The 2018 United States attorney general elections were held on November 6, 2018, in 30 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia. The previous attorney general elections for this group of states took place in 2014, except in Vermont where attorneys general serve only two-year terms and elected their current attorney general in 2016.
The elections took place concurrently with elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, and numerous state and local elections including governorships.
Democrats gained four elected attorney general offices, while Republicans gained zero offices. This caused Democratic attorneys general to constitute a majority of elected attorneys general in U.S. states, the last time this has happened as of 2025.
Election predictions Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state. The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.
Most election predictors used:
"tossup": no advantage "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean" "lean": slight advantage "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage "safe": near-certain chance of victory
+StateIncumbentGoverning Result Alabama Steve Marshall Steve Marshall ArizonaMark Brnovich Mark Brnovich Arkansas Leslie Rutledge Leslie Rutledge CaliforniaXavier Becerra Xavier Becerra Colorado Cynthia Coffman Phil Weiser Connecticut George Jepsen William Tong DelawareMatthew Denn Kathy Jennings Florida Pam Bondi Ashley Moody GeorgiaChris Carr Chris Carr Idaho Lawrence Wasden Lawrence Wasden Illinois Lisa Madigan Kwame Raoul IowaTom Miller Tom Miller KansasDerek Schmidt Derek Schmidt Maryland Brian Frosh Brian Frosh Massachusetts Maura Healey Maura Healey MichiganBill Schuette Dana Nessel MinnesotaLori Swanson Keith Ellison Nebraska Doug Peterson Doug Peterson Nevada Adam Laxalt Aaron Ford New Mexico Hector Balderas Hector Balderas New York Barbara Underwood Letitia James North Dakota Wayne Stenehjem Wayne Stenehjem Ohio Mike DeWine Dave Yost Oklahoma Michael J. Hunter Michael J. Hunter Rhode Island Peter Kilmartin Peter Neronha South Carolina Alan Wilson Alan Wilson South Dakota Marty Jackley Jason Ravnsborg Texas Ken Paxton Ken Paxton Vermont T.J. Donovan T.J. Donovan Wisconsin Brad Schimel Josh Kaul
Race summary States State AttorneyGeneral Party Firstelected Status Candidates Alabama Steve Marshall Republican 2017 Incumbent re-elected. Arizona Mark Brnovich Republican 2014 Incumbent re-elected. Arkansas Leslie Rutledge Republican 2014 Incumbent re-elected. California Xavier Becerra Democratic 2017 Interim appointee elected. Colorado Cynthia Coffman Republican 2014 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic gain. Connecticut George Jepsen Democratic 2010 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic hold. Delaware Matthew Denn Democratic 2014 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic hold. Florida Pam Bondi Republican 2010 Incumbent term-limited.New attorney general elected.Republican hold. Georgia Chris Carr Republican 2016 Incumbent elected to the full term. Idaho Lawrence Wasden Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Illinois Lisa Madigan Democratic 2002 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic hold. Iowa Tom Miller Democratic 19781990 1994 Incumbent re-elected. Kansas Derek Schmidt Republican 2010 Incumbent re-elected. Maryland Brian Frosh Democratic 2014 Incumbent re-elected. Massachusetts Maura Healey Democratic 2014 Incumbent re-elected. Michigan Bill Schuette Republican 2010 Incumbent term-limited.New attorney general elected.Democratic gain. Minnesota Lori Swanson DFL 2006 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic hold. Nebraska Doug Peterson Republican 2014 Incumbent re-elected. Nevada Adam Laxalt Republican 2014 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic gain. New Mexico Hector Balderas Democratic 2014 Incumbent re-elected. New York Barbara Underwood Democratic 2018 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic hold. North Dakota Wayne Stenehjem Republican 2000 Incumbent re-elected. Ohio Mike DeWine Republican 2010 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Republican hold. Oklahoma Michael J. Hunter Republican 2016 Incumbent elected to the full term. Rhode Island Peter Kilmartin Democratic 2010 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Democratic hold. South Carolina Alan Wilson Republican 2010 Incumbent re-elected. South Dakota Marty Jackley Republican 2009 Incumbent retired.New attorney general elected.Republican hold. Texas Ken Paxton Republican 2014 Incumbent re-elected. Vermont T.J. Donovan Democratic 2016 Incumbent re-elected. Wisconsin Brad Schimel Republican 2014 Incumbent lost re-election.New attorney general elected.Democratic gain.
