Attorney General of Washington

Washington Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$167,381
2021 FY Budget:	$336,945,000
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Washington Constitution, Article 3, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder(s)
Attorney General of Washington Nick Brown Democratic Party Assumed office: January 13, 2025
Elections
Next election:	2028
Last election:	2024
Other Washington Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education• Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner• Natural Resources Commissioner• Labor Commissioner• Public Service Commissioner

The Attorney General of Washington is an elected executive position in the Washington state government. As the chief legal officer for the state, the attorney general represents state clients and the public interest as directed by state law. The attorney general is popularly elected by the citizens of Washington in presidential election years and serves a four-year term.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Democrat Bob Ferguson. He was first elected in 2012.

Authority

Article 3 of the state constitution establishes the state's executive offices.

Article III, Section 2:

Executive Department. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and a commissioner of public lands, who shall be severally chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and place of voting as for the members of the legislature.

Qualifications

Under state law, the attorney general must be a qualified practitioner of the state supreme court.

Additionally, Article 3, Section 25 of the state constitution establishes the qualifications of state offices in general:

• a citizen of the United States
• a qualified elector in Washington

Qualifications, Compensation, Offices Which May Be Abolished. No person, except a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of this state, shall be eligible to hold any state office...

Elections

Washington state government organizational chart

In Washington, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and commissioner of public lands are elected every four years. Elections are held in November and winners assume office the following January, serving until their successors are elected and qualified.

2020

See also: Washington Attorney General election, 2020

General election candidates

• Bob Ferguson  (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
• Matt Larkin  (Republican Party) 

---

= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

2016

See also: Washington Attorney General election, 2016

The general election for attorney general was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Bob Ferguson defeated Joshua Trumbull in the Washington attorney general election.

Washington Attorney General, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Ferguson Incumbent	67.14%	2,000,804
	Libertarian	Joshua Trumbull	32.86%	979,105
Total Votes				2,979,909
Source: Washington Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Washington Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Washington attorney general election, 2012 Incumbent Rob McKenna (R) chose to run for Governor of Washington rather than run for re-election as attorney general in 2012, and Bob Ferguson (D) won the open seat in the general election on November 6, 2012. Attorney General of Washington General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Bob Ferguson 53.5% 1,564,443      Republican Reagan Dunn 46.5% 1,361,010 Total Votes 2,925,453 Election results via Washington Secretary of State 2008 On November 4, 2008, Rob McKenna won re-election to the office of Washington Attorney General. He defeated John Ladenburg in the general election. Washington Attorney General, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Rob McKenna Incumbent 59.5% 1,689,764      Democratic John Ladenburg 40.5% 1,152,174 Total Votes 2,841,938 Election results via Washington Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Rob McKenna won election to the office of Washington Attorney General. He defeated Deborah Senn (D), J. Bradley Gibson (L) and Paul Richmond (G) in the general election. Washington Attorney General, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Rob McKenna 53% 1,425,368      Democratic Deborah Senn 43.3% 1,163,964      Libertarian J. Bradley Gibson 2.1% 56,792      Green Paul Richmond 1.6% 44,020 Total Votes 2,690,144 Election results via Washington Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Christine Gregoire won re-election to the office of Washington Attorney General. She defeated Richard Pope (R), Richard Shepherd (L), Stan Lippmann (NM) and Luanne Coachman (NL) in the general election. Washington Attorney General, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Christine Gregoire Incumbent 56% 1,292,887      Republican Richard Pope 38.2% 883,002      Libertarian Richard Shepherd 3.9% 90,941      NM Stan Lippmann 0.8% 19,120      NL Luanna Coachman 1% 23,685 Total Votes 2,309,635 Election results via Washington Secretary of State.

Vacancies

In the event of a vacancy in this office, the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment. The term of the appointee expires when a successor has been elected and qualified.

