 2016
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After the 2016 Election
|
|
|
Democratic Party
|
22
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21
|
|
|
Republican Party
|
25
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26
|
|
|
Nonpartisan
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2
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2
|
|
|
Independent
|
1
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1
|
| Total
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50
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50
|
The partisan breakdown of state attorneys general remained largely unchanged after the 2014 elections, with Democrats gaining two seats previously held by Republicans.
Of the ten seats up for election in 2016, six were held by Democrats, while four were held by Republicans. This means Democrats held 60 percent of the seats up for election despite only holding 46 percent of seats across the country. This created a partisan risk in that a disproportionate number of seats held by Democrats were being challenged compared to the actual partisan balance. Democrats therefore entered the 2016 elections in a position of slightly greater partisan risk than Republicans.
Four incumbent officeholders announced that they were not seeking re-election: Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. This included three Democratic incumbents (Missouri, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) and one Republican incumbent (Indiana). Open elections left those four seats vulnerable to changing party hands.
One seat changed party hands in 2016—Republican Josh Hawley won the open seat in Missouri, which was previously under Democratic control.
Influence of voter turnout
Attorney general elections across the country coincided with what was a highly competitive presidential election, which drives up voter turnout.[1] This increased turnout during presidential election years can significantly affect the partisan balance of state governments. In particular, offices elected during mid-presidential term elections disadvantage the party of the current president, a trend that has remained relatively constant since the Civil War. Presidential election years see aggregate gains for the party of the winning presidential candidate.[2][1]
Thirty-one states held elections for attorney general in 2014, equal to 72 percent of the 43 states in which it is a publicly elected position. That same year, voter turnout was the lowest recorded since 1942.[3] Indeed, voter turnout has dropped during mid-presidential term elections since the 1840s.[2] This means a significant majority of publicly elected attorneys general are elected during these midterm cycles that see significantly lower turnout.
2016 elections
Races we watched
Pennsylvania
held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2016. The primary was on April 26. Josh Shapiro (D) won the election, keeping the seat in Democratic hands.
North Carolina
held an open election for attorney general on November 8, 2016. Josh Stein (D) won the election, keeping the attorney general's seat in Democratic hands.
HIGHLIGHTS
A Republican has not won election to the office of attorney general in North Carolina in over 100 years.Stein won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Other races
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| Click show to view a list of candidates who were defeated at the party nominating conventions or who declined to run in this election. | |
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General election
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Josh Hawley (R)
Professor, University of Missouri Law School since 2011
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General election
Josh Hawley defeated Teresa Hensley in the Missouri attorney general election.
Primary elections
Democratic primary election
Teresa Hensley defeated Jake Zimmerman in the Missouri Democratic primary for attorney general.
Republican primary election
Josh Hawley defeated Kurt Schaefer in the Missouri Republican primary for attorney general.
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Results
General election
Incumbent Tim Fox defeated Larry Jent in the Montana attorney general election.
Primary elections
Republican primary contest
Tim Fox ran unopposed in the Montana Republican primary for attorney general.
| Montana Republican primary for attorney general, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |  Tim Fox (unopposed) |
100.00% |
140,173 | | Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) |
140,173 |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State |
Democratic primary contest
Larry Jent ran unopposed in the Montana Democratic primary for attorney general.
| Montana Democratic primary for attorney general, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes | | Larry Jent (unopposed) |
100.00% |
102,171 | | Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting) |
102,171 |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State |
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General election
Incumbent Ellen Rosenblum defeated Daniel Crowe and Lars D.H. Hedbor in the Oregon attorney general election.[4]
Primary elections
Democratic primary election
Incumbent Ellen Rosenblum ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for attorney general.
Republican primary election
Daniel Crowe ran unopposed in the Republican primary for attorney general.
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Deborah Bucknam (R)
Private practice attorney specializing in civil litigation
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General election
T.J. Donovan defeated Deborah Bucknam and Rosemarie Jackowski in the Vermont attorney general election.
