Republican Party Attorney General primaries, 2022
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The attorney general is the only top-level state executive office besides the governor that exists in all 50 states. As the state's chief legal officer, the attorney general is responsible for enforcing state law and advising the state government on legal matters. In many states, attorneys general play a large role in the law enforcement process. Out of the 43 states in which the attorney general is directly elected, 30 states had attorney general elections in 2022.
There were 16 Democratic-held attorney general offices and 14 Republican-held attorney general offices on the ballot in 2022.
On this page, you will find:
- Election dates by state
- List of Republican primary candidates by state
- List of seats up for election
- News and conflicts in these primaries
Click here for more on the Democratic attorney general primaries in 2022.
Click here for more on the general elections for attorney general in 2022.
Election dates
The following table details 2022 attorney general filing deadlines and primary dates in each state. The signature filing deadline was the date by which candidates had to file nominating signatures with election officials in order to have their name placed on the ballot.
| 2022 Election Dates | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Filing deadline | Primary election | ||||
| Alabama | January 28 | May 24 | ||||
| Arizona | April 4 | August 2 | ||||
| Arkansas | March 1 | May 24 | ||||
| California | March 11 | June 7 | ||||
| Colorado | March 15 | June 28 | ||||
| Connecticut | June 7 | August 9 | ||||
| Delaware | July 12 | September 13 | ||||
| Florida | June 17 | August 23 | ||||
| Georgia | March 11 | May 24 | ||||
| Idaho | March 11 | May 17 | ||||
| Illinois | March 14 | June 28 | ||||
| Iowa | March 18 | June 7 | ||||
| Kansas | June 1 | August 2 | ||||
| Maryland | April 15 | July 19 | ||||
| Massachusetts | June 7 | September 6 | ||||
| Michigan | - | Convention[1] | ||||
| Minnesota | May 31 | August 9 | ||||
| Nebraska | February 15 (incumbent) March 1 (non-incumbent) |
May 10 | ||||
| Nevada | March 18 | June 14 | ||||
| New Mexico | March 24 | June 7 | ||||
| New York | April 7 | June 28 | ||||
| North Dakota | April 11 | June 14 | ||||
| Ohio | February 2 | May 3 | ||||
| Oklahoma | April 15 | June 28 | ||||
| Rhode Island | July 15 | September 13 | ||||
| South Carolina | March 30 | June 14 | ||||
| South Dakota | March 29 | June 7 | ||||
| Texas | December 13 | March 1 | ||||
| Vermont | May 26 | August 9 | ||||
| Wisconsin | June 1 | August 9 | ||||
By state
Alabama
Republican primary candidates
- Steve Marshall (Incumbent) ✔
- Harry Still III
Arizona
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Arkansas
Republican primary candidates
California
Primary candidates
- Rob Bonta (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
- Eric Early (Republican Party)
- Nathan Hochman (Republican Party) ✔
- Daniel Kapelovitz (Green Party)
- Anne Marie Schubert (Independent)
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Colorado
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Connecticut
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
Delaware
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Florida
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
- Ashley B. Moody (Incumbent) ✔
Georgia
Republican primary candidates
- Chris Carr (Incumbent) ✔
- John Gordon
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Idaho
Republican primary candidates
- Lawrence Wasden (Incumbent)
- Raúl Labrador ✔
- Arthur B. Macomber
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Illinois
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Iowa
Republican primary candidates
Kansas
Republican primary candidates
Maryland
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Massachusetts
Republican primary candidates
Michigan
- See also: Michigan Attorney General election, 2022
In Michigan, political parties nominate candidates for some offices at their conventions instead of holding a primary. Candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, Supreme Court, and the boards of Michigan State University, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and the state Board of Education are nominated at conventions.[2]
Minnesota
Republican primary candidates
Did not make the ballot:
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Nebraska
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Nevada
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
New Mexico
Republican primary candidates
New York
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
Did not make the ballot:
North Dakota
Republican primary candidates
- Drew Wrigley (Incumbent) ✔
Ohio
Republican primary candidates
- Dave Yost (Incumbent) ✔
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Oklahoma
Republican primary candidates
- John O'Connor (Incumbent)
- Gentner Drummond ✔
Rhode Island
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
South Carolina
Republican primary candidates
- Alan Wilson (Incumbent) ✔
- Lauren Martel
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
South Dakota
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
Texas
Republican primary candidates
- Ken Paxton (Incumbent) ✔
- George P. Bush ✔
- Louis B. Gohmert Jr.