Duties

The specific duties of the attorney general are outlined in Chapter 43 of the Washington state laws:

“

Appear for and represent the state before the supreme court or the court of appeals in all cases in which the state is interested; Institute and prosecute all actions and proceedings for, or for the use of the state, which may be necessary in the execution of the duties of any state officer; Defend all actions and proceedings against any state officer or employee acting in his or her official capacity, in any of the courts of this state or the United States; Consult with and advise the several prosecuting attorneys in matters relating to the duties of their office, and when the interests of the state require, he or she shall attend the trial of any person accused of a crime and assist in the prosecution; Consult with and advise the governor, members of the legislature and other state officers, and when requested, give written opinions upon all constitutional or legal questions relating to the duties of such officers; Prepare proper drafts of contracts and other instruments relating to subjects in which the state is interested; Give written opinions, when requested by either branch of the legislature, or any committee thereof, upon constitutional or legal questions; Enforce the proper application of funds appropriated for the public institutions of the state and prosecute corporations for failure or refusal to make the reports required by law; Keep in proper books a record of all cases prosecuted or defended by him or her, on behalf of the state or its officers, and of all proceedings had in relation thereto and deliver the same to his or her successor in office; Keep books in which he or she shall record all the official opinions given by him or her during his or her term of office and deliver the same to his or her successor in office; Pay into the state treasury all moneys received by him or her for the use of the state.

”

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Attorney General's Office included:

• Agriculture & Health
• Antitrust
• Bankruptcy & Collections
• Civil Rights
• Complex Litigation
• Consumer Protection
• Corrections
• Environmental Protection Division
• Criminal Justice
• Ecology
• Education
• Government Compliance & Enforcement
• Labor & Industries
• Labor & Personnel
• Licensing & Administrative Law
• Medicaid Fraud Control
• Public Counsel
• Public Lands & Conservation
• Regional Services
• Revenue
• Social & Health Services (Olympia)
• Social & Health Services (Seattle)
• Solicitor General
• Spokane
• Tacoma
• Torts
• Transportation & Public Construction
• University of Washington
• Utilities & Transportation
• Washington State University
• Past Cases

State budget

See also: Washington state budget and finances

The budget for the attorney general's office in Fiscal Year 2020-2021 was $336,945,000.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The attorney general's salary is addressed in Article III, Section 21 of the Washington Constitution. The constitution initially set the annual salary of the attorney general at $2,000, but provided for the amount to be raised up to a maximum of $3,500 at the discretion of the Washington State Legislature. Since 1986, the attorney general's salary has been determined by the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.

In 1948, the voters adopted the 20th constitutional amendment, creating Article 28, Section 1, which authorized the state legislature to establish the compensation received by all elected state officials. Several changes to the procedure, including three more constitutional amendments, followed, the most recent being the 78th amendment or House Joint Resolution 49. Approved voters in the 1986 general election, HJR 49 created the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, the independent salary-setting authority that took over the legislature's responsibility of setting the salaries of elected officials across the three branches of the Washington state government.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $167,381 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $162,599 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $160,989 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $159,395 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $156,270 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $151,718 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $151,718 according to the Council of State Governments.

2012

In 2012, the attorney general was paid an estimated $151,718 according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

There have been 18 attorneys general since Washington became a state on November 11, 1889. Prior to statehood, James Metcalf was the attorney general for the territory.

List of officeholders from 1887-Present
#	Name	Tenure	Party
1	James B Metcalf	1887-1889	No affiliation
2	William C. Jones	1889-1897	No affiliation
3	Patrick Henry Winston	1897-1901	Populist
4	Wickliffe Stratton	1901-1905	Republican
5	John Atkinson	1905-1909	Republican
6	Walter Bell	1909-1911	Republican
7	William V. Tanner	1911-1919	Republican
8	L.L. Thompson	1919-1923	Republican
9	John Dunbar	1923-1933	Republican
10	Garrison Hamilton	1933-1940	Democratic
11	Smith Troy	1941-1952	Democratic
12	Don Eastvold	1953-1956	Republican
13	John J. O'Connell	1957-1968	Democratic
14	Slade Gorton	1969-1980	Republican
15	Ken Eikenberry	1981-1992	Republican
16	Christine Gregoire	1993-2004	Democratic
17	Rob McKenna	2005-2012	Republican
18	Bob Ferguson	2013-Present	Democratic

Recent news

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

Attorney General of Washington - Google News

Contact information

1125 Washington Street SE
PO Box 40100
Olympia, WA 98504

Phone: (360) 753-6200

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Washington Attorney General