Dave Yost
2019 - Present
2027
6
Dave Yost (Republican Party) is the Attorney General of Ohio. He assumed office on January 14, 2019. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Yost (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of Ohio. He will not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on May 5, 2026.
Prior to his election as attorney general, Yost served as Ohio's 32nd state auditor from 2011 to 2019. Yost was first elected as state auditor in 2010 and won re-election in 2014.[1] He was prevented from running for re-election in 2018 due to term limits.
Yost was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Ohio. He was one of 66 delegates from Ohio pledged to support John Kasich at the convention. Kasich suspended his campaign on May 4, 2016. At the time, he had approximately 156 bound delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates.
Biography
Dave Yost was born in Ohio. Yost earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University in 1984 and a J.D. from Capital University in 1991.[2] Yost's career experience includes working as a journalist, attorney, and county auditor.[3][4]
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Yost's political career includes the following offices:
- 2019-present: Attorney General of Ohio
- 2011-2019: Ohio Auditor of State
- 2003-2010: Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney
- 1999-2003: Delaware County Auditor
Elections
2026
See also: Ohio gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 5, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Governor of Ohio
Tim Grady is running in the general election for Governor of Ohio on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Tim Grady (No Party Affiliation)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Ohio
Amy Acton is running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Ohio on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Amy Acton | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Ohio
Heather Hill and Vivek Ramaswamy are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Ohio on May 5, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Heather Hill | |
 | Vivek Ramaswamy | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert Sprague (R)
- Dave Yost (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: Ohio Attorney General election, 2022
General election
General election for Attorney General of Ohio
Incumbent Dave Yost defeated Jeff Crossman in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dave Yost (R) | 60.1 | 2,484,753 |
 | Jeff Crossman (D) | 39.9 | 1,647,644 | |
| Total votes: 4,132,397 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio
Jeff Crossman advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 3, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Crossman | 100.0 | 433,014 |
| Total votes: 433,014 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio
Incumbent Dave Yost advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 3, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dave Yost | 100.0 | 870,124 |
| Total votes: 870,124 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Attorney General of Ohio
Dave Yost defeated Steven Dettelbach in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dave Yost (R) | 52.2 | 2,272,440 |
 | Steven Dettelbach (D) | 47.8 | 2,084,593 | |
| Total votes: 4,357,033 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio
Steven Dettelbach advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Dettelbach | 100.0 | 510,741 |
| Total votes: 510,741 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio
Dave Yost advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dave Yost | 100.0 | 642,717 |
| Total votes: 642,717 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
| Ohio Auditor, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Dave Yost Incumbent |
57% | 1,711,927 | |
| Democratic | John Patrick Carney | 38.3% | 1,149,305 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Bridges | 4.8% | 143,363 | |
| Total Votes | 3,004,595 | |||
| Election results via Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
2010
| Ohio Auditor of State, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Dave Yost |
50.2% | 1,882,010 | |
| Democratic | David Pepper | 44.9% | 1,683,330 | |
| Libertarian | L. Michael Howard | 4.9% | 182,534 | |
| Total Votes | 3,747,874 | |||
| Election results via Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dave Yost did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Dave Yost completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Yost's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
During my life, I've been a prosecutor and a musician, an auditor and a writer, a husband and a dad and a grandad. I've practiced law in the private sector and had to make a payroll.
The rule of law means the same rules for everybody, rich and poor, foolish or wise. I've been in court to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, to hold accountable corrupt politicians and corrupt corporations. I've prosecuted murderers and rapists and child molesters. I've pushed back in court against Washington when politicians there tried to exercise power that they did not have – and won.
As Ohio Auditor of State (2011-2019), my public corruption investigations resulted in more than 170 criminal convictions of officials from both political parties, and identified more than $260 million in potential taxpayer savings.
- Protecting the unprotected
- Upholding the rule of law
- Defending the Constitution
My team has made Ohio a national leader in the fight against human trafficking, re-imagining a law enforcement focus on the buyers rather than the sellers of sex, who are often survivors of trafficking. We've worked to update Ohio's laws and create new legal tools to that end.
Maybe the most important role of the attorney general for law enforcement is to support law enforcement publicly and vocally. When an individual officer goes off the rails, the officer should be held accountable. But the attorney general should regularly and vocally speak up for the men and women who protect us honorably and professionally at the risk of physical harm or death.
But just as a parent might say that their most important responsibility is to love their children, an attorney general's most important job is to advocate for and protect Ohio and the rule of law. A myriad of actions is contained in those words.
But the federal government has only the powers it was given by the states; all other powers remain with the states, or the people. It is the attorney general's job to use the courts to keep the federal government in its own lane. My client is the people of Ohio.
To that end, I ask three questions of each case:
1. Was there a clear violation of the Constitution or federal law?
2. Was harm done to Ohioans? Is there anything to be gained from adding Ohio’s name to the suit?
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2018
Campaign website
Yost's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Protecting Ohioans
Saving Your Tax Dollars
Fighting for our Children
|
” |
| —Dave Yost for Ohio[6] | ||
Campaign advertisements
The following is an example of an ad from Yost's 2018 election campaign.
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Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Ballot measure activity
The following table details Yost's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Dave Yost | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| Ohio Issue 1, Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative (2023) | 2023 | Opposed[7] |  Approved
|
| Ohio Issue 1, Determining Bail Amount Based on Public Safety Amendment (2022) | 2022 | Supported[8] | Approved |
| Ohio Issue 1, 60% Vote Requirement to Approve Constitutional Amendments Measure (2023) | 2023 | Supported[9] |  Defeated
|
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Governor of Ohio |
Officeholder Attorney General of Ohio |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Times, "Election 2014 – Ohio," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 4, 2022
- ↑ Ohio Auditor of State, "Dave Yost," accessed January 29, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Dave Yost's Biography," accessed Oct. 4, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Dave Yost for Attorney General, "Dave's Work," accessed October 2, 2018
- ↑ Twitter, "Tony Perkins," November 6, 2023
- ↑ Ideastream.org, "Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost calls for constitutional amendment to allow for higher bail," March 29, 2022
- ↑ Mailchimp, "Yes on Issue 1," accessed December 21, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Michael DeWine (R) |
Attorney General of Ohio 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Ohio Auditor of State 2011-2019 |
Succeeded by Keith Faber (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney 2003-2010 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Delaware County Auditor 1999-2003 |
Succeeded by - |
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