- Eva Guzman
Did not make the ballot:
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Vermont
Republican primary candidates
Wisconsin
Republican primary candidates
Did not make the ballot:
Seats up for election
There were 16 Democratic-held attorney general offices and 14 Republican-held attorney general offices on the ballot in 2022. The table below shows which states held attorney general elections in 2022.
| Attorney General elections, 2022 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent running? | Election winner | Last time office flipped | 2020 presidential result | 2018 attorney general result[3] | 2022 election result |
| Alabama | Steve Marshall |
Yes | Steve Marshall |
1994 | R+25.4 | R+17.7 | R+36.0 |
| Arizona | Mark Brnovich |
No |  Kris Mayes |
2010 | D+0.3 | R+3.4 | D+0.0 |
| Arkansas | Leslie Rutledge |
No | Tim Griffin |
2014 | R+27.6 | R+26.4 | R+35.2 |
| California | Rob Bonta |
Yes | Rob Bonta |
1998 | D+29.2 | D+27.2 | D+18.2 |
| Colorado | Phil Weiser |
Yes | Phil Weiser |
2018 | D+13.5 | D+6.5 | D+11.7 |
| Connecticut | William Tong |
Yes | William Tong |
1958 | D+20.1 | D+6.0 | D+15.6 |
| Delaware | Kathy Jennings |
Yes | Kathy Jennings |
2005 | D+18.9 | D+22.6 | D+7.6 |
| Florida | Ashley B. Moody |
Yes | Ashley B. Moody |
2002 | R+3.3 | R+6.0 | R+21.2 |
| Georgia | Chris Carr |
Yes | Chris Carr |
2010 | D+0.2 | R+2.6 | R+5.3 |
| Idaho | Lawrence Wasden |
Yes | Raúl Labrador |
1994 | R+30.7 | R+30.8 | R+25.2 |
| Illinois | Kwame Raoul |
Yes | Kwame Raoul |
2002 | D+17.0 | D+12.0 | D+10.0 |
| Iowa | Tom Miller |
Yes | Brenna Bird |
1978 | R+8.2 | D+53.7 | R+1.8 |
| Kansas | Derek Schmidt |
No | Kris Kobach |
2010 | R+14.6 | R+18.0 | R+1.6 |
| Maryland | Brian Frosh |
No | Anthony Brown |
1954 | D+33.2 | D+29.7 | D+30.0 |
| Massachusetts | Maura Healey |
No | Andrea Joy Campbell |
1968 | D+33.5 | D+38.9 | D+25.2 |
| Michigan | Dana Nessel |
Yes | Dana Nessel |
2018 | D+2.8 | D+17.1 | D+8.6 |
| Minnesota | Keith Ellison |
Yes | Keith Ellison |
1970 | D+7.1 | D+3.9 | D+0.8 |
| Nebraska | Doug Peterson |
No | Mike Hilgers |
1951 | R+19.1 | R+100.0 | R+39.8 |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford |
Yes | Aaron Ford |
2018 | D+2.4 | D+0.4 | D+7.9 |
| New Mexico | Hector Balderas |
No | Raul Torrez |
1990 | D+10.8 | D+28.4 | D+10.6 |
| New York | Letitia James |
Yes | Letitia James |
1998 | D+23.2 | D+27.2 | D+8.6 |
| North Dakota | Drew Wrigley |
Yes | Drew Wrigley |
2000 | R+33.3 | R+35.4 | R+42.2 |
| Ohio | Dave Yost |
Yes | Dave Yost |
2010 | R+8.1 | R+4.4 | R+20.8 |
| Oklahoma | John O’Connor |
Yes | Gentner Drummond |
2010 | R+33.1 | R+28.0 | R+47.6 |
| Rhode Island | Peter Neronha |
Yes | Peter Neronha |
1998 | D+20.8 | D+60.7 | D+23.2 |
| South Carolina | Alan Wilson |
Yes | Alan Wilson |
1994 | R+11.7 | R+10.2 | R+100.0 |
| South Dakota | Mark Vargo |
No | Marty J. Jackley |
1974 | R+26.2 | R+10.4 | R+100.0 |
| Texas | Ken Paxton |
Yes | Ken Paxton |
1998 | R+5.6 | R+3.6 | R+9.7 |
| Vermont | Susanne Young |
No | Charity Clark |
2022 | D+35.1 | D+40.2 | D+30.2 |
| Wisconsin | Josh Kaul |
Yes | Josh Kaul |
2018 | D+0.7 | D+0.6 | D+1.4 |
News and conflicts in the 2022 Republican attorney general primaries
The following were reprinted from Ballotpedia's The Heart of the Primaries newsletter, which captured stories related to conflicts within each major party.