Primary elections
Democratic primary election
T.J. Donovan defeated H. Brooke Paige in the Democratic primary for attorney general.
| Democratic primary for attorney general, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes | | T.J. Donovan |
67.00% |
49,017 | | H. Brooke Paige |
16.29% |
11,917 | | Write-in votes |
16.71% |
12,228 | | Total Votes (275 of 275 Precincts Reporting) |
73,162 |
| Source: Vermont Secretary of State |
Republican primary election
Deborah Bucknam ran unopposed in the Republican primary for attorney general.
| Republican primary for attorney general, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes | | Deborah Bucknam (unopposed) |
67.19% |
31,173 | | Write-in votes |
32.81% |
15,221 | | Total Votes (275 of 275 Precincts Reporting) |
46,394 |
| Source: Vermont Secretary of State |
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Joshua Trumbull (Lib.)
Most recent position: Private practice attorney
Past experience: Realtor
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Note: Washington utilizes a mail-in ballot system. Results were not finalized until 14 days after the primary election.[5]
General election
Incumbent Bob Ferguson defeated Joshua Trumbull in the Washington attorney general election.
Primary election
Incumbent Bob Ferguson and Joshua Trumbull were unopposed in the Washington primary for attorney general.
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General election
Incumbent Patrick Morrisey defeated Doug Reynolds, Karl Kolenich, and Michael Sharley in the West Virginia attorney general election.
Primary elections
Democratic primary election
Doug Reynolds ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for attorney general.
| Democratic primary for Attorney General, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes | | Doug Reynolds (unopposed) |
100.00% |
187,786 | | Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) |
187,786 |
| Source: MetroNews |
Republican primary election
Incumbent Patrick Morrisey ran unopposed in the Republican primary for attorney general.
| Republican primary for Attorney General, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes | | Patrick Morrisey Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% |
157,369 | | Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) |
157,369 |
| Source: MetroNews |
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About the office
The attorney general is an executive office in all 50 states that serves as the chief legal advisor and chief law enforcement officer for the state government and is empowered to prosecute violations of state law, represent the state in legal disputes and issue legal advice to state agencies and the legislature.
In most states, the attorney general has a substantial influence on a state's approach to law enforcement. Attorneys general often set particular law enforcement priorities (e.g. drug law, civil rights violations or sexual crime) and focus extra resources on these issues. This puts them, in the words of the National Association of Attorneys General, at the "intersection of law and public policy."[6][7]
Attorneys general also play a pivotal role in shaping state and national policies. In particular, recent years have seen state attorneys general filing multi-state lawsuits that have significantly altered national policies and regulations in industries such as tobacco, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, and healthcare.[8] For example, since President Barack Obama's election in 2008, Republican attorneys general have used multi-state cases and coordinated litigation to attempt to block the Affordable Care Act and environmental mandates. Such cases also sometimes bring settlement money into state coffers.[8]
Elected vs. appointed
43 states directly elect Attorneys General. Others are appointed by either the governor, state legislature or state supreme court.
Attorneys general are chosen in four different ways; they are either popularly elected or appointed by the governor, the state legislature, or the state supreme court. The office is elective in 43 states and chosen by a state government organ in seven.
The attorney general is appointed by the governor in five states: Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Wyoming.
In Maine, the attorney general is chosen by the state legislature, while in Tennessee the choice falls to the state supreme court.
Past elections
2015
- See also: State executive official elections, 2015
Three states held elections for treasurer in 2015: Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.
To view the full electoral history for attorneys general, click [show] to expand the full section. | |
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2014
Thirty states held regularly scheduled attorney general elections in the 2014 electoral cycle:
Utah also held a special election to fill the remaining two years of John Swallow's term.
