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Virginia Attorney General election, 2017

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Virginia attorney general election
Filing deadline:
Primary date:
June 13, 2017
General election date:
November 7, 2017
Winner:
Mark Herring (D)
Incumbent prior to election:
Mark Herring (D)
''Sic semper tyrannis''
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Virginia held an election for attorney general on November 7, 2017. The winner of this race was Mark Herring (D). Click here to view vote totals for this election.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Incumbent Mark Herring (D) was elected to a second term in 2017.
  • Herring and his challenger, John Adams, were unopposed in the primary election.
  • Until Herring's 2013 victory a Democrat had not won election to the position since 1989.

    • Candidates

    Democrats

    Mark Herring - Incumbent

    Republicans

    John Adams - Former federal prosecutor[1]


    Virginia Attorney General Election, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Mark Herring Incumbent 53.25% 1,379,686
         Republican John Adams 46.75% 1,211,135
    Total Votes (2566/2566 precincts reporting) 2,590,821
    Source: The New York Times, "Live Election Results: Virginia," November 7, 2017

    Context of the 2017 election

    Endorsements

    Democratic Party Mark Herring

    Republican Party John Adams

    Primary elections

    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. Virginia utilizes a hybrid primary process in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[10] In the past, the Virginia Republican Party had selected candidates for statewide races at a convention; however, in August 2016, the State Central Committee voted 41-40 to select candidates via primary elections instead.[11]

    Virginia's primary election was held on June 13, 2017. Neither Herring nor Adams were challenged in the primary election.

    Noteworthy events

    October 20 debate

    The second debate of the election was held on October 20 in Loudoun County. Much of the discussion between Herring and Adams was centered on Herring's decision to join the plaintiffs in Bostic v. Schaefer, a case challenging Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. Weeks after Herring took office in January 2014, he announced that the office of the attorney general would no longer defend the state's position and would instead join the plaintiffs suing to overturn the same-sex marriage ban.[12] Adams argued that it was the attorney general's job to defend the state's laws regardless of their personal opinions:

    “ For the attorney general’s office to be so politicized, that it’s not we the people who choose our laws through our elected representatives but it’s an attorney general’s office that forces its view on the citizens — that is just wrong.[13] ”
    —John Adams[14]

    Herring countered that there were cases in which it was appropriate for an attorney general to decline to defend state law:

    “ I had to think about, well, in what circumstances is it appropriate for an attorney general to take up the side of the challengers. And I thought in this case it was exactly the right thing to do. Because the fundamental right to marry of so many Virginians was at stake and because of our own unique history on getting landmark civil rights cases wrong and going all the way up to the Supreme Court defending things like school segregation, (and a ban on) interracial marriage.[13] ”
    —Mark Herring[15]

    The candidates also exchanged views on healthcare and contraceptive access. Herring stated his support for the Affordable Care Act and asserted that Adams did not believe in covering patients with pre-existing conditions. Adams countered by arguing that he believed that a privately-managed healthcare system was a preferable alternative to a government-managed program and was capable of achieving the same level of coverage. Herring also asserted that Adams was opposed to access to contraceptives for women, citing cases Adams had litigated on behalf of employers that did not want to be required to provide access to contraceptives. Adams countered that he was not opposed to contraceptives but did not support mandating that employers provide contraceptive access, noting that he had won the cases Herring referred to.[14][15][16]

    June 17 debate

    The first debate of the 2017 election was held on June 17 in Virginia Beach. The candidates clashed on LGBT marriage, abortion, firearms regulation, President Trump's immigration executive orders, and their respective backgrounds. Herring criticized Adams' background as a defense attorney, arguing that "He has been part of a powerful Richmond law firm for the last seven years, and he and his team brag about how they specialize in shielding people who are involved in kickbacks, pyramid schemes, embezzlement, money laundering, tax fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice. It’s astounding." Adams expressed dissatisfaction with Herring's actions during his first term as attorney general, saying "I decided to get into the arena for the first time because of what I believe is the extreme politicization of the Attorney General’s Office...The way to get the politics out of the Attorney General’s Office is to get the politicians out of the Attorney General’s Office."[17]

    Campaign Data

    Campaign Media

    Click here to view campaign advertisements for this race
    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!