March 3, 2022
Texas results roundup
Texas held the nation's first midterm primaries on Tuesday. Races in which no candidate received a majority of the vote are headed to May 24 runoffs. Here's a roundup of results from marquee Republican primaries, current as of Thursday morning.
The big stories: Taylor suspends campaign, Paxton and Bush go to runoff
Texas' 3rd Congressional District: Incumbent Van Taylor and Keith Self advanced to a runoff with 48.7% and 26.5%, respectively. Taylor suspended his campaign on Wednesday, saying, "About a year ago, I made a horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain among those I love most in this world. … I had an affair, it was wrong, and it was the greatest failure of my life."
The Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek said that "no other race in Texas this year seems to more reflect the debate within the GOP over the fallout from Jan. 6." Taylor was one of two House Republicans from Texas—and 35 House Republicans nationwide—who voted last May to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach. Self, a former Collin County judge, criticized Taylor's vote. Five candidates ran in the primary.
Attorney General: Incumbent Ken Paxton and state Land Commissioner George P. Bush advanced to a runoff with 42.7% and 22.8%, respectively. Former state supreme court Justice Eva Guzman received 17.5% and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, 17%.
Svitek and the Tribune's James Barragán wrote during the primary, "Gohmert and Paxton are … vying for the same conservative voters who are further right than the establishment GOP. Bush and Guzman appear to be fighting over traditional, pro-business Republicans."
A grand jury indicted Paxton on securities fraud charges in 2015, and former aides have accused him of bribery and abuse of office. Paxton has denied wrongdoing in both cases.
Other marquee primary results
U.S. House
- Texas' 1st: Nathaniel Moran won with 62.9%. Joe McDaniel was second with 24.3%. Four candidates ran. The district is open—incumbent Rep. Louie Gohmert (R) ran for attorney general.
- Texas' 8th: This race was too close to call as of Thursday morning. Morgan Luttrell led with 52.2%. Christian Collins was in second with 22.3%. Eleven candidates ran. Incumbent Rep. Kevin Brady (R) didn't seek re-election.
- Texas' 15th: Monica De La Cruz Hernandez won with 56.5%. Mauro Garza was second with 15.3%. Nine candidates ran. The district is open—incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D) is running for re-election in the 34th District after redistricting.
- Texas' 38th: Wesley Hunt won with 55.3%. Mark Ramsey had 30.2%. This is a newly created district following redistricting.
State executive
- Governor: Incumbent Greg Abbott won with 66.4%. Next were Allen West and Don Huffines with 12.3% and 12.0%, respectively. Eight candidates ran in the GOP primary.
- Agriculture Commissioner: Incumbent Sid Miller won with 58.5%. James White was second with 31.1%. Three candidates ran.
State legislature
- State legislative: There were 62 Republican state legislative primaries. Nine were for the state Senate and 53 were for the state House. Two incumbent senators and 30 incumbent representatives faced primaries. No incumbent Republicans lost primaries on Tuesday.
