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Attorney General of Minnesota
| Minnesota Attorney General | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $121,248 |
| 2024-25 FY Budget: | $137,198,000 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Minnesota Constitution, Article V, Section I the Executive Department |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
Attorney General of Minnesota
Keith Ellison | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 3, 2026 |
| Last election: | November 8, 2022 |
| Other Minnesota Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Commerce Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Utilities Commission | |
The Attorney General of Minnesota is the chief legal officer for the State of Minnesota. The office of the attorney general represents and provides legal advice to over 100 state agencies, boards and commissions. The attorney general is popularly elected to four-year terms in midterm election years and is not subject to term limits.[1]
Minnesota has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.
Current officeholder
The current Attorney General of Minnesota is Keith Ellison (D). Ellison assumed office in 2019.
Authority
The Minnesota Constitution addresses the office of attorney general in Article V, the Executive Department.
Under Article V, Section I:
|
The executive department consists of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, and attorney general... |
Qualifications
The qualification of the Minnesota attorney general are outlined in Article V, Section 2 of the Minnesota Constitution.
| Text of Section 2:
Term of Governor and Lieutenant Governor; Qualifications The term of office for the governor and lieutenant governor is four years and until a successor is chosen and qualified. Each shall have attained the age of 25 years and, shall have been a bona fide resident of the state for one year next preceding his election, and shall be a citizen of the United States. |
Elections
Minnesota elects attorneys general in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. For Minnesota, 2018, 2022 and 2026 are all attorney general election years. There are no term limits.
2022
General election
General election for Attorney General of Minnesota
Incumbent Keith Ellison defeated Jim Schultz and Laurice Anderson in the general election for Attorney General of Minnesota on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Keith Ellison (D) | 50.4 | 1,254,371 |
 | Jim Schultz (R) | 49.5 | 1,233,556 | |
| Laurice Anderson (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 12 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,362 | ||
| Total votes: 2,490,301 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Minnesota
Incumbent Keith Ellison defeated Bill Dahn in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Minnesota on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Keith Ellison | 89.3 | 378,367 |
| Bill Dahn | 10.7 | 45,110 | ||
| Total votes: 423,477 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota
Jim Schultz defeated Doug Wardlow and Sharon Anderson in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Schultz | 52.5 | 163,944 |
 | Doug Wardlow | 34.8 | 108,537 | |
 | Sharon Anderson | 12.7 | 39,723 | |
| Total votes: 312,204 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dennis Smith (R)
- Tad Jude (R)
- Lynne Torgerson (R)
Past elections
Vacancies
The governor is responsible for filling vacancies for the office of attorney general as outlined in Article V, Section 3 of the Minnesota Constitution.
| Text of Section 3:
Powers and Duties of Governor The governor shall communicate by message to each session of the legislature information touching the state and country. He is commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces and may call them out to execute the laws, suppress insurrection and repel invasion. He may require the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to his duties. With the advice and consent of the senate he may appoint notaries public and other officers provided by law. He may appoint commissioners to take the acknowledgment of deeds or other instruments in writing to be used in the state. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. He shall fill any vacancy that may occur in the offices of secretary of state, auditor, attorney general and the other state and district offices hereafter created by law until the end of the term for which the person who had vacated the office was elected or the first Monday in January following the next general election, whichever is sooner, and until a successor is chosen and qualified. |
Duties
The attorney general represents the state in state and federal court, as well as in administrative adjudication and rulemaking hearings. The attorney general handles felony criminal appeals, advises local prosecutors in the conduct of criminal trials and handles cases at the request of local prosecutors.[1]
The attorney general is also responsible for representing residential and small business utility consumers through participation in matters before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.[1]
Divisions
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Attorney General of Minnesota has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
State budget
- See also: Minnesota state budget and finances
The attorney general's budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 is $137,198,000.[6]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
Salaries for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state are mandated in the Minnesota Constitution and established by the state legislature. The legislature created a 16-member compensation council, appointed every other January, to put forth compensation recommendations for constitutional officers by April 15 of the designated year.[7]
Article V, Section 4 of the Minnesota Constitution addresses compensation:
|
...The duties and salaries of the executive officers shall be prescribed by law. |
2023
In 2023, the officer's salary was $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[8]
2022
In 2022, the officer's salary was $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[9]
2021
In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[10]
2020
In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2019
In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[12]
2018
In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
2017
In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $121,248, according to the Council of State Governments.[14]
2016
In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $120,786, according to the Council of State Governments.[15]
2015
In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $117,270, according to the Council of State Governments.[16]
2014
In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $113,859, according to the Council of State Governments.[17]
2013
In 2013, the attorney general's salary remained at $114,288.[18]
2012
In 2012, the attorney general was paid an estimated $114,288. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
2010
In 2010, the attorney general was paid an estimated $114,288, according to the Council of State Governments.[19]
Historical officeholders
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Attorney General of Minnesota has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Minnesota Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact information
Capitol Address:
Minnesota Attorney General's Office
1400 Bremer Tower
Saint Paul, MN 55101
Phone: (651) 296-3353
Toll Free Phone: (800) 657-3787
E-mail: attorney.general@state.mn.us
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Office of Attorney General Lori Swanson, "About the Office," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minnesota Secretary of State - 2010 Attorney General Primary Election Results
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State - 2006 Primary Election Results
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State - 2006 General Election Results
- ↑ Minnesota State Senate, "2023 Fiscal Review," accessed December 6, 2023
- ↑ House Research, “State Elected Officials Compensation,” accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2023 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2025
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 22, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2020," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2019," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2018," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2017," accessed January 11, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Table 4.11 Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "The Book of States 2010 Table 4.11," accessed July 3, 2011
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