Attorney General of Missouri

Missouri Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$122,332
2024 FY Budget:	$47,784,135
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Missouri Constitution, Article IV, Section 12 the Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of Missouri Andrew Bailey Republican Party Assumed office: January 3, 2023
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other Missouri Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Director • Insurance Director • Natural Resources Director • Labor Director • Public Service Commission

The Attorney General of Missouri is an elected constitutional office within the executive branch of the Missouri state government. The office was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first state constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 constitution, the attorney general has been elected.

By law, the attorney general is a member of the Board of Fund Commissioners, the Board of Public Buildings, the Governor's Committee on Interstate Cooperation, the Missouri Highway Reciprocity Commission and the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

Offices of the attorney general are located throughout the state of Missouri with the main office being in the Supreme Court building in Jefferson City.

Missouri has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current Attorney General of Missouri is Andrew Bailey (R). Bailey assumed office in 2023.

Authority

The Missouri Constitution addresses the office of attorney general in Article IV, the Executive Department.

Under Article IV, Section 12:

The executive department shall consist of all state elective and appointive officials and employees except officials and employees of the legislative and judicial departments. In addition to the governor and lieutenant governor there shall be a state auditor, secretary of state, attorney general...

Qualifications

In order to serve as attorney general, an individual must be a U.S. citizen (number of years not specified) and have been a state resident for at least one year.

Elections

Missouri state government organizational chart

Missouri elects attorneys general in the presidential elections, that is, in leap years. There are no term limits on the position.

2024

See also: Missouri Attorney General election, 2024

General election

General election for Attorney General of Missouri

Incumbent Andrew Bailey defeated Elad Gross and Ryan Munro in the general election for Attorney General of Missouri on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andrew Bailey (R)	59.8	1,739,626
		Elad Gross (D)	37.9	1,103,482
		Ryan Munro (L)	2.3	66,878

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,909,986
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Missouri

Elad Gross advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Missouri on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elad Gross	100.0	344,661

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 344,661
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sarah Unsicker (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Missouri

Incumbent Andrew Bailey defeated Will Scharf in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Missouri on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andrew Bailey	63.0	413,915
		Will Scharf	37.0	243,012

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 656,927
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Missouri

Ryan Munro advanced from the Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Missouri on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan Munro	100.0	2,411

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,411
= 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.
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2020

See also: Missouri Attorney General election, 2020

General election

General election for Attorney General of Missouri

Incumbent Eric Schmitt defeated Richard Finneran and Kevin Babcock in the general election for Attorney General of Missouri on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Schmitt (R)	59.4	1,752,792
		Richard Finneran (D)	37.9	1,117,713
	Submit photo	Kevin Babcock (L)	2.7	81,100

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,951,605
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Missouri

Richard Finneran defeated Elad Gross in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Missouri on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Finneran	55.4	272,516
		Elad Gross	44.6	219,462

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 491,978
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Missouri

Incumbent Eric Schmitt advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Missouri on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Schmitt	100.0	602,577

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 602,577
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Missouri

Kevin Babcock advanced from the Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Missouri on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kevin Babcock	100.0	4,089

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,089
= 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.
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2016

See also: Missouri Attorney General election, 2016

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

Josh Hawley defeated Teresa Hensley in the Missouri attorney general election.

Missouri Attorney General, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Josh Hawley	61.10%	1,389,196
	Democratic	Teresa Hensley	38.90%	884,354
Total Votes				2,273,550
Source: Missouri Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2008 for the office of Missouri attorney general, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Missouri attorney general election, 2012 Incumbent Chris Koster (D) won second term as attorney general on November 6, 2012. Attorney General of Missouri General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Chris Koster Incumbent 55.9% 1,491,139      Republican Ed Martin 40.6% 1,084,106      Libertarian Dave Browning 3.5% 92,819 Total Votes 2,668,064 Election results via Missouri Secretary of State 2008 2008 Race for Attorney General - General Election Party Candidate Vote Percentage      Democratic Party a Chris Koster 52.9%      Republican Party Mike Gibbons 47.1% Total Votes 2,784,366

Vacancies

Article IV, Section 4 of the Missouri Constitution gives the governor the power to fill vacancies in public offices.

	Text of Section 4: Power of Appointment to Fill Vacancies--Tenure of Appointees The governor shall fill all vacancies in public offices unless otherwise provided by law, and his appointees shall serve until their successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified.

Duties

The attorney general is the attorney for the entire state, representing the legal interests of Missouri and its state agencies.

As the state's chief legal officer, the attorney general must prosecute or defend all appeals to which the state is a party, including every felony criminal case appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court and courts of appeal. The attorney general also is required to institute, in the name and on behalf of the state, all civil suits and other proceedings that are necessary to protect the state's rights, interests or claims. The attorney general may appear, interplead, answer or defend any proceedings that involve the state's interests, or appear on behalf of the state in declaratory judgment proceedings when the constitutionality of a statute is challenged.

The attorney general also renders official opinions to the executive and legislative branch and the county prosecuting attorneys on questions of law relating to their duties. The attorney general may institute quo warranto proceedings against anyone unlawfully holding office or move to oust any public official for malfeasance in office.

