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There were three attorney general seats on the ballot in 2019. These elections were in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Heading into the election, Democrats controlled the attorney general's offices in Kentucky and Mississippi, while Republicans controlled the Louisiana attorney general's office.

Republicans gained both Democratic-held offices and held the Louisiana attorney general office for a net gain of two seats. As a result, Republicans held a majority of all attorney general offices nationwide. Heading into the elections, Democrats had controlled a majority of attorney general offices.

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.

2019 election results

See also: Election results, 2019

Kentucky

General election

General election for Attorney General of Kentucky

Daniel Cameron defeated Gregory Stumbo in the general election for Attorney General of Kentucky on November 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Daniel Cameron (R)	57.8	823,346
	Gregory Stumbo (D)	42.2	602,272

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,425,618
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Louisiana

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Attorney General of Louisiana

Incumbent Jeff Landry won election outright against Ike Jackson in the primary for Attorney General of Louisiana on October 12, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeff Landry (R)	66.2	855,366
	Ike Jackson (D)	33.8	436,502

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,291,868
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Mississippi

General election

General election for Attorney General of Mississippi

Lynn Fitch defeated Jennifer Collins in the general election for Attorney General of Mississippi on November 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Lynn Fitch (R)	57.8	507,468
	Jennifer Collins (D)	42.2	370,068

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 877,536
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Partisan balance

The following chart displays the number of state attorney general offices held by each party as of the 2019 elections and immediately after the elections took place.

State Attorneys General Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2019	After the 2019 elections
	Democratic Party	25	23
	Republican Party	24	26
	Nonpartisan	1	1
Total		50	50

Election information

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.

State	Triplex status (before)	Triplex status (after)	Incumbent	Incumbent ran?	Winner	Margin of victory
Kentucky	Divided triplex status	Divided triplex status	Andy Beshear	No (ran for governor)	Daniel Cameron	R+15.6
Louisiana	Divided triplex status	Divided triplex status	Jeff Landry	Yes	Jeff Landry	R+32.4
Mississippi	Divided triplex status	Republican triplex	Jim Hood	No (ran for governor)	Lynn Fitch	R+16.0

Seats that flipped in 2018

See also: Attorney General elections, 2018

Thirty states held elections for attorney general in 2018. Democrats gained control of four Republican-held attorney general offices in the elections. As a result of the election, Democrats held 25 attorney general offices to Republicans' 24.

Attorney general offices that changed party control, 2018 elections
State	Pre-election control	Post-election control
Colorado	Cynthia Coffman	Phil Weiser
Michigan	Bill Schuette	Dana Nessel
Nevada	Adam Laxalt	Aaron Ford
Wisconsin	Brad Schimel	Josh Kaul

Margin of victory analysis

The following table details the margin of victory for winning candidates from the previous three elections in states holding attorney general elections in 2019. In Louisiana, Republicans won each attorney general election during this time by a margin of at least 12 percentage points, including an unopposed election in 2011. The closest margin, 12.6% in 2015, was a race between two Republican candidates. In both Mississippi and Kentucky, Democrats won the 2011 and 2007 elections by margins of at least 10 percentage points before winning in 2015 by slimmer margins and losing in 2019.

Margin of victory analysis, 2007-2019
State	2019 margin of victory	2015 margin of victory	2011 margin of victory	2007 margin of victory
Kentucky	R+15.6	D+0.2	D+10.0	D+21.0
Louisiana	R+32.4	R+12.6	R+100	R+33.2
Mississippi	R+16.0	D+10.6	D+22.2	D+19.6

Battlegrounds

Of the three attorney general elections which took place in 2019, Ballotpedia identified one as a battleground: the Kentucky attorney general election.

Kentucky

See also: Kentucky Attorney General election, 2019

Daniel Cameron (R) defeated Gregory Stumbo (D) in the general election on November 5, 2019, for attorney general of Kentucky.

