Election results, 2022: Attorneys General
As a result of the 2022 elections, the partisan composition of state attorneys general was 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats. In three states—Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont—the office changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Democrats and a net loss of one office for Republicans.
All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer. The attorney general is responsible for enforcing state law and advising the state government on legal matters. In many states, attorneys general play a large role in the law enforcement process. Seventeen states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.
- Republicans gained the state attorney general's office in Iowa as Brenna Bird (R) defeated incumbent Tom Miller (D).
- Democrats gained the state attorney general's offices in Arizona and Vermont.
- Kris Mayes (D) defeated Abraham Hamadeh (R) in the open-seat race to succeed Mark Brnovich (R) in Arizona.
- Charity Clark (D) defeated Michael Tagliavia (R) to succeed Susanne Young (R) in Vermont. Gov. Phil Scott (R) appointed Young to replace former Attorney General T.J. Donovan (D) in 2022.
Voters decided who would control 34 of 50 state attorney general offices on November 8. Thirty offices were up for election, and four offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot. Before the election, the nationwide partisan balance of attorneys general was 22 Democrats and 28 Republicans.
Partisan control after 2022 elections
Partisan balance
The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties of attorneys general before and after the 2022 elections.[1] For other state executive offices, click here.
| U.S. attorneys general partisan breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2022 | After the 2022 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 22 | 23 (+1) | |
| Republican Party | 28 | 27 (-1) | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
List of attorney general elections
There were 16 Democratic-held attorney general offices and 14 Republican-held attorney general offices on the ballot in 2022. The table below shows which states held attorney general elections in 2022.
| Attorney General elections, 2022 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent running? | Election winner | Last time office flipped | 2020 presidential result | 2018 attorney general result[2] | 2022 election result |
| Alabama |  Steve Marshall |
Yes | Steve Marshall |
1994 | R+25.4 | R+17.7 | R+36.0 |
| Arizona | Mark Brnovich |
No |  Kris Mayes |
2010 | D+0.3 | R+3.4 | D+0.0 |
| Arkansas | Leslie Rutledge |
No | Tim Griffin |
2014 | R+27.6 | R+26.4 | R+35.2 |
| California | Rob Bonta |
Yes | Rob Bonta |
1998 | D+29.2 | D+27.2 | D+18.2 |
| Colorado | Phil Weiser |
Yes | Phil Weiser |
2018 | D+13.5 | D+6.5 | D+11.7 |
| Connecticut | William Tong |
Yes | William Tong |
1958 | D+20.1 | D+6.0 | D+15.6 |
| Delaware | Kathy Jennings |
Yes | Kathy Jennings |
2005 | D+18.9 | D+22.6 | D+7.6 |
| Florida | Ashley B. Moody |
Yes | Ashley B. Moody |
2002 | R+3.3 | R+6.0 | R+21.2 |
| Georgia | Chris Carr |
Yes | Chris Carr |
2010 | D+0.2 | R+2.6 | R+5.3 |
| Idaho | Lawrence Wasden |
Yes | Raúl Labrador |
1994 | R+30.7 | R+30.8 | R+25.2 |
| Illinois | Kwame Raoul |
Yes | Kwame Raoul |
2002 | D+17.0 | D+12.0 | D+10.0 |
| Iowa | Tom Miller |
Yes | Brenna Bird |
1978 | R+8.2 | D+53.7 | R+1.8 |
| Kansas | Derek Schmidt |
No | Kris Kobach |
2010 | R+14.6 | R+18.0 | R+1.6 |
| Maryland | Brian Frosh |
No | Anthony Brown |
1954 | D+33.2 | D+29.7 | D+30.0 |
| Massachusetts | Maura Healey |
No | Andrea Joy Campbell |
1968 | D+33.5 | D+38.9 | D+25.2 |
| Michigan | Dana Nessel |
Yes | Dana Nessel |
2018 | D+2.8 | D+17.1 | D+8.6 |
| Minnesota | Keith Ellison |
Yes | Keith Ellison |
1970 | D+7.1 | D+3.9 | D+0.8 |
| Nebraska | Doug Peterson |
No | Mike Hilgers |
1951 | R+19.1 | R+100.0 | R+39.8 |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford |
Yes | Aaron Ford |
2018 | D+2.4 | D+0.4 | D+7.9 |
| New Mexico | Hector Balderas |
No | Raul Torrez |
1990 | D+10.8 | D+28.4 | D+10.6 |
| New York | Letitia James |
Yes | Letitia James |
1998 | D+23.2 | D+27.2 | D+8.6 |
| North Dakota | Drew Wrigley |
Yes | Drew Wrigley |
2000 | R+33.3 | R+35.4 | R+42.2 |
| Ohio | Dave Yost |
Yes | Dave Yost |
2010 | R+8.1 | R+4.4 | R+20.8 |
| Oklahoma | John O’Connor |
Yes | Gentner Drummond |
2010 | R+33.1 | R+28.0 | R+47.6 |
| Rhode Island | Peter Neronha |
Yes | Peter Neronha |
1998 | D+20.8 | D+60.7 | D+23.2 |
