Attorney General elections, 2023

• Elections by office
  • Gubernatorial elections, 2023
  • Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2023
  • Attorney General elections, 2023
  • Secretary of State elections, 2023
• Elections by state
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi

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There were three attorney general offices on the ballot in 2023. These elections were in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Heading into the election, Republicans held the attorney general office in all three states. Republicans won all three attorney general elections. Only one incumbent, Lynn Fitch (R), ran for re-election; she was re-elected.

Russell Coleman (R) won election as Kentucky attorney general and Fitch won re-election as Mississippi attorney general on November 7, 2023. Liz Murrill (R) won election as Louisiana attorney general on November 18, 2023.

In 2023, there were three triplexes — one Republican and two divided governments — on the ballot. A triplex is when one political party holds the following three statewide offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Louisiana was the only triplex to change partisan control. It changed from a divided government to a Republican triplex after Jeff Landry (R) was elected governor and Republicans retained control of the attorney general and secretary of state offices.

After the November 2023 elections, there were 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and five divided governments where neither party held triplex control. Before the 2023 elections, there were 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and six divided governments.

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.

The attorney general is the only top-level state executive office beside the governor that exists in all 50 states. Seventeen states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.

Offices on the ballot in 2023

In 2023, there were three attorney general offices—all held by Republicans—on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those three positions before and after the election.

Attorney general seats up in 2023
Party		As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
	Democratic Party	0	0
	Republican Party	3	3
Total		3	3

Election results

Kentucky

General election

General election for Attorney General of Kentucky

Russell Coleman defeated Pamela Stevenson in the general election for Attorney General of Kentucky on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Russell Coleman (R)	58.0	752,692
		Pamela Stevenson (D)	42.0	544,748

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,297,440
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Pamela Stevenson advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kentucky.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Russell Coleman advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Kentucky.

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.

General election

General election for Attorney General of Louisiana

Liz Murrill defeated Lindsey Cheek in the general election for Attorney General of Louisiana on November 18, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Liz Murrill (R)	66.4	444,544
		Lindsey Cheek (D)	33.6	225,050

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 669,594
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Attorney General of Louisiana

Liz Murrill and Lindsey Cheek defeated John Stefanski, Perry Walker Terrebonne, and Marty Maley in the primary for Attorney General of Louisiana on October 14, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Liz Murrill (R)	45.2	463,103
✔		Lindsey Cheek (D)	23.4	239,652
		John Stefanski (R)	16.8	172,300
		Perry Walker Terrebonne (D)	7.3	74,479
		Marty Maley (R)	7.2	74,176

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,023,710
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Belton (Independent)

Mississippi

General election

General election for Attorney General of Mississippi

Incumbent Lynn Fitch defeated Greta Martin in the general election for Attorney General of Mississippi on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch (R)	58.1	470,870
		Greta Martin (D)	41.9	339,948

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 810,818
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Mississippi

Greta Martin advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 8, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greta Martin	100.0	184,080

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 184,080
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Mississippi

Incumbent Lynn Fitch advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 8, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch	100.0	350,670

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 350,670
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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List of elections

State	Triplex status (before)	Incumbent	Incumbent party	Incumbent ran?
Kentucky	Divided triplex status	Daniel Cameron	Republican	No
Louisiana	Divided triplex status	Jeff Landry	Republican	No
Mississippi	Republican triplex	Lynn Fitch	Republican	Yes

Partisan balance

The following table displays the number of attorney general offices held by each party before and after the 2023 elections.

U.S. attorneys general partisan breakdown
Party		As of the 2023 elections	After the 2023 elections
	Democratic Party	23	23
	Republican Party	27	27
Total		50	50

As a result of the 2022 elections, the partisan composition of state attorneys general was 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats. 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. Before the 2022 election, the nationwide partisan balance of attorneys general was 22 Democrats and 28 Republicans.

Triplexes

See also: State government triplexes

State government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. In states where the attorney general or secretary of state are appointed by the governor, Ballotpedia considers the office to be held by the governor's party for the purposes of defining triplexes until the governor appoints a specific person to those offices. If a state does not have a secretary of state, Ballotpedia considers that state a triplex if one party controls both triplex offices.

As of April 30, 2024, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.

The table below shows the triplex statuses in the three states that held state executive elections in 2023. Bolded offices were up for election.

Triplex statuses and state executive elections, 2023
State	Triplex	Gov.	Attorney General	Secretary of State
Kentucky	Divided	D	R	R
Louisiana	Divided	D	R	R
Mississippi	Republican	R	R	R

Attorney general offices that changed party control in 2022

Three attorneys general changed partisan control as a result of the 2022 elections.

• From Republican to Democratic
  • In Arizona, where Kris Mayes (D) defeated Abraham Hamadeh (R) in the open-seat race to succeed Mark Brnovich (R)
  • In Vermont, where Charity Clark (D) defeated Michael Tagliavia (R) to succeed Susanne Young (R). Gov. Phil Scott (R) had appointed Young to replace former Attorney General T.J. Donovan (D) in 2022.
• From Democratic to Republican
  • In Iowa, Brenna Bird (R) defeated incumbent Tom Miller (D). Miller was the only incumbent defeated in 2022.

Voters decided who would control 34 of 50 state attorney general offices in 2022. Thirty offices were up for election, and four offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot.

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 grew its majority control of elected attorney general offices, although the difference between the two parties was three or fewer from 2019 to 2023.

Important dates and deadlines

The table below lists important dates throughout the 2023 election cycle for states that held statewide elections in 2023, including filing deadlines and primary dates.

Primary dates and filing deadlines, 2023
State	Primary date	Primary runoff date	Filing deadline for primary candidates	Source
Kentucky	5/16/2023	N/A	1/6/2023	Source
Louisiana	10/14/2023	N/A	8/10/2023	Source
Mississippi	8/8/2023	8/29/2023	2/1/2023	Source
New Jersey	6/6/2023	N/A	3/27/2023	Source
Pennsylvania	5/16/2023	N/A	3/7/2023	Source
Virginia	6/20/2023	N/A	4/6/2023	Source
Washington	8/1/2023	N/A	5/19/2023	Source
Wisconsin	2/21/2023	N/A	1/3/2023	Source

About the office

Although Ballotpedia covers Washington, D.C., and the five U.S. territories and their officeholders, D.C. and territory officeholders are not included in the following figures.

Selection process

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.

Compensation

According to compensation figures for 2017 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for an attorney general is $182,688 in Tennessee, while the lowest is $80,000 in Colorado. 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.

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.

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.

Term limits

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

See also

• State executive official elections, 2023
• Attorney General elections, 2022
• State executive official elections, 2022