Cameron won the Republican primary election on May 21, while Stumbo ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Pre-election incumbent Andy Beshear (D) ran for governor against incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin (R).

The Courier-Journal said Cameron and Stumbo ran in a "nasty contest filled with personal attacks and negative advertisements."^[1]

Before running for attorney general, Cameron served as a law clerk to Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, worked at a private firm in Louisville, and was legal counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Stumbo's experience included 30 years in the Kentucky General Assembly and four years as the attorney general of Kentucky from 2004 to 2008.

Prior to the 2019 election, Democrats had controlled Kentucky's attorney general office since 1948, but the state's electoral history suggested that the race would be competitive.^[2] In 2015, Andy Beshear (D) defeated Whitney Westerfield (R) by a margin of 50.1% to 49.9%. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Kentucky with 62.5 percent of the vote. Trump endorsed Cameron on July 29, 2019.^[3]

Heading into the election, Kentucky was one of 15 states under divided triplex control, meaning that its governor, attorney general, and secretary of state did not belong to a single political party. That status was at stake in 2019. The attorney general election occurred alongside Kentucky's gubernatorial and secretary of state elections, meaning either party could have gained triplex control in 2019.

Before the election, Kentucky was one of nine states where the governor and the attorney general were not from the same party. There were 25 Democratic attorneys general, 24 Republican attorneys general, and one nonpartisan attorney general who was appointed by a Democratic governor.

Three states held attorney general elections in 2019: Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. For more information on the state executive offices that were on the ballot in 2019, click here.

Triplexes

State government triplexes describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.

As a result of the 2019 elections, Republicans gained one state government triplex in Mississippi while Kentucky and Louisiana remained divided triplexes. Heading into the election, the triplex count stood at 18 Republican, 17 Democratic, and 15 divided triplexes. The new triplex count will be 19 Republican, 17 Democratic, and 14 divided triplexes.

The states holding triplex office elections on November 5, 2019, were:

Kentucky: Kentucky remained a divided triplex. Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) defeated Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in the gubernatorial election. Daniel Cameron (R) won the attorney general election for the position held by Andy Beshear (D), while Michael Adams (R) won the secretary of state election for the position held by Alison Lundergan Grimes (D). Kentucky was most recently a triplex in 2015 when Democrats held all three positions.

Mississippi: The state became a Republican triplex as a result of the election. Tate Reeves (R) won the race for term-limited Gov. Phil Bryant's (R) position. Lynn Fitch (R) won the attorney general position held by Jim Hood (D), and Michael Watson (R) won the secretary of state position held by Delbert Hosemann (R). Mississippi was most recently a triplex in 2004 when Democrats held all three positions.

One other state held elections for triplex offices on November 16, 2019:

Louisiana: Louisiana remained a divided triplex. In the gubernatorial election, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) defeated Eddie Rispone (R). In the secretary of state election, incumbent Kyle Ardoin (R) defeated Gwen Collins-Greenup (D). State Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) won re-election in the primary election. Louisiana was most recently a triplex in 2015 when Republicans held all three positions.

Change in state government triplexes, 2019 elections
Triplex status	Before	After	Net
Democratic triplexes	17	17	--
Republican triplexes	18	19	+1
Divided triplexes	15	14	-1

Historical control

In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 27 elected attorney general offices to the Republican Party's 16. The Democratic lead in attorney general offices would be maintained through the 1990s, as opposed to the other three top executive offices, which became majority-Republican following the 1994 midterm elections. In the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican Party gained a lead in elected attorney general offices, with 22 elected attorneys general to the Democrats' 21. The Democratic victory in the 2013 Virginia election for attorney general caused the party to briefly regain a 22-21 majority of elected attorney general offices. This lead was lost in the 2014 midterm elections. After that point, the Republican Party continued to grow its majority control of elected attorney general offices until 2018, when Democrats regained a majority of elected attorney general offices.

Important dates and deadlines

This section will provide important dates throughout the 2019 election cycle, including filing deadlines, primaries, and campaign finance reporting deadlines, when available. These dates are divided by state.

