Chief law enforcement official in a U.S. state or territory
Party affiliation of current United States attorneys general: Democratic
Republican
Independent
New Progressive
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states , of the federal district , or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the United States Department of Justice .
Selection
The most prevalent method of selecting a state's attorney general is by popular election. 43 states have an elected attorney general.[1] Elected attorneys general serve a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years.[2]
Seven states do not popularly elect an attorney general. In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming, the attorney general is a gubernatorial appointee.[1] The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term.[1] [2] In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for a two-year term.[1] [2]
The District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, elect their attorneys general for a four-year term. 2014 marked the first year that the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands held an election for the office. In American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the attorney general is appointed by the governor.[3] In Puerto Rico, the attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general.[4]
Many states have passed term limits limiting the selection to 2 consecutive terms (9 states); 2 terms maximum (4 states), but 33 states still have no term limits.[5]
Defense of the state in federal lawsuits
State attorneys general enforce both state and federal laws. Because they are sworn to uphold the United States' constitution and laws as well as the state's, they often decline to defend the state in federal lawsuits.[6]
Current attorneys general
The current party composition of the state attorneys general is:
The composition for the District of Columbia and the 5 populated territories is:
Rows of the attorney general table below are color coded indicating the political party of the office holder.
Officeholder
State
Party
Assumed office
Term expires
Law school
Term limits
Steve Marshall
Alabama
Republican
February 10, 2017
2023
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
2 consecutive terms
Treg Taylor
Alaska
Republican
January 30, 2021
Appointed
Brigham Young University
no term limits
Fainu'ulelei Alailima-Utu
American Samoa
Nonpartisan
January 21, 2021
Appointed
University of California, Los Angeles
Mark Brnovich
Arizona
Republican
January 5, 2015
2023 (term limits)
University of San Diego
2 consecutive terms
Leslie Rutledge
Arkansas
Republican
January 13, 2015
2023 (term limits)
University of Arkansas, Little Rock
Rob Bonta
California
Democratic
April 23, 2021
2023
Yale University
2 terms maximum
Phil Weiser
Colorado
Democratic
January 8, 2019
2023
New York University
2 consecutive terms
William Tong
Connecticut
Democratic
January 9, 2019
2023
University of Chicago
no term limits
Kathy Jennings
Delaware
Democratic
January 1, 2019
2023
Villanova University
no term limits
Karl Racine
District of Columbia
Democratic
January 2, 2015
2023
University of Virginia
Ashley Moody
Florida
Republican
January 9, 2019
2023
University of Florida Stetson University (LLM )
2 consecutive terms
Chris Carr
Georgia
Republican
November 1, 2016
2023
University of Georgia
no term limits
Leevin Camacho
Guam
Independent
January 7, 2019
2023
Boston University
Holly Shikada
Hawaii
Democratic
December 10, 2021
Appointed
University of Hawaii, Manoa
no term limits
Lawrence Wasden
Idaho
Republican
January 6, 2003
2023
University of Idaho, Moscow
no term limits
Kwame Raoul
Illinois
Democratic
January 14, 2019
2023
Illinois Institute of Technology
no term limits
Todd Rokita
Indiana
Republican
January 11, 2021
2025
Indiana University, Indianapolis
no term limits
Tom Miller
Iowa
Democratic
January 6, 1995
2023
Harvard University
no term limits
Derek Schmidt
Kansas
Republican
January 10, 2011
2023
Georgetown University
no term limits
Daniel Cameron
Kentucky
Republican
December 17, 2019
2024
University of Louisville
2 consecutive terms
Jeff Landry
Louisiana
Republican
January 11, 2016
2024
Loyola University, New Orleans
no term limits
Aaron Frey
Maine
Democratic
January 2, 2019
2023 (Elected by the Legislature)
Roger Williams University
4 two year terms
Brian Frosh
Maryland
Democratic
January 6, 2015
2023
Columbia University
no term limits
Maura Healey
Massachusetts
Democratic
January 21, 2015
2023
Northeastern University
no term limits
Dana Nessel
Michigan
Democratic
January 1, 2019
2023
Wayne State University
2 terms max
Keith Ellison
Minnesota
Democratic
January 7, 2019
