Minnesota Attorney General election, 2026
|
← 2022
|
| Minnesota Attorney General |
|---|
 |
| General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 2, 2026 |
| Primary: August 11, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Minnesota executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Minnesota is holding an election for attorney general on November 3, 2026.
To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Attorney General of Minnesota
Incumbent Keith Ellison and Ron Schutz are running in the general election for Attorney General of Minnesota on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Keith Ellison (D) | |
 | Ron Schutz (R)  | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am a lifelong Minnesotan, husband, father, veteran, and one of America's top lawyers. I was raised on a dairy farm and attended Marquette University on an Army ROTC Scholarship. I attended the University of Minnesota Law school and upon graduation served four years in the Army JAG Corps stationed with the 7th Infantry Division. I was a defense lawyer during the first half of my service and a prosecutor during the last half. After leaving the military I entered private practice with most of my career at a 200 lawyer litigation firm where from 2019-2024 I was the Chairman of the firm. I have frequently been recognized as one the top lawyers in the country. In 2024 and 2025 I was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Top 200 Lawyers. For over two decades I have been included on the list of Minnesota Super Lawyers and many years have been listed among the top ten Super Lawyers in the state. I have been extensively involved in community and public affairs. I am the former chair and a current board member of the Center of the American Experiment and a member of the Board of Directors of Tee It Up for The Troops. I am married to my high school sweetheart, and we have three adult children. I have run several marathons and triathlons and enjoy hunting and other outdoor adventure activities. I have trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp, Machu Picchu, and the Refugio on Mt. Cotopaxi. I have also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and the Gran Paradiso (Italian Alps)."
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
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.
| Collapse all
Ron Schutz (R)
Minnesota families deserve safe communities. Unfortunately, violent crime and property crime remain unacceptably high.
Homicides are rising in Minneapolis. In 2023, there were 72 murders, and in 2024 the number climbed to 76. While many major U.S. cities have seen double-digit decreases in homicide rates, Minneapolis has not.
Carjackings are a growing threat. From August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024, there were 429 carjacking incidents in Minnesota. In 265 of these crimes, assailants used a firearm, and many incidents occurred in suburban communities.
Property crimes are out of control. Often hundreds of vehicles have been vandalized in a single night in Minneapolis.
Fighting Fraud
A massive culture of fraud has taken hold and infested our one-party controlled state government that has cost Minnesota taxpayers Billions of dollars. Instead of addressing this crisis, the current Attorney General has been willfully blind to it. In fact, in December of 2021 Keith Ellison met with several of the to be indicted and convicted defendants in the infamous and sprawling Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. Astoundingly, he said he would help them. You can learn more details about that meeting here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/feeding-our-future-keith-ellison-caught-on-tape/
The Feeding Our Future fraud scandal is just the one of many under Keith Ellison's watch.
Protecting Girls' and Women's Sports
The current Attorney General has pushed policies that allow biological males to compete in girls’ and women's sports. This is unfair and unsafe. It takes away opportunities that women and girls have fought hard to achieve.
As Attorney General, I will defend fairness and protect the integrity of girls’ and women’s sports.
Ron Schutz (R)
Law enforcement officers feel under attack, making it harder for our cities and suburbs to recruit and retain the officers we need. Anti-police rhetoric and “defund the police” movements have made Minnesota less safe.
As Attorney General, I will stand with law enforcement, restore respect for those who protect our communities, and ensure officers have the resources and support they need.
Ron Schutz (R)
Chief legal officer for the state. Sets statewide legal positions, represents the state, its agencies, and officials in court, and defends state laws—often shaping how statutes are interpreted statewide.
Independent constitutional mandate. Elected separately the Minnesota AG has an independent democratic mandate and professional ethics duties—giving the office credibility beyond day-to-day politics.
Civil enforcement across government. Brings actions involving Medicaid fraud, wage theft, public corruption, environmental violations, and nonprofits/charities oversight—areas where state capacity and remedies are strongest.
Consumer-protection powerhouse. Investigates and prosecutes fraud, deceptive practices, data/privacy abuses, robocalls, charities misconduct, and healthcare scams; recovers restitution and civil penalties; runs complaint mediation for residents.
Advisor and watchdog to government. Issues legal opinions, reviews contracts/settlements, ensures agencies comply with open-government, procurement, and ethics laws—preventing problems before they become scandals.
Parens patriae authority. Can sue on behalf of the public’s welfare (e.g., consumer protection, antitrust, environmental harms), aggregating diffuse harms that private suits often can’t reach.
Ron Schutz (R)
More specifically, a massive culture of fraud has taken hold and infested our one-party controlled state government that has cost Minnesota taxpayers Billions of dollars. Instead of addressing this crisis, the current Attorney General has been willfully blind to it. In fact, in December of 2021 Keith Ellison met with several of the to be indicted and convicted defendants in the infamous and sprawling Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. Astoundingly, he said he would help them. You can learn more details about that meeting here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/feeding-our-future-keith-ellison-caught-on-tape/
The Feeding Our Future fraud scandal is just the one of many under Keith Ellison's watch. We also have the Autism Services Fraud scandal, the Housing Stabilization Fraud scandal, the Evergreen Recovery Medicaid Fraud scandal, and, unfortunately, certainly more to come.