    Mark Herring (D) Campaign website Facebook Twitter YouTube 
    John Adams (R) Campaign website Facebook Twitter YouTube 

    Party control in Virginia

    At the time of the 2017 election,Virginia had had a divided government since Governor Terry McAuliffe was elected in 2013, ending a two-year Republican trifecta: Democrats held the governorship while Republicans held a three-seat majority in the State Senate and a 32-seat majority in the House. The state had been represented in the United States Senate by Democrats since 2009, though its class 2 Senate seat was held by Republicans from 1973 to 2009. Virginians also elected Republican George F. Allen to the class 1 seat in 2001; he served until 2007. Though the state's electoral votes went to Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Virginia voters had previously selected the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1968.[18]

    The office of attorney general in Virginia has experienced significant turnover over the past three decades. Officeholders have frequently and successfully ran for governor in Virginia, and it is customary in the state for an attorney general to resign from his or her post when running for higher office. Prior to the election of Mark Herring (D) in 2013, nine Republicans held the seat from 1994 to 2014—four of whom resigned in order to run for governor. Before 1994, Democrats had controlled the seat for the majority of the last 100 years. The last open election for attorney general in 2013 was decided by less than a thousand votes. The open race in 2009 was not particularly close, with Ken Cuccinelli winning by over 15 percentage points, but 2005's open race was also highly competitive and was decided by about 300 votes.

    Prior to Herring's bid for a second term in 2017, an incumbent had not run for re-election as attorney general in Virginia since Mary Sue Terry in 1989; she won by a margin of over 25 percent.[19]

    Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
    Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of 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 D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R
    Senate D D D D S S R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R D R R R R R D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D S S R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R D D

    Polls

    Virginia attorney general election
    Poll Mark Herring John AdamsUndecided/OtherMargin of errorSample size
    The Polling Company
    (October 30 - November 2, 2017)    		 42%43%16%+/-3.5800
    Suffolk University
    (October 30 - November 1, 2017)    		 44%42%14%+/-4.4500
    The Washington Post
    (October 26-29, 2017)    		 51%43%7%+/-4.0921
    The Polling Company
    (October 23-26, 2017)    		 43%43%14%+/-3.46800
    Christopher Newport University
    (October 20-25, 2017)    		 49%44%7%+/-3.8812
    Roanoke College
    (October 8-13, 2017)    		 47%42%10%+/-4.0607
    Christopher Newport University
    (October 2-6, 2017)    		 51%40%9%+/-4.3928
    Christopher Newport University
    (September 12-22, 2017)    		 47%42%11%+/-3.7776
    Suffolk University
    (September 13-17, 2017)    		 39%37%22%+/-4.4500
    University of Mary Washington
    (September 5-12, 2017)    		 47%40%13%+/-3.81,000
    Virginia Commonwealth University
    (July 17-25, 2017)    		 43%36%21%+/-4.2806
    AVERAGES 45.73% 41.09% 13.09% +/-3.96 768.18
    Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.


    Virginia attorney general election (no margin of error reported)
    Poll Mark Herring John AdamsUndecided/OtherSample Size
    Public Policy Polling
    (September 21-23, 2017)    		 46%38%16%849
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    About the office

    Qualifications

    Article V, Section 16 of the Virginia Constitution also establishes the qualifications of the office:

    ...No person shall be eligible for election or appointment to the office of Attorney General unless he is a citizen of the United States, has attained the age of thirty years, and has the qualifications required for a judge of a court of record...
    • U.S. citizen
    • at least 30 years old
    • is qualified to be a judge of a court of record in the state


    Authority

    The office of attorney general is established in Article 5, Section 16 of the Virginia Constitution.

    Article X, Section Y:

    An Attorney General shall be elected by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth at the same time and for the same term as the Governor; and the fact of his election shall be ascertained in the same manner...

