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Indiana held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2016. Republican Curtis Hill won election to the open seat.

HIGHLIGHTS

Attorney General Greg Zoeller (R) ran for Indiana's 9th congressional district in 2016, leaving the attorney general seat open and vulnerable to a Democratic pickup.^[1]

Former Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo (D) was unopposed in the Democratic state convention's nominating contest.

Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill (R) defeated former Attorney General Steve Carter to win the Republican nomination at the party convention on June 11. Hill had a commanding fundraising lead prior to the convention.

Hill defeated Arredondo, keeping the seat in Republican hands.

Overview

Though Indiana is regarded as a red state and Republicans had trifecta control of the state government prior to the 2016 election, Democrats have gained traction in statewide elections in recent years. Additionally, the attorney general's seat has tended to alternate party hands every two to four officeholders. These trends, coupled with the open election, left Republicans vulnerable to losing the attorney general seat in 2016. Hill won the general election on November 8, 2016.

Click here to read about state attorney general elections nationwide

Candidates

Lorenzo Arredondo (D)
Lake County Circuit Court Judge, 1976-2010

Curtis Hill (R)
Elkhart County Prosecutor since 2002

Click show to view a list of candidates who were defeated at the party nominating conventions or who declined to run in this election.

Defeated

Steve Carter (R)
Attorney General of Indiana, 2001-2009

Declined

Greg Zoeller (R)- incumbent

Results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Indiana

Incumbent Curtis Hill defeated Lorenzo Arredondo in the general election for Attorney General of Indiana on November 8, 2016.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Curtis Hill (R)	62.3	1,642,623
	Lorenzo Arredondo (D)	37.7	993,209

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,635,832
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Context of the 2016 election

Primary

During a primary election, voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Indiana utilizes an open primary system. Voters are not required to register with a party, but state statutes stipulate that citizens vote in the primary of the party they have voted for most often in the past. According to FairVote, however, "there is really no way to enforce this," and primaries are effectively open.^[2]^[3]

Indiana's primary election took place on May 3, 2016. However, the two major parties conducted state conventions to nominate candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction—candidates for these offices were not publicly nominated in the primary contests. Once the two parties decided on their nominees, nominations for these offices had to be filed by the parties before July 15, 2016. Any third party or write-in candidates interested in running for these offices also had to file before the July 15 deadline.

Incumbent Greg Zoeller (R)

Though eligible, incumbent Attorney General Greg Zoeller (R) declined to seek another term, choosing instead to run for U.S. House in Indiana's 9th congressional district.

In 2008, Zoeller narrowly defeated Democrat Linda Pence to become the 42nd attorney general of Indiana. He then won re-election in 2012 against Indianapolis attorney Kay Fleming (D). Zoeller had served as chief deputy attorney general since 2001. He also previously worked as an assistant in the White House under former Vice President Dan Quayle.

Party control in Indiana

The attorney general's office in Indiana has tended to change party hands every two to four officeholders, with Republicans holding the office since 2001. The last Democrat to hold the attorney general's office was Karen Freeman-Wilson, who was appointed by Governor O'Bannon (D) in 2000 to replace Jeff Modisett (D), who resigned to take a position with the Democratic National Convention.^[4] Wilson lost her re-election bid to Republican Steve Carter, who ran for the office again in 2016.

Indiana is under Republican trifecta control: Republicans hold the governorship and majorities in the state Senate and the state House. The last Democratic candidate to win a gubernatorial election in Indiana was Frank O'Bannon, who served as governor from 1997 until his death in 2003.^[5]

Though Indiana is considered a red state, Democrats have increasingly gained traction in recent elections.^[6] Democrats won two statewide elections in 2012: Congressman Joe Donnelly (D) defeated Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) in the race for the United States Senate, and Glenda Ritz (D) defeated Republican Tony Bennett in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction.^[7]

Campaigns

Democratic contest

Former County Circuit Judge Lorenzo Arredondo was unopposed in the Democratic primary contest and faced the winner of the Republican primary contest—Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill (R) in the November 8 general election.

