Attorney General elections, 2025
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There was one attorney general office on the ballot in 2025. This election was in 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 2024, voters decided who would control 12 of 50 state attorney general offices. Ten offices were up for election, and two offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot. Before the election, the nationwide partisan balance of attorneys general was 22 Democrats, 27 Republicans, and one nonpartisan. In one state — Pennsylvania — the office changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Republicans and a net loss of one office for Democrats.
Heading into the 2025 elections, there were 45 triplexes—20 Democratic and 25 Republican. After the elections, there were 21 Democratic triplexes and 24 Republican triplexes. The average number of triplex changes produced in each odd-year election cycle since 2017 was one.
- Partisan balanceThe partisan balance of attorneys general
- On the ballotA list of elections and candidates on the ballot
- TriplexesInformation on state government triplexes
- Campaign financeInformation about candidate and satellite spending in the 2025 election cycle
- Important dates and deadlinesA list of important dates and deadlines for the 2025 election cycle
- About the officeInformation about attorneys general across all 50 states
Contents
Partisan balance
The following chart displays the number of attorney general offices held by each party before and after the 2025 elections.
| Party | As of November 2025 | After the 2025 elections |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 21 | 22 |
| Republican | 28 | 27 |
| Independent | 1[1] | 1 |
| Total | 50 | 50 |
The chart below shows historical partisan breakdown information for attorneys general.
On the ballot
Click the tabs below to view information about the elections this year. In this section, you will find:
- A list of seats up for election
- A list of candidates running
- Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
There was one attorney general office — in Virginia — on the ballot in 2025.
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent running? | Election winner | Last time office changed parties | 2020 presidential result | 2021 attorney general result | 2025 election result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Jason Miyares | Yes | Jay Jones | 2021 | D+10.1 | R+0.8 | D+1.8 |
The table below contains a list of all candidates for attorney general in 2025. The table is fully searchable by candidate, party and candidacy status. Depending on the size of your screen, you'll either see a menu to the left of the table or an arrow at the top right corner, which you can use to select a state.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Triplexes
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.
As of November 8, 2025, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
Important dates and deadlines
The following table details 2025 statewide filing deadlines and primary dates. The signature filing deadline was the date by which candidates had to file nominating signatures with election officials in order to have their name placed on the ballot.
| State | Election date | Filing deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | June 10, 2025 | March 24, 2025 - New Jersey statewide primary candidate filing deadline | Source |
| Pennsylvania | May 20, 2025 | March 11, 2025 - Pennsylvania statewide primary candidate filing deadline | Source |
| Virginia | June 17, 2025 | April 3, 2025 - Virginia statewide primary candidate filing deadline | Source |
| Wisconsin | Feb. 18, 2025 | Jan. 7, 2025 - Wisconsin statewide spring primary candidate filing deadline | Source |
Campaign finance
Click the tabs below to view information about campaign finance this year. In this section, you will find:
- An overview of candidate fundraising and spending
- Stories highlighting satellite spending
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety announced plans to spend $10 million toward Democratic candidates for attorney general in 2025 and 2026, including in Virginia.[2]
According to the New York Times' Reid J. Epstein, Everytown for Gun Safety's president John Feinblatt said "his group’s push to support attorneys general, which will be called the Everytown Rule of Law Fund, would focus on defending states from actions by the Trump administration more than on serving as an offensive playbook for enacting gun control measures."[2]
Democratic Attorneys General Association
The Democratic Attorneys General Association announced plans to spend $1 million on 2025's Virginia Attorney General election in support of Jay Jones (D).[3] DAGA President Sean Rankin (D) said in a statement, "As thousands of Virginians are suffering at the hands of the Trump administration, Virginia needs an attorney general like Jones who will hold Trump accountable for his unlawful actions. Jones is running a campaign to defend democracy and fight for Virginia families, and we are confident he will deliver for the Commonwealth as the next attorney general."[3]
Republican Attorneys General Association
The Republican Attorneys General Association announced plans to spend $2 million on 2025's Virginia Attorney General election in support of incumbent Jason Miyares (R).[4] RAGA chairman Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) said, "Jason has been a champion for public safety and made a difference in holding violent criminals accountable. Jason Miyares will maintain law and order in the Commonwealth, and RAGA looks forward to defending him in the general election."[4]About the 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."[5][6]
According to compensation figures for 2023 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for an attorney general was $222,639 in Massachusetts, while the lowest was $82,220 in Oregon. To view the compensation of a particular attorney general, hover your mouse over the state.
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
A total of 17 states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.
Analysis
- See also: State executive official elections, 2025
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2025 state executive elections.
- Ballotpedia's Top 10 Elections to Watch, 2025
- Annual Competitiveness Report
- State executive official elections overview
- Primary election competitiveness in state government, 2025
- Gubernatorial elections
- Secretary of State elections
- Attorney General elections
- Historical and potential changes in trifectas
- State government trifectas
- Endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates, 2025
- Impact of term limits on state executive elections
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
Election coverage by office
Congressional special elections
Governors
Attorney general
Other state executives
State legislatures
State ballot measures
Local ballot measures
State judges
Local judges
Municipal government
School boards
Recalls
See also
- Past attorney general elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
- Past state executive elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
- Past election analysis: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Anne Lopez is officially nonpartisan. She was appointed by Gov. Joshua Green (D) to replace Holly Shikada (D).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New York Times, "Bloomberg Pumps Cash Into the Long-Term Legal Fight Against Trump," April 8, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Democratic Attorneys General Association, "DAGA Announces Initial $1 Million Investment in Virginia AG Race," June 26, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Washington Examiner, "Republican group dumps $2 million into Virginia attorney general race," July 11, 2025
- ↑ The National Association of Attorneys General, "Home," accessed March 26, 2013
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of States 2012," accessed October 17, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2017 - Attorneys General: Prosecutorial and Advisory Duties," accessed December 3, 2017
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