2013
- Main article: State executive official elections, 2013
One state, Virginia, held a regularly scheduled attorney general election in 2013. State Senators Mark Herring (D) and Mark Obenshain (R) faced off in the general election on November 5, 2013, and the race was considered too close to call until the State Board of Elections certified the results of the race on November 25, 2013, naming Herring the victor by a margin of 165 votes.[9][10] Since the margin was equal to or less than 0.5 percent of the total vote, Obenshain, as the losing candidate, was entitled to request a publicly financed recount, which he did on November 27.[11][12] The recount began on December 26, and Obenshain conceded to Herring two days later, giving a Democrat control of the office for the first time in almost two decades.[13][14]
2012
Ten states held attorney general elections in the 2012 electoral cycle: Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.
Heading into the November election, the Democrats held six of the seats and the Republicans held four seats. Five incumbents sought, and won, re-election, and the status breakdown of the remaining seats was as follows:
- Two - Montana AG Steve Bullock (D) and Washington AG Rob McKenna (R) - ran for the governorship in their respective states in 2012.
- One - Utah AG Mark Shurtleff (R) - retired from office.
- One - 2011 appointee Pennsylvania AG Linda Kelly (R) - did not run for election due to the terms of her Senate confirmation.
- One - Oregon AG John Kroger (D) - resigned six months ahead of schedule to take a new job as President of Reed College in Portland. Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed Ellen Rosenblum, who was running for 2012 election to the attorney general post at the time, to serve as interim attorney general for the remainder of his unexpired term. Rosenblum was elected to a full term in the general election on November 6, 2012.
Democrats won six of the 2012 races while Republicans took four, thus the partisan balance remained unchanged.
2011
- Main article: Attorney General elections, 2011
Three states, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi, had regularly scheduled attorney general elections in the 2011 electoral cycle.
Incumbents were re-elected in all three states. Democratic incumbents Jack Conway (KY) and Jim Hood (MS) successfully defended their posts against Republican challengers Todd P’Pool and Steve Simpson, respectively. The Attorney General of Louisiana election was decided even before the October 22, 2011 primary election. Incumbent Republican Buddy Caldwell was unopposed in the race after his sole challenger, former U.S. Representative Joseph Cao, withdrew from the race in late September 2011, and the office of attorney general did not appear on the ballot.[15]
2010
- Main article: Attorney General elections, 2010
Thirty attorney general elections were held on November 2, 2010. Of the 30 seats that were up for election, 20 were held by a Democrat and 10 by a Republican. Of those 30 races, 16 were won by Republicans and 14 by Democrats- a net gain of six by Republicans over their pre-election total.
| Partisan breakdown of State Attorneys General
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| Party
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Before November 2010 election
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After November 2010 election
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| With 2010 elections
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Unelected AGs
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Total AGs
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Post 2010 elections
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Unelected AGs
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Total AGs
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Gain/loss legislators
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| Democratic
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20
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12
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32
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14
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12
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26
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-6
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| Republican
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10
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8
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18
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16
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8
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24
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+6
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'state attorney general election' OR 'attorney general election' 2016. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Campbell, J. E. (1987) "The revised theory of surge and decline." American Journal of Political Science, 965-979.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pew Research Center, “Voter turnout always drops off for midterm elections, but why?” July 24, 2014
- ↑ TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions on Voting by Mail," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ The National Association of Attorneys General, "Home," accessed March 26, 2013
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of States 2012," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Governing.com, "The Story Behind the Prominent Rise of State AGs," March 28, 2016
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, " Election Results – General Election – November 5, 2013," accessed November 13, 2013 at 7:40 a.m. CT
- ↑ Washington Post, "Herring wins Virginia attorney general race, elections board announces," November 25, 2013
- ↑ USA Today, "Virginia attorney general race heads to recount," November 27, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Mark Obenshain to request recount in Virginia attorney general race," November 26, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Mark Obenshain to request recount in Virginia attorney general race," November 26, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, Obenshain concedes Virginia attorney general’s race to Herring, December 18, 2013
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2010 Gubernatorial Primaries at a Glance"
= candidate completed the 