Republican contest

Former two-term Attorney General Steve Carter made a bid for his old office in 2016 but faced a significant challenge winning the party nomination over Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill. Hill had earned endorsements from prosecutors across the state and from Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, and also enjoyed a significant fundraising lead heading into the conventions. Delegates to the Republican convention nominated Hill on June 11, 2016.^[8]

Race tracking

Race Rankings - Attorney General of Indiana
Race Tracker	Race Rating
Governing	Lean Republican
Overall call	Lean Republican
Note: Ratings were based on projections found in Governing, Larry Sabato, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, and The Cook Political Report where available. They were updated periodically throughout the election season.

Campaign finance

Lorenzo Arredondo Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
2015 Annual Filing	January 19, 2015	$0	$43,623.61	$(21,822.76)	$20,800.85
2016 1st Quarterly Report ^[9]	April 14, 2016	$20,800.85	$4,600.00	$(4,656.92)	$20,743.93
			Running totals
			$48,223.61	$(26,479.68)

Steve Carter Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
2015 Annual Filing amended	March 21, 2016	$95,285.86	$40,511.97	$(26,920.95)	$108,876.88
2016 1st Quarterly Report ^[10]	April 15, 2016	$108,876.88	$17,457.12	$(58,051.67)	$68,282.33
			Running totals
			$57,969.09	$(84,972.62)

Curtis Hill Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
2015 Annual Filing	January 16, 2016	$0	$105,843.50	$(13,345.62)	$92,497.88
2016 1st Quarter Report^[11]	April 15, 2016	$92,497.88	$19,433.50	$(36,409.98)	$75,521.40
			Running totals
			$125,277	$(49,755.6)

Endorsements

Key endorsements, Republican primary candidates
Curtis Hill
Jackie Walorski, US Congresswoman
Linda Chezem, Former Judge, Indiana Court of Appeals
Nate Harter, Decatur County Prosecutor
Aaron Negangard, Dearborn County Prosecutor
Karen Richards, Allen County Prosecutor
What is a key endorsement?

Campaign media

Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!

Democrats

Lorenzo Arredondo (D)

Republicans

Steve Carter (R)
Curtis Hill (R)

About the office

The Attorney General of Indiana is a constitutional executive officer of the Indiana state government. The attorney general is the chief legal officer for Indiana. He or she is responsible for the prosecution of all civil actions brought in the name of the state of Indiana or any state agency.^[12] Attorneys General are directly elected by the citizens of Indiana in presidential election years. They serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits.

Click here to read about state attorneys general

Quick facts

	Key election dates
	Filing deadline (major parties): ; February 5, 2016
	Primary date: ; May 3, 2016
	Nominating conventions: ; June 11, 2016; June 18, 2016
	Filing deadline (third parties and independents): ; June 30, 2016
	Filing deadline (write-ins): ; July 5, 2016
	Petition deadline (third parties and independents): ; July 15, 2016
	General election date: ; November 8, 2016
	Recount request deadline: ; November 22, 2016
	Inauguration: ; January 11, 2017

	2020 → ← 2012
	Indiana Attorney General Election
	Primary Date: ; May 3, 2016
	General Election Date: ; November 8, 2016
	November Election Winner: ; Curtis Hill (R)
	Incumbent Prior to Election: ; Greg Zoeller (R)
	State Executive Elections Top Ballot; Governor • Lt. Governor • Attorney General; Down Ballot; Superintendent of Public Instruction;