2023
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
no term limits
Lynn Fitch
Mississippi
Republican
January 9, 2020
2024
University of Mississippi, Oxford
no term limits
Eric S. Schmitt
Missouri
Republican
January 3, 2019
2025
Saint Louis University
no term limits
Austin Knudsen
Montana
Republican
January 4, 2021
2025
University of Montana
2 terms in 16-year period
Doug Peterson
Nebraska
Republican
January 8, 2015
2023
Pepperdine University
no term limits
Aaron Ford
Nevada
Democratic
January 7, 2019
2023
Ohio State University, Columbus
2 terms max
John Formella
New Hampshire
Republican
April 22, 2021
2025 (Appointed)
George Washington University
no term limits
Matt Platkin Acting
New Jersey
Democratic
February 14, 2022
Appointed
Stanford University
no term limits
Hector Balderas
New Mexico
Democratic
January 1, 2015
2023 (term limits)
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
2 consecutive terms
Tish James
New York
Democratic
January 1, 2019
2023
Howard University
no term limits
Josh Stein
North Carolina
Democratic
January 1, 2017
2025
Harvard University
no term limits
Drew Wrigley
North Dakota
Republican
February 9, 2022
2023
American University
no term limits
Edward Manibusan
Northern Mariana Islands
Democratic
January 13, 2015
2023
Gonzaga University
Dave Yost
Ohio
Republican
January 14, 2019
2023
Capital University
2 consecutive terms
John O'Connor
Oklahoma
Republican
July 23, 2021
2023
University of Tulsa
2 terms max
Ellen Rosenblum
Oregon
Democratic
June 29, 2012
2025
University of Oregon
no term limits
Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania
Democratic
January 17, 2017
2025
Georgetown University
2 consecutive terms
Domingo Emanuelli
Puerto Rico [7]
New Progressive
January 2, 2021
Appointed
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
Peter Neronha
Rhode Island
Democratic
January 1, 2019
2023
Boston College
2 consecutive terms
Alan Wilson
South Carolina
Republican
January 12, 2011
2023
University of South Carolina, Columbia
no term limits
Mark Vargo
South Dakota
Republican
June 28, 2022
2023
Georgetown University
2 consecutive terms
Jonathan Skrmetti
Tennessee
Republican
September 1, 2022
2030 (Elected by State Supreme Court)
Harvard University
no term limits
Ken Paxton
Texas
Republican
January 5, 2015
2023
University of Virginia
no term limits
Denise George-Counts
U.S. Virgin Islands
Democratic
May 14, 2019
Appointed
Howard University
Sean Reyes
Utah
Republican
December 30, 2013
2025
University of California, Berkeley
no term limits
Susanne Young
Vermont
Republican
July 5, 2022
2023
Vermont Law School
no term limits
Jason Miyares
Virginia
Republican
January 15, 2022
2026
College of William and Mary
no term limits
Bob Ferguson
Washington
Democratic
January 16, 2013
2025
New York University
no term limits
Patrick Morrisey
West Virginia
Republican
January 14, 2013
2025
Rutgers University, Newark
no term limits
Josh Kaul
Wisconsin
Democratic
January 7, 2019
2023
Stanford University
no term limits
Bridget Hill
Wyoming
Republican
January 7, 2019
Appointed
University of Wyoming
no term limits
See also
References
^ a b c d Moretto, Mario (January 23, 2015). "LePage sheds light on plan to strip Legislature of power to elect attorney general, treasurer" . Bangor Publishing Company. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
^ a b c "Elections for Attorney General to Take Place in 30 States" . National Association of Attorneys General . National Association of Attorneys General . Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
^ "2014 State and Territorial Attorneys General Election Results" . National Association of Attorneys General . National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
^ "AG Spotlight: New Attorneys General" . National Association of Attorneys General . National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
^ "Attorneys General with term limits" . Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 29, 2019 .
^ Phillips, Amber (May 15, 2016). "Is it legal for North Carolina's attorney general to not defend the state's bathroom law?" . The Washington Post . Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ The title of the head of Puerto Rico's Justice Department is the Secretary of Justice , not Attorney General.
External links
Political party affiliations
▌ 28 Republicans (27 states, 1 territory)
▌ 25 Democrats (23 states, 1 territory, 1 district)
▌ 1 New Progressive (1 territory)
▌ 2 Unknown (2 territories) An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity. State abbreviations link to position articles.
Demographics Economy Environment Geography Government Health History Law Miscellaneous