I will make fighting fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars a top priority and take aggressive steps to stop the fraud before it starts.
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
Ron Schutz (R)
You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Minnesota
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
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. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
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. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
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)
2018
General election
General election for Attorney General of Minnesota
Keith Ellison defeated Doug Wardlow and Noah Johnson in the general election for Attorney General of Minnesota on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Keith Ellison (D) | 49.0 | 1,249,407 |
| Doug Wardlow (R) | 45.1 | 1,150,459 | |
 | Noah Johnson (Grassroots Party) | 5.7 | 145,748 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 6,158 | ||
| Total votes: 2,551,772 (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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Minnesota
Keith Ellison defeated Debra Hilstrom, Tom Foley, Matt Pelikan, and Mike Rothman in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Minnesota on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Keith Ellison | 49.8 | 281,142 |
 | Debra Hilstrom | 19.1 | 108,048 | |
 | Tom Foley | 12.5 | 70,786 | |
 | Matt Pelikan | 10.6 | 59,876 | |
 | Mike Rothman | 7.9 | 44,522 | |
| Total votes: 564,374 | |||
| = 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
- Lori Swanson (D)
- Ryan Winkler (D)
- Sam Clark (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota
Doug Wardlow defeated Sharon Anderson and Robert Lessard in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Wardlow | 46.3 | 135,971 |
| Sharon Anderson | 32.1 | 94,245 | |
| Robert Lessard | 21.7 | 63,722 | ||
| Total votes: 293,938 | |||
| = 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
| Attorney General of Minnesota, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Lori Swanson Incumbent |
52.6% | 1,014,714 | |
| Republican | Scott Newman | 39% | 752,543 | |
| Legalize Marijuana | Dan R. Vacek | 3% | 57,604 | |
| Independence | Brandan Borgos | 2.3% | 44,613 | |
| Libertarian | Mary O'Connor | 1.6% | 30,008 | |
| Green | Andy Dawkins | 1.5% | 28,748 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0% | 750 | |
| Total Votes | 1,928,980 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State | ||||
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota's 1st | Brad Finstad | R+6 |
| Minnesota's 2nd | Angie Craig | D+3 |
| Minnesota's 3rd | Kelly Morrison | D+11 |
| Minnesota's 4th | Betty McCollum | D+18 |
| Minnesota's 5th | Ilhan Omar | D+32 |
| Minnesota's 6th | Tom Emmer | R+10 |
| Minnesota's 7th | Michelle Fischbach | R+18 |
| Minnesota's 8th | Pete Stauber | R+7 |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris  |
Donald Trump  |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota's 1st | 43.0% | 55.0% |
| Minnesota's 2nd | 52.0% | 46.0% |
| Minnesota's 3rd | 60.0% | 38.0% |
| Minnesota's 4th | 67.0% | 31.0% |
| Minnesota's 5th | 80.0% | 18.0% |
| Minnesota's 6th | 39.0% | 59.0% |
| Minnesota's 7th | 31.0% | 67.0% |
| Minnesota's 8th | 42.0% | 56.0% |
| Source: The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election, 50.6% of Minnesotans lived in one of the state's 8 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 44.9% lived in one of 74 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Minnesota was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Minnesota following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Minnesota county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Democratic | 8 | 50.6% | |||||
| Solid Republican | 74 | 44.9% | |||||
| Battleground Republican | 3 | 2.7% | |||||
| Trending Democratic | 1 | 1.2% | |||||
| New Republican | 1 | 0.6% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 9 | 51.7% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 78 | 48.3% | |||||
Historical voting trends
Minnesota presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 21 Democratic wins
- 10 Republican wins
- 1 other win
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | P[1] | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Minnesota.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of Minnesota
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Minnesota.
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Minnesota's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Minnesota | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Republican | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 8 | 10 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Minnesota's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Tim Walz |
| Lieutenant Governor | Peggy Flanagan |
| Secretary of State | Steve Simon |
| Attorney General | Keith Ellison |
State legislature
Minnesota State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 33 | |
| Republican Party | 32 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 67 | |
Minnesota House of Representatives
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 67 | |
| Republican Party | 67 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 134 | |
Trifecta control
Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | I | I | I | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | S |
The table below details demographic data in Minnesota and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Minnesota | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | United States | |
| Population | 5,706,494 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 79,631 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 78.4% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 6.8% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 2.7% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 6.2% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.2% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 93.9% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 38.8% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $87,556 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 9.2% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **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. | ||
Attorney General elections in 2026
There are 30 attorney general seats on the ballot in 2026.
See also
| Minnesota | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Progressive Party
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