| South Carolina | Alan Wilson |
Yes | Alan Wilson |
1994 | R+11.7 | R+10.2 | R+100.0 |
| South Dakota | Mark Vargo |
No | Marty J. Jackley |
1974 | R+26.2 | R+10.4 | R+100.0 |
| Texas | Ken Paxton |
Yes | Ken Paxton |
1998 | R+5.6 | R+3.6 | R+9.7 |
| Vermont | Susanne Young |
No | Charity Clark |
2022 | D+35.1 | D+40.2 | D+30.2 |
| Wisconsin | Josh Kaul |
Yes | Josh Kaul |
2018 | D+0.7 | D+0.6 | D+1.4 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball 2022 competitive analysis
In September 2022, Sabato's Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. The analysis grouped 30 races into three categories:
- Republican seat, not competitive
- Democratic seat, not competitive
- Competitive seat
The table below shows how Sabato's Crystal Ball rated each election. Click here to read the full analysis.[3]
| Sabato's Crystal Ball 2022 Attorney General election competitiveness | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Sabato's Crystal Ball rating | Incumbent running? |
| Alabama | Steve Marshall |
Republican seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Arkansas | Leslie Rutledge |
Republican seat, not competitive | Incumbent is term-limited |
| Florida | Ashley B. Moody |
Republican seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Nebraska | Doug Peterson |
Republican seat, not competitive | No |
| North Dakota | Drew Wrigley |
Republican seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Ohio | Dave Yost |
Republican seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Oklahoma | John O'Connor |
Republican seat, not competitive | Incumbent defeated in primary |
| South Carolina | Alan Wilson |
Republican seat, not competitive | Yes |
| South Dakota | Mark Vargo |
Republican seat, not competitive | No |
| Idaho | Lawrence Wasden |
Competitive seat | Incumbent defeated in primary |
| Texas | Ken Paxton |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| Georgia | Chris Carr |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| Kansas | Derek Schmidt |
Competitive seat | No |
| Arizona | Mark Brnovich |
Competitive seat | Incumbent is term-limited |
| Iowa | Tom Miller |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Josh Kaul |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| Minnesota | Keith Ellison |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| Michigan | Dana Nessel |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| New Mexico | Hector Balderas |
Competitive seat | Incumbent is term-limited |
| Colorado | Phil Weiser |
Competitive seat | Yes |
| California | Rob Bonta |
Democratic seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Connecticut | William Tong |
Democratic seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Delaware | Kathy Jennings |
Democratic seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Illinois | Kwame Raoul |
Democratic seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Maryland | Brian Frosh |
Democratic seat, not competitive | No |
| Massachusetts | Maura Healey |
Democratic seat, not competitive | No |
| New York | Letitia James |
Democratic seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Peter Neronha |
Democratic seat, not competitive | Yes |
| Vermont | T.J. Donovan |
Democratic seat, not competitive | No |
Battlegrounds
Ballotpedia identified six of the 30 attorney general elections that took place in 2022 as battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
Of the six, four were in states with Democratic incumbents and two were in states with Republican incumbents. Three took place in states where the incumbent was a member of a different party than the candidate who won the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Battleground list
The following map displays all states that held elections for attorney general in 2022 shaded by the incumbent's or most recent incumbent's political affiliation. Battlegrounds are highlighted in brighter colors. Hover over a state for more information.
Current state government triplexes
See also
- Attorney General elections, 2021
- Attorney General elections, 2020
- Election results, 2022
- Election results, 2022: Governors
- State executive official elections, 2022
- State government triplexes
Footnotes
- ↑ Although Ballotpedia covers Washington, D.C., and the five U.S. territories and their officeholders, D.C. and territory officeholders are not included in the following figures.
- ↑ 2020 election for Vermont.
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape," September 14, 2022