- Both incumbent senators in contested primaries won on Tuesday. No Republican state senator has lost in a primary or runoff since 2014.
- Four of five state Senate candidates Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) endorsed won primaries. The fifth is headed to a runoff.
- There are three runoffs in the House with GOP incumbents—in districts 12, 60, and 85. Two GOP House incumbents were in primaries that haven't been called yet (districts 64 and 91). In 2020, no GOP House incumbents lost in primaries, and two lost in runoffs.
Media analysis
The Texas Tribune's Joshua Fechter said the following about primary results in terms of incumbents and challengers:
| “ |
Texas’ top Republicans mostly fended off challengers in the GOP primary Tuesday. Meanwhile, a slate of progressives made inroads in Democratic primaries for Congress — but fell short of their goal of an immediate sweep that would reshape the Texas’ U.S. House delegation. … Meanwhile, the status quo was largely preserved in the Texas Legislature. No state Senate incumbents lost their seats Tuesday night. In the House, one sitting Democrat lost and no incumbent Republicans were knocked out, though a few were forced into runoffs. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan both saw the vast majority of their favored candidates win primaries in the chambers they preside over.[4] |
” |
FiveThirtyEight's Geoffrey Skelley said the following about the relation between the primary results and House incumbents' votes on certifying the 2020 election results:
| “ |
I mentioned earlier tonight the strong hold that Trump continues to have on the GOP in Texas (many Republicans in the state have a popular view of the former president), and indeed, there were many strong performances by Republican incumbents who voted against certifying the 2020 election in the U.S. House — every one handily won renomination or looked to be on their way in a couple of uncalled races. But in an example of how our politics are often full of contradictions, most Republicans who voted to certify the election did well, too — except Rep. Van Taylor … Taylor faced a number of attacks for his vote to certify the 2020 election results and for his support of a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.[4] |
” |
February 17, 2022
Texas roundup: Polling and endorsements two weeks out
The first midterm primaries are on March 1. Runoffs in Texas are scheduled for May 24 for races in which no candidate receives more than 50% of the primary vote. The Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle editorial boards recently issued endorsements, and the University of Texas released a poll on Feb. 14. Here's a roundup of polling and endorsements in marquee state executive and legislative races.
Polling
A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll surveyed 375 likely GOP primary voters between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7. The poll's margin of error was +/- 5 percentage points.
- Gubernatorial primary: Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott leads with 60%. Former state GOP Chair Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines were about tied with 15% and 14%. No other candidate received 10%.
- Attorney General primary: Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton leads with 47%. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush had 21%, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman had 16%, and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert had 15%.
Endorsements
- Gubernatorial primary: The Houston Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News endorsed Abbott.
- Other noteworthy endorsements in this primary include Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for Abbott, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for Huffines, and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn for Allen West.
- Attorney General primary: The Houston Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News endorsed Guzman in the GOP attorney general primary, mentioning Paxton's 2015 indictment on counts related to securities fraud violations and claims that Paxton used the office to benefit a political donor, which led to an FBI investigation. Paxton has denied wrongdoing in both cases.
- Trump endorsed Paxton. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) endorsed Bush.
- Senate District 11 primary: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Bob Mitchell in the state Senate District 11 GOP primary. Mitchell is one of four candidates in the open race, including Mayes Middleton, who, according to Transparency USA data, raised more than any other Texas state legislative candidate during the reporting period from July 1 to Dec. 31. Middleton has raised $1.9 million to Mitchell's $55,000 (in addition to $50,000 in loans). The Dallas Morning News didn't endorse in this race.
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and Trump endorsed Middleton.
See also
|
2022 elections: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
Footnotes
- ↑ In Michigan, political parties nominate candidates for some offices at their conventions instead of holding a primary. Candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, Supreme Court, and the boards of Michigan State University, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and the state Board of Education are nominated at conventions.
- ↑ Michigan.gov, "Filing for office," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ 2020 election for Vermont.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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