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, the Office of the Attorney General of Missouri has two main divisions: Civil and Criminal.

Role in the initiative process

According to the Missouri initiative and referendum guidelines, when ballot text is submitted to the state secretary of state, a copy of the text must be sent to the attorney general.

Both the secretary of state and attorney general will review the text to make sure that it complies with the form of an initiative. A copy of the ballot text is also sent to the state auditor in order to prepare a fiscal note and fiscal note summary statement. This must be completed within 20 days of the initiative being filed.

When the attorney general receives the fiscal note and summary, the ballot text will be reviewed for its legality. Approval or reject of the fiscal note summary will be sent to the state auditor within 10 days of receipt of the fiscal note. Based on this information the attorney general will reject or accept the contents and the ballot (along with the attorney general's comments) will be sent to the secretary of state within 10 days receipt of the sample ballot petition.

Campaign finance

Main article: Campaign finance requirements for Missouri ballot measures

The Attorney General of Missouri is responsible for all prosecution of criminal violations of Missouri's campaign finance laws. The Office of Prosecution Services is a division of the state attorney general's office and conducts all investigations of campaign finance law violations that are in the office's jurisdiction.

The first step in filing a campaign finance complaint is to file with the Missouri Ethics Commission. An investigator must fully review the complaint and a vote of four members on the ethics commission is needed before any investigation can proceed. All criminal investigations are forwarded to the attorney general from the ethics commission upon finding of probable cause. All civil prosecutions are handled by the ethics commission.

State budget

See also: Missouri state budget and finances

The attorney general's budget for fiscal year 2024 was $47,784,135.

Compensation

The attorney general's salary is set by law and cannot be increased or reduced during the term. Section 3, Article XIII of the Missouri Constitution created a Citizens’ Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials, which sets the compensation of elected government officials. The 21-member commission meets every two years, and is not to be comprised of employees of the state or any of its institutions nor immediate family members of any person ineligible to serve on the council.

Article IV, Section 21 of the Missouri Constitution addresses compensation of executive officials:

The officers named in this article shall receive for their services salaries fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during their terms.

2023

In 2023, the officer's salary was $122,332, according to the Council of State Governments.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $119,348, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general earned a salary of $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general earned a salary of $116,437.

2010

In 2010, the attorney general was paid an estimated $116,437, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Since 1820, Missouri has had 42 attorneys general. Of the 41, 30 have been Democrats, 11 Republicans and one Whig.

Number	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1	Edward Bates	1820	1821	Democratic
2	Rufus Easton	1821	1826	Democratic
3	Robert William Wells	1826	1836	Democratic
4	William Barclay Napton	1836	1839	Democratic
5	Samuel Mansfield Bay	1839	1845	Democratic
6	Benjamin F. Stringfellow	1845	1849	Democratic
7	William A. Robards	1849	1851	Democratic
8	James B. Gardenhire	1851	1857	Whig
9	Ephraim B. Ewing	1857	1858	Democratic
10	J. Proctor Knott	1858	1861	Democratic
11	Aikman Welch	1861	1864	Democratic
12	Thomas Theodore Crittenden	1864	1864	Democratic
13	Robert Franklin Wingate	1865	1869	Democratic
14	Horace B. Johnson	1869	1871	Republican
15	Andrew Jackson Baker	1871	1872	Republican
16	Henry Clay Ewing	1873	1875	Democratic
17	John A. Hockaday	1875	1877	Democratic
18	Jackson Leonidas Smith	1877	1881	Democratic
19	Daniel Harrison McIntyre	1881	1885	Democratic
20	Banton Gallitin Boone	1885	1889	Democratic
21	John M. Wood	1889	1893	Democratic
22	Robert Franklin Walker	1893	1897	Democratic
23	Edward Coke Crow	1897	1905	Democratic
24	Herbert Spencer Hadley	1905	1909	Republican
25	Elliott Woolfolk Major	1909	1913	Democratic
26	John Tull Barker	1913	1917	Democratic
27	Frank Winton McAllister	1917	1921	Democratic
28	Jesse W. Barrett	1921	1925	Republican
29	Robert William Otto	1925	1925	Republican
30	North Todd Gentry	1925	1928	Republican
31	Stratton Shartel	1928	1933	Republican
32	Roy M. McKittrick	1933	1945	Democratic
33	Jonathan E. (Buck) Taylor	1945	1953	Democratic
34	John M. Dalton	1953	1961	Democratic
35	Thomas F. Eagleton	1961	1965	Democratic
36	Norman H. Anderson	1965	1969	Democratic
37	John C. Danforth	1969	1977	Republican
38	John D. Ashcroft	1977	1985	Republican
39	William L. Webster	1985	1993	Republican
40	Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon	1993	2009	Democratic
41	Chris Koster	2009	2017	Democratic
42	Josh Hawley	2017	2019	Republican

Recent news

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

Attorney General of Missouri - Google News

Contact information

Missouri Attorney General's Office
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High St.
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102

Phone: 573-751-3321
Fax: 573-751-0774
E-mail: ag@ago.mo.gov

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Missouri Attorney General
• Missouri Attorney General Opinion page