    Duties

    The duties and powers of the office of the attorney general include:[20]

    • Provide legal advice and representation to the governor and executive agencies, state boards and commissions and institutions of higher education. The advice commonly includes help with personnel issues, contracts, purchasing, regulatory and real estate matters and the review of proposed legislation. The office also represents those agencies in court.
    • Provide written legal advice in the form of official opinions to members of the general assembly and government officials.
    • Defend criminal convictions on appeal and defend the state when prisoners sue concerning their incarceration.
    • Defend the constitutionality of state laws when they are challenged in court.
    • Enforce state laws that protect businesses and consumers when there are violations. Individual consumer complaints are usually handled by another agency.
    • Represent consumers in utility matters before the Virginia Corporation Commission.
    • Collect debts owed to state agencies, hospitals and universities.
    • Conduct or assist criminal investigations and prosecutions in certain limited cases (for example Medicaid fraud, money laundering, theft of state property, environmental crimes and computer crimes).
    • Represent the Virginia Department of Social Services in its efforts to collect child support on behalf of children and families.
    • Supervise the appointment and payment of private attorneys hired by other state agencies for various matters.
    • Assist victims of crime who are following criminal cases at the appellate level.
    • Provide information to the public on identity theft prevention and remediation.
    • Administer grants to help reduce crimes involving gangs, drugs and sex predators.
    • Administer the Virginia Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Program to protect children from the most dangerous predators.

    A complete list of the duties of the office is outlined in the Virginia state code.[21]

    Elections

    Virginia state government organizational chart

    The attorney general is elected every four years at the same time the governor is elected. These elections take place one year after the presidential elections. In Virginia, 2017, 2021 and 2025 are all election years for the attorney general.[22]

    Term limits

    According to the state constitution, "There shall be no limit on the terms of the Attorney General."[23]

    Full history


    State profile

    Demographic data for Virginia
     VirginiaU.S.
    Total population:8,367,587316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):39,4903,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:69%73.6%
    Black/African American:19.2%12.6%
    Asian:6%5.1%
    Native American:0.3%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
    Two or more:3.2%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:8.6%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:88.3%86.7%
    College graduation rate:36.3%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$65,015$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:13%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 Virginia.
    **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 Virginia

    Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate in five 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 Virginia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[24]

    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. Virginia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

    More Virginia coverage on Ballotpedia

    Recent news

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Virginia Attorney General election 2017. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    Virginia Attorney General election, 2017 - Google News

    See also

    Virginia government:

    Elections:

    Ballotpedia exclusives:

    External links


    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The Washington Post, "GOP race for Va. attorney general heats up," February 1, 2016
    2. ↑ Mark Herring, "News Articles," accessed October 9, 2017
    3. ↑ NARAL Pro-Choice Virgina, "2017 Endorsement: Mark Herring for Attorney General," accessed August 17, 2017
    4. ↑ Richmond Free Press, "Richmond Crusade for Voters endorses diverse slate," October 12, 2017
    5. ↑ The Washington Post, "The Post’s endorsements in Virginia," October 28, 2017
    6. ↑ John Adams for VA, "News," accessed October 9, 2017
    7. ↑ Augusta Free Press, "Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC endorses Gillespie, Vogel, Adams," August 19, 2017
    8. ↑ Augusta Free Press, "Fraternal Order of Police endorses John Adams for attorney general," October 7, 2017
    9. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Editorial: For Attorney General, John Adams," October 30, 2017
    10. ↑ Code of Virginia, "Title 24.2, Section 530," accessed June 10, 2014
    11. ↑ Culpepper Star-Advocate, "Virginia GOP votes 41-40 to switch and nominate 2017 statewide candidates in a primary," August 27, 2016
    12. ↑ Slate, "Kennedy Versus Kennedy," May 13, 2014
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 WTOP, "Herring, Adams dispute health care in final attorney general debate," October 20, 2017
    15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Attorney General Mark Herring and Republican challenger John Adams debate gay marriage, business in Loudoun," October 20, 2017
    16. ↑ The Washington Post, "Virginia attorney general candidates go after each other in final debate," October 20, 2017
    17. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Herring, Adams go on attack in first debate of Virginia attorney general's race," June 17, 2017
    18. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, "Historical election results," accessed September 4, 2016
    19. ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Elections Database," accessed September 4, 2016
    20. ↑ Virginia Attorney General, "Responsibilities," accessed February 1, 2012
    21. ↑ Office of the Virginia Attorney General, "Duties ascribed in the Code of Virginia, 7/1/2011," accessed February 1, 2012
    22. ↑ Article V, Section 15 of the state constitution
    23. ↑ Virginia State Constitution, Article 5, Section 15
    24. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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