Election Desk: Attorneys General

Post-2024 Election

The dust is settling on the 2024 election cycle and all the AG races have been decided.

This summary includes the District of Columbia.

Of the 51 attorneys general, 43 are elected directly by popular vote. Five are appointed by the governor (Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming), one is appointed by the legislature (Maine), one is appointed by the state supreme court (Tennessee)

Going into the 2024 election, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 24 Democratic attorneys general. The Republicans have flipped one seat, Pennsylvania, to change the partisan split to 27 R – 23 D.

There were ten direct AG election contests in 2024 and one indirect contest (New Hampshire). Of the ten direct election races, five were held by Democrats and five by Republicans. The one indirect election is held by a Republican.

There will be at least six new attorneys general and as many as seven new attorney generals.

PRE-ELECTION

Attorneys general composition (51)

• 27 Republican AGs
• 24 Democratic AGs

Attorneys general direct elections 2024

• 10 states with direct elections
• 5 Republican
  • Open seat R = 2: UT, WV
  • Republicans defending = 3: IN, MO, MT
• 5 Democratic
  • Open seat 4 = 3: NC, OR, PA, WA
  • Democrats defending = 1: VT

Attorneys general indirect elections 2024 (1)

• Republican (1)
  • The New Hampshire governor, Chris Sununu, is not running for reelection.

POST-ELECTION

Attorneys general composition (51)

• 28 Republican AGs
• 23 Democratic AGs

Attorneys general direct elections 2024

• 10 states with direct elections
• Flip: Pennsylvania from D to R
• 6 Republican
  • Open seat R = 3: PA, UT, WV
  • Republicans defending = 3: IN, MO, MT
• 4 Democratic
  • Open seat 4 = 3: NC, OR, PA, WA
  • Democrats defending = 1: VT

• Republican (1)
  • The New Hampshire governor, Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, succeeded Chris Sununu, who did  not run for reelection.

Looking ahead to 2025 (1)

• New Jersey (Democrat)
• Virginia (Republican)

Looking ahead to 2026

Attorneys general direct elections 2026

• 31 states + DC with direct elections
• 14 Republican
  • Open seat R (term limit) = 3: AL, FL, OH
  • Other = 11: AR, GA, ID, IA, KS, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD, TX
• 17 Democratic
  • Open seat D (term limit) = 4: CO, MI, NV, RI
  • Other = 13: AZ, CA, CT, DE, DC, IL, MD, MA, MN, NM, NY, WI, VT

Attorneys general indirect elections 2026 (4)

• Republican (2)
  • The Alaska governor appoints the attorney general. The incumbent, Mike Dunleavy, is not eligible to run again in 2026
  • The New Hampshire governor appoints the attorney general.
• Democratic (2)
  • The Hawaii governor appoints the attorney general. The governor, Josh Green, a Democrat, is eligible to run in 2026.
  • The Maine legislature appoints the attorney general. The legislature Democratically controlled leading up to the 2024 elections.