Territories and federal district State AttorneyGeneral Party Firstelected Status Candidates District of Columbia Karl Racine Democratic 2014 Incumbent re-elected. Guam Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson Republican 2014 Incumbent retired. Independent gain. Northern Mariana Islands Edward Manibusan Nonpartisan 2014 Incumbent re-elected.
Closest races States where the margin of victory was under 1%: Nevada, 0.4% (4,533 votes) Wisconsin, 0.6% (17,190 votes)
States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5%: Georgia, 2.6% (100,756 votes) Michigan, 2.7% (115,000 votes) Arizona, 3.4% (80,672 votes) Texas, 3.6% (295,109 votes) Minnesota, 3.9% (98,948 votes) Ohio, 4.4% (187,847 votes)
States where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10%: Florida, 6.0% (487,620 votes) Connecticut, 6.0% (81,980 votes) Colorado, 6.5% (160,707 votes)
Blue denotes offices won by Democrats; red denotes those won by Republicans.
Alabama
The 2018 Alabama Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Alabama.
Former Alabama Attorney General Troy King unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination. Incumbent Republican attorney general Steve Marshall, who was appointed by Governor Bentley in February 2017 after appointing Attorney General Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate, ran for a first full term. Former chief deputy attorney general Alice Martin sought the Republican nomination. Attorney Joseph Siegelman, son of former governor Don Siegelman, is the nominee of the Democratic Party. Chris Christie ran for attorney general on the Democratic ballot. Christie has been a trial lawyer at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings for 30 years.
Republican primary
Runoff
Democratic primary
General election
Arizona
The 2018 Arizona Attorney general election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Arizona.
Incumbent Mark Brnovich was re-elected to a second term.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Arkansas
The 2018 Arkansas Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Arkansas.
Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge was elected to a second term.
General election
California
The 2018 California Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of California.
2014 election winner Kamala Harris was elected to the United States Senate during the 2016 Senate elections; incumbent Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra won election to a full term.
Primary election
General election
Colorado
The 2018 Colorado Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Colorado.
Incumbent Republican attorney general Cynthia Coffman ran for governor, but was eliminated at the state Republican party convention in April.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Connecticut
The 2018 Connecticut Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Connecticut.
Incumbent Attorney General George Jepsen did not seek re-election. Democratic nominee William Tong defeated Republican nominee Susan Hatfield.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Delaware
The 2018 Delaware Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018. The Delaware primary election for federal and state candidates took place on September 6, 2018. Incumbent Attorney General Matthew Denn announced on August 28, 2017, that he would not seek re-election.
Democratic primary
General election
Florida
The 2018 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Florida. Incumbent Republican attorney general Pam Bondi was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
Republican candidate Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Sean Shaw, with the election being called after 93% of the precincts reporting. Moody won by about 6 percentage points, which was the widest margin of any Florida statewide race in 2018.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Georgia
The 2018 Georgia Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Georgia.
Incumbent Republican attorney general Sam Olens resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University effective November 1, 2016, with Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Christopher M. "Chris" Carr being appointed to serve the remainder of the term. Carr will be eligible to run for election to a full term in 2018.
Potential Republican candidates include State Senator Josh McKoon and former state representative B.J. Pak.
Potential Democratic candidates included State Representative Stacey Evans and former Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission Chair Lester Tate. 2010 nominee and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges was considered a potential candidate, but has decided to run for a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals instead. Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson had ruled out running for attorney general. As of July 2018, Charlie Bailey, former Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's office, was running.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Idaho
The 2018 Idaho Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Idaho.
Incumbent Republican attorney general Lawrence Wasden announced on September 7, 2017, that he would run for a fifth term.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Illinois
The 2018 Illinois Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Illinois.
Incumbent Democratic attorney general Lisa Madigan, who had served since 2003, did not seek a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul won the election with 55 percent of the vote, while Republican Erika Harold took 43 percent of the vote.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Iowa The 2018 Iowa Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Iowa.
Incumbent Democratic attorney general Tom Miller won re-election with 76.5% of the vote. The Republican Party did not nominate anyone, but the Libertarian Party nominated Marco Battaglia.
Democratic primary
General election
Kansas
The 2018 Kansas Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Kansas.
Incumbent Attorney General Derek Schmidt won re-election with 59 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Sarah Swain.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
General election
Maryland
The Maryland Attorney General election of 2018 was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Maryland.