Election results, 2023: Attorneys General
There were three attorney general offices on the ballot in 2023. These elections were in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Heading into the election, Republicans held the attorney general office in all three states. Republicans won all three attorney general elections. Only one incumbent, Lynn Fitch (R), ran for re-election; she was re-elected.
Russell Coleman (R) won election as Kentucky attorney general and Fitch won re-election as Mississippi attorney general on November 7, 2023. Liz Murrill (R) won election as Louisiana attorney general on November 18, 2023.
In 2023, there were three triplexes — one Republican and two divided governments — on the ballot. A triplex is when one political party holds the following three statewide offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Louisiana was the only triplex to change partisan control. It changed from a divided government to a Republican triplex after Jeff Landry (R) was elected governor and Republicans retained control of the attorney general and secretary of state offices.
After the November 2023 elections, there were 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and five divided governments where neither party held triplex control. Before the 2023 elections, there were 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and six divided governments.
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.
The attorney general is the only top-level state executive office beside the governor that exists in all 50 states. Seventeen states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.
On this page, you will find:
- Recent news
- Offices on the ballot in 2023
- Partisan balance of all attorneys general
- Seats up for election
- State government triplexes
- Links to other analyses
Offices on the ballot in 2023
In 2023, there were three attorney general offices—all held by Republicans—on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those three positions before and after the election.
| Attorney general seats up in 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2023 elections | After the 2023 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Total | 3 | 3 | |
Partisan balance of all attorneys general
Heading into the 2023 elections, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. The table below highlights the partisan balance of all 50 attorneys general before and after the 2023 elections.
The map below highlights each state by the party of its attorney general once candidates elected in 2023 elections were sworn in.
Changes in partisan control
The map below highlights states that held attorney general elections in 2023 by the party of the winning candidate.
Changes in triplex status
State government triplex is a term used to describe when one political party holds the following three statewide offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
After the November 2023 elections, there were 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and five divided governments where neither party held triplex control. Republicans gained one triplex, Democrats neither gained nor lost any triplexes, and there was one less divided government. Before the 2023 elections, there were 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and six divided governments.
In 2023, there were three triplexes — one Republican and two divided governments — on the ballot. Louisiana was the only triplex to change partisan control. It changed from a divided government to a Republican triplex after Jeff Landry (R) was elected governor and Republicans retained control of the attorney general and secretary of state offices.
Kentucky retained a divided government after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) and Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams (R) won re-election, and Russell Coleman (R) won the Kentucky attorney general election. Mississippi retained a Republican triplex after Governor Tate Reeves (R), Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), and Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) all won re-election.
Pre-election analysis
Seats up for election
There were three Republican seats up for election in 2023. The table below shows what seats were up for election and the incumbent in each race.
| State | Triplex status (before) | Incumbent | Incumbent party | Incumbent ran? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | Divided triplex status |  Daniel Cameron |
 Republican |
No[1] |
| Louisiana | Divided triplex status |  Jeff Landry |
Republican |
No[2] |
| Mississippi | Republican triplex |  Lynn Fitch |
Republican |
Yes |
Analysis of state elections, 2023
State legislative elections
- See also: State legislative elections, 2023
Eight of the country's 99 state legislative chambers held regularly-scheduled elections in 2023. Elections in those eight chambers represented 578 of the country's 7,386 state legislative seats (7.8%). This was the most seats up for election in an odd-numbered year since 2011.
General elections in Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia took place on November 7, 2023. General elections in Louisiana took place on November 18, 2023.
- Democrats gained one state legislative chamber by winning partisan control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Democrats maintained control of the state Senate. Virginia's trifecta status remained divided.
- Republicans were guaranteed simple majorities in both Mississippi's House and Senate and Louisiana's House and Senate due to the number of districts where candidates from only one political party ran.
- Democrats maintained partisan control of both chambers of the New Jersey state legislature.
Analysis
- State legislative special elections
- Impact of term limits
- Primary competitiveness
- Incumbents defeated
- Contested primaries
- Open seats
- Incumbents in contested primaries
- Major party competition
- Annual report
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
- Rematches in 2023 general elections
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
- Election results, 2023: State legislative veto-proof majorities
- Uncontested races by state
- Incumbent win rates by state
- Results of elected officials seeking other offices
- Minor-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
- State legislative seats that changed party control
- State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
- State legislative elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2023
- Margin of victory analysis
- Candidates with the same last names
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
State executive elections
- See also: State executive official elections, 2023
Analysis
- State executive official elections overview
- Gubernatorial elections
- Secretary of State elections
- Attorney General elections
- Historical and potential changes in trifectas
- Trifecta vulnerability
- State government trifectas
- States with multiple statewide offices up for election
- State executive official elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2023
- Impact of term limits
- Annual State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2023
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
- Uncontested races by state
- Incumbent win rates by state
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
State judicial elections
- See also: State judicial elections, 2023
A total of 15 state appellate court seats were up for election in 2023. This includes:
- 2 supreme court seats
- 13 intermediate appellate court seats.
The number of state supreme court and intermediate court elections is subject to change if judges retire or are appointed.
Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.
Analysis
- State supreme court elections, 2023
- State judicial elections, 2023
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2023
- Uncontested races by state
- Incumbent win rates by state
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
Log of attorney general election results
This section includes a timeline of attorney general election results.
See also
- Attorney General elections, 2023
- Attorney General elections, 2022
- Attorney General elections, 2021
- Election results, 2023
- Election results, 2023: Governors
- State executive official elections, 2023
- State government triplexes
Footnotes