Kentucky

Primary election

January 29, 2019: Filing deadline in Kentucky
April 22, 2019: Voter registration deadline
May 14, 2019: Absentee application deadline
May 21, 2019: Primary election in Kentucky

General election

October 7, 2019: Voter registration deadline
October 29, 2019: Absentee application deadline
November 5, 2019: General election in Kentucky

Louisiana

Primary election

August 8, 2019: Filing deadline in Louisiana
September 11, 2019: In-person voter registration deadline
September 21, 2019: Online voter registration deadline
September 28, 2019: Early voting begins
October 5, 2019: Early voting ends
October 8, 2019: Deadline to request a mail ballot
October 12, 2019: Primary election in Louisiana

General election

October 16, 2019: In-person voter registration deadline
October 26, 2019: Online voter registration deadline
November 2, 2019: Early voting begins
November 9, 2019: Early voting ends
November 12, 2019: Deadline to request a mail ballot
November 16, 2019: General election in Louisiana

Mississippi

Primary election

March 1, 2019: Filing deadline in Mississippi
July 8, 2019: Voter registration deadline (primary)
July 29, 2019: Voter registration deadline (primary runoff)
August 5, 2019: Absentee ballot return deadline (primary)
August 6, 2019: Primary election in Mississippi
August 26, 2019: Absentee ballot return deadline (primary runoff)
August 27, 2019: Primary runoff election in Mississippi

General election

October 7, 2019: Voter registration deadline
November 4, 2019: Absentee ballot return deadline
November 5, 2019: General election in Mississippi

About the office

See also: Attorney General (state executive office)

The attorney general is an executive office in all 50 states that serves as the chief legal advisor and chief law enforcement officer for the state government and is empowered to prosecute violations of state law, represent the state in legal disputes and issue legal advice to state agencies and the legislature. In most states, the attorney general has a substantial influence on a state's approach to law enforcement. Attorneys general often set particular law enforcement priorities (e.g. drug law, civil rights violations or sexual crime) and focus extra resources on these issues. This puts them, in the words of the National Association of Attorneys General, at the "intersection of law and public policy."^[4]^[5]

Selection process

	State Executive Officials
	State executive elections by position and year:
	Select a position:GubernatorialLieutenant gubernatorialAttorney GeneralSecretary of StateDown ballot executiveState executive officialSelect year:2025202420232022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010Reset

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.

Partisan affiliation

Compensation

According to compensation figures for 2022 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for an attorney general is $220,000 in New York, while the lowest is $82,220 in Oregon. To view the compensation of a particular attorney general, hover your mouse over the state.

Initiate local prosecution

In 47 states—all except Connecticut, North Carolina, and Arkansas—the attorney general has the power to initiate prosecution at the local level, although 28 states place limits on this power.^[6]

Supersede local prosecution

In 36 states, the attorney general has the power to take over a case handled by a local prosecutor without instructions from the governor or legislature, although this power is restricted to certain cases in 22 of those states. This differs from general power of oversight over legal matters in a state and the ability of some attorneys general to initiate local prosecution or to step in and provide assistance to a local prosecutor without instructions from the governor or legislature. In Alaska and Delaware, the attorney general's office is responsible for handling all local prosecution by default.^[6]

Criminal appeals

The attorney general has the power to represent the state in criminal appeals in 46 states, although this power is restricted in five of those states.^[6]

Term limits

A total of 17 states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.

Analysis of state elections

See also: Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2019

In 2019, eight states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for seven of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers and for three gubernatorial seats.

All state elections:

2019 election analysis: State government trifectas

Trifecta vulnerability in the 2019 elections

2019 primary election competitiveness in state government

State executive elections:

State executive official elections, 2019

Gubernatorial elections, 2019

Secretary of State elections, 2019

Attorney General elections, 2019

2019 election analysis: State government triplexes

State executive official elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2019

List of candidates in state executive elections, 2019