The big attorneys general elections in 2024
Races for attorney general taking place next year are already kicking off.
It’s a role that catapults politicians into higher offices, including governors’ mansions and Congress. attorney general campaigns, like many down-ballot efforts, are often in the shadow of other races — especially during a presidential year. But a number of open seat contests across the country next year are setting the stage for competitive races in battleground states.
Here’s where to keep an eye on heading into 2024:
Republican Rep. Dan Bishop is running for North Carolina’s open-seat race for attorney general. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
— Pennsylvania: A crowded field of Democrats are lining up to be the Keystone State’s top prosecutor. It’s a key swing state, but Democrats, who have won every election for the seat over the past decade, are bullish on their chances of holding it. During his 2020 reelection bid for attorney general, Josh Shapiro performed better in the state than President Joe Biden.
Current attorney General Michelle Henry, who was appointed to the post after Shapiro won the gubernatorial election last year, is not running for a full term.
One Republican, York County District attorney Dave Sunday, is in the race. The Democratic field is steadily growing, as state Rep. Jared Solomon became the fourth to launch a bid last week. He joins former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan and former Defender Association of Philadelphia head Keir Bradford-Grey.
— North Carolina: Democrats currently hold the attorney general seat in North Carolina. But with incumbent Josh Stein leaving the office to run for governor — another competitive open-seat race — there will be a competitive contest in the battleground state.
Democrats have historically succeeded in attorneys general races in the state, although by increasingly slim margins. Stein won reelection in 2020 by less than one point — but he still performed better than Biden, who lost the Tar Heel State.
Republicans already have a big name in the running: Rep. Dan Bishop. A member of the Freedom Caucus, the congressman could bring outsized attention and money to the oft-overlooked race. Former Republican state Rep. Tom Murry is also running for the nomination.
Democrats have yet to put forth a notable candidate — veteran Tim Dunn and lawyer Charles Ingram announced bids — but political observers believe that Rep. Jeff Jackson could launch a bid, should a redistricting process that’s expected to favor the GOP carve up his district.
— Others to watch: Pennsylvania and North Carolina aren’t the only two open-seat attorneys general races next year. Washington and West Virginia will also be electing new faces, as Washington Democrat Bob Ferguson and West Virginia Republican Patrick Morrisey are both running for governor — a common step among attorneys general. Two of the three attorneys general races taking place later this year are also open-seat contests, as Republicans Jeff Landry of Louisiana and Daniel Cameron of Kentucky run for governor.
Missouri, a safe Republican seat, may not be top of mind. But keep an eye on how the GOP primary plays out there next year, as top Republicans are supporting Will Scharf, a challenger to incumbent attorney General Andrew Bailey.
Happy Monday. Reach me at [email protected] and @madfernandez616.
Days until the Louisiana primary: 26
Days until the 2023 election: 50
Days until the Republican National Convention: 301
Days until the Democratic National Convention: 336
Days until the 2024 election: 414
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ACQUITTAL IN TEXAS — Republican Texas attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted at his impeachment trial. Only two Republicans joined Democrats in voting to convict the attorney general, who won reelection last year, on charges stemming from allegations of corruption and bribery. What’s next for Paxton, who is still under federal investigation? The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek notes that Paxton has been floated as a Senate candidate in 2026 or a contender for U.S. attorney general if former President Donald Trump wins another term to the White House. But “in the nearer term, Paxton could seek revenge against House Republicans who impeached him by campaigning against them in the March 2024 primaries.”
FIRST IN SCORE — LINE OF ATTACK — The DCCC is going after Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) for recent comments she made about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) calling her “kind,” and for voting in line with Greene. The digital ad spotlights a line of messaging that’s sure to become common in districts like VA-02, which are currently held by Republicans but were won by Biden in 2020. Democrats will be looking to those 18 districts next year as they attempt to reclaim control of the House, and will likely leverage connections to Greene — one of the Republican Party’s most outspoken and controversial members — to cast their opponents as “MAGA” Republicans. Andrei Cherny, a Democrat running in AZ-01 — another crossover district — against Republican Rep. David Schweikert has been hammering the incumbent’s connections to Greene as well.
TAKING THE STAGE — Republican Louisiana attorney General Jeff Landry, who’s seen as the frontrunner ahead of the October gubernatorial primary, attended his first debate on Friday. He “came under sharp criticism” from his opponents during potentially the only time to take him head-on, NOLA.com’s Tyler Bridges and James Finn write. “Landry had been ducking campaign forums where he would have appeared together with the other six candidates, including the first televised debate last week, which featured five candidates. He has not committed to the final two televised debates on Sept. 26 and Sept. 28.”