Helpful Facts About U.S. State Attorneys General
Attorneys general are directly elected in 43 states. The remaining seven are appointed by the governor, the state legislature, or the state supreme court. Heading into the 2016 round of elections, there were 22 Democratic, 27 Republican, and one nonpartisan attorneys general. Ten states were scheduled to hold attorney general elections in 2016. In 2014 the annual salaries for state attorneys general ranged from $72,408 (Arkansas) to $176,988 (Tennessee). The office of attorney general exists in all 50 states; for 19 of them, the attorney general is not required to be licensed to practice law or even hold a law degree.^[13]

Incumbent

The incumbent was Republican Greg Zoeller. He was first elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.^[14]

Authority

Title 4, Article 6, Chapter 1, Section 2 of the Indiana Code addresses the office of attorney general:^[15]

There is created the office of attorney general for the state to be administered by an attorney general who shall be elected under IC 3-10-2-6 by the voters of the state...

Powers of the office: The attorney general is responsible for the prosecution of all civil actions brought in the name of the state of Indiana or any state agency.^[12]

Qualifications

Qualifications for the office of attorney general are set out in Title 4, Article 6, Chapter 1, Section 3 of the Indiana Code. To be eligible to serve in the office, an individual must be:^[15]

a citizen of Indiana
licensed to practice law in Indiana

Past elections

2012

Attorney General of Indiana General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Zoeller Incumbent	58%	1,453,334
	Democratic	Kay Fleming	42%	1,051,504
Total Votes				2,504,838
Election results via Indiana Secretary of State

2008

Zoeller was narrowly elected Indiana Attorney General in 2008, defeating Democrat Linda Pence. He was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Indiana Attorney General, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Zoeller	50.7%	1,318,147
	Democratic	Linda Pence	49.3%	1,279,284
Total Votes				2,597,431
Election results via Indiana Secretary of State

2004

Indiana Attorney General, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Steve Carter	58.2%	1,389,640
	Democratic	Joseph Hogsett	39.9%	953,500
	Libertarian	Aaron Milewski	1.9%	45,212
Total Votes				2,388,352
Election results via Indiana Secretary of State

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Indiana attorney general election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Indiana Attorney General election, 2016 - Google News

State profile

Demographic data for Indiana
	Indiana	U.S.
Total population:	6,612,768	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	35,826	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	84.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	9.2%	12.6%
Asian:	1.9%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	87.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	24.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,255	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	18.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Indiana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Indiana

Indiana voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Indiana, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.^[16]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Indiana had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Indiana coverage on Ballotpedia

External links

Suggest a link

Office of Indiana Attorney General

Footnotes

[retire-1] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named retire

[2] Indiana Code, "Section 3-10-1-6," accessed January 3, 2014

[3] FairVote, "Primaries," accessed February 10, 2016

[4] The Times nwi.com, "Modisett to step down as attorney general, news report says," January 5, 2000

[5] Indiana Department of Administration, "Frank L. O'Bannon," accessed August 14, 2015

[6] Daily Kos, "Is Indiana the next swing state?" April 2, 2016

[7] The Indy Star, "Indiana Democrats pick slate, look ahead to governor's race in 2016," accessed August 14, 2015

[defeate-8] Chicago Tribune, "Indiana GOP nominates Curtis Hill for attorney general at convention," June 11, 2016

[9] Indiana Secretary of State, "ARREDONDO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL," accessed June 11, 2016

[10] Indiana Secretary of State, "Steve Carter for Attorney General," accessed June 11, 2016

[11] Indiana Secretary of State, "Curtis Hill for Indiana," accessed June 11, 2016

[duties-12] 12.0 ^12.1 Indiana Code, "CHAPTER 3. DUTIES IN CIVIL ACTIONS," accessed November 26, 2011

[13] The Book of States, "Table 4.20: Qualifications for Office," last updated March 2012

[bio-14] Indiana Attorney General, "About" accessed September 15, 2012

[ch6-15] 15.0 ^15.1 Indiana Code, "IC 4-6 ARTICLE 6. ATTORNEY GENERAL," accessed November 20, 2011

[16] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

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Indiana Attorney General election, 2016