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Attorney General elections, 2024
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There were 10 attorney general seats on the ballot in 2024. These elections were in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
All 50 states have an attorney general who serves 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. Seventeen states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.
In 2022, voters decided who would control 34 of 50 state attorney general offices. Thirty offices were up for election, and four offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot. Before the election, the nationwide partisan balance of attorneys general was 22 Democrats and 28 Republicans. In three states—Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont—the office changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Democrats and a net loss of one office for Republicans.
In the 2020 elections, no attorney general offices changed partisan control. Eight incumbents won re-election, one incumbent did not run for re-election, and one incumbent was defeated in a party convention.
A state government triplex describes when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
Election results, 2024
Heading into the 2024 elections, there were 27 Republican, 22 Democratic, and one nonpartisan attorneys general nationwide. Republicans gained control of the attorney general office in Pennsylvania, leading to a 28-21-1 split in partisan control following the elections. This did not change Pennsylvania's divided government triplex status, however, as the governor of Pennsylvania remained a Democrat.
There were 10 attorney general seats on the ballot in 2024. These elections were in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Democrats and Republicans each held the office in five of these states. Four incumbents ran for re-election, while six did not. All four incumbents, three Republicans and one Democrat, won re-election.
Democrats retained attorney general offices in North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Republicans gained an attorney general office in Pennsylvania and retained offices in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Utah, and West Virginia.
Two other states— Maine and New Hampshire—had attorneys general whose appointment was determined by other elections on the ballot. Democrats retained appointing authority over the attorney general in Maine and Republicans retained authority in New Hampshire.
Ballotpedia identified the attorney general elections in North Carolina and Pennsylvania as battlegrounds. Democrats retained the office in North Carolina, while Republicans won the office from Democrats in Pennsylvania.
Results from the 2022 elections
Voters decided who would control 34 of 50 state attorney general offices on November 8. Thirty offices were up for election, and four offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot. Before the election, the nationwide partisan balance of attorneys general was 22 Democrats and 28 Republicans.
In three states—Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont—the office changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Democrats and a net loss of one office for Republicans. After the elections, the partisan composition of state attorneys general was 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats.
The following offices changed party control:
- Republicans gained the state attorney general's office in Iowa as Brenna Bird (R) defeated incumbent Tom Miller (D).
- Democrats gained the state attorney general's offices in Arizona and Vermont.
- Kris Mayes (D) defeated Abraham Hamadeh (R) in the open-seat race to succeed Mark Brnovich (R) in Arizona.
- Charity Clark (D) defeated Michael Tagliavia (R) to succeed Susanne Young (R) in Vermont. Governor Phil Scott (R) appointed Young to replace former Attorney General T.J. Donovan (D) in 2022.
Triplexes
As of September 10, 2025, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
Historical control
The attorney general is directly elected in 43 states. The attorney general is appointed by the state Legislature in Maine, by the state Supreme Court in Tennessee, and by the governor in the remaining five states.