2024 WATCH — Republican Tim Ballard said he’s “very seriously considering” running for Utah’s soon-to-be open Senate seat. Ballard is the former head of Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-human trafficking organization that was the inspiration for the movie “Sound of Freedom.” Activist Carolyn Phippen is also “exploring” a run, per Bloomberg’s Zach C. Cohen.
FIRST IN SCORE — ENDORSEMENT CORNER — Democrats Serve, which supports Democratic candidates with public service backgrounds, announced a slate of congressional endorsements. Those include Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks running for Senate in Maryland; Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester running for Senate in Delaware; former Rep. Gil Cisneros, who filed to run for CA-31, which retiring Rep. Grace Napolitano is vacating next year; Adam Gray, who’s making another run for CA-13 after losing in the midterms last year; Jessica Morse in CA-03; former State Department official Jirair Ratevosian in CA-30; and Rudy Salas, who is looking for a rematch in CA-22.
EYES ON IOWA — Trump’s team is beefing up its efforts in Iowa, “hoping to deliver the type of knock-out punch that would effectively end the [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’] bid and send a message to the other campaigns to get out of the way,” POLITICO’s Meridith McGraw and Sally Goldenberg write. “Trump’s flurry of activity in the state comes as his rivals have been crisscrossing Iowa in hopes that they can somehow, finally, change the trajectory of the race, which seems less and less competitive each day.”
LOUISIANA LOOK — Landry continues his commanding fundraising lead among his rivals in the primary. His campaign raised $1.8 million from July through early September, according to the most recent campaign finance filings. He’s entering the final stretch of the primary with $6.7 million on hand.
Independent Hunter Lundy brought in the most after Landry — $784,000 — although much of that came from personal contributions. He had $1.2 million on hand. Republican Stephen Waguespack raised over $620,000 in that period and had $1.3 million in the bank. Shawn Wilson, the only Democrat in the race, raised $588,000 and had around $880,000 in his coffers.
DOWN-BALLOT DOLLARS — Democrats running in Virginia’s state legislative elections outraised Republicans by close to $5 million in July and August. All 140 state House and Senate seats are on the ballot this November. Democrats hold a slim majority in the state Senate, and the GOP has narrow control of the state House. But Republicans continue to be boosted by GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose Spirit of Virginia PAC raised $3.8 million in that period and had $6.3 million on hand. Early voting starts Friday.
ABORTION ON THE BALLOT — “Backers and opponents spent more than $37 million — the bulk of which came from out-of-state groups — in the campaign surrounding State Issue 1, the failed proposal to make it harder to change the Ohio constitution,” Cleveland.com’s Andrew J. Tobias writes. The new filings cover July 20 through Sept. 8.
Although the election for Issue 1 took place in August, some of the groups involved are still active ahead of November’s election on a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. Protect Women Ohio, which campaigned for Issue 1 and is against November’s initiative, had around $951,000 on hand. Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights was against Issue 1 and supports November’s initiative. That group had $217,000 in the bank. OPPR is part of the larger abortion rights coalition that is campaigning for the November initiative, Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, which did not submit a post-special election filing. We’ll get a better sense of who has the cash advantage when pre-general election filings are due on Oct. 26.
PRESIDENTIAL — MAGA Inc., the super PAC boosting Trump’s presidential bid, is back up on air in Iowa hitting Biden over the border.
LA GOV — Louisiana Leadership Fund, a newly formed dark money group airing ads against Landry, is going after the attorney general based on a report from 2020 that found his firm worked with someone who broke immigration law to import Mexican workers.
… RGA Right Direction PAC is up with another ad against Wilson, the sole Democrat in the race, accusing him of siding with a Democratic megadonor when approving a contract to build a bridge across the Mississippi River during his time as transportation secretary.
KY GOV — Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is still getting hit over gender-affirming care for minors. Kentucky Values, a group affiliated with the RGA, accuses Beshear of lying for saying that he has “never supported gender reassignment surgery for kids.” Beshear vetoed a bill earlier this year that bans access to gender-affirming care for minors in the state, which Republicans later overrode.
— Brian Brokaw and Dan Newman, political advisers to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have cut ties with She Speaks for Me, the super PAC boosting Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) Senate bid, POLITICO’s Chris Cadelago reports. That comes after Lee blasted Newsom for saying last week that he was still committed to choosing a Black woman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat, should she leave early — although not Lee, because he doesn’t want to “tip the balance” of the primary. Lee took issue with the sentiment that a Black woman should only be in the role temporarily.
CODA: QUOTE OF THE DAY — “Whether it was the excitement of seeing a much-anticipated production or the natural anxiety of being in a new environment, I genuinely did not recall vaping that evening when I discussed the night’s events with my campaign team while confirming my enthusiasm for the musical.” — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) apologizing after being removed from a “Beetlejuice” performance.
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