Attorney General State Executive Office

Elections: 1857-present. Elections for Attorney General were held for two-year terms in odd-numbered years beginning in 1857. A constitutional amendment was passed in 1883 requiring state elections to be held in even-numbered years beginning in 1886 with the winner for Attorney General in 1883 serving a three-year term. From 1886 through 1960, the term for Attorney General remained two years - increasing to four years in 1962. Primaries for Attorney General were first held in September 1912. There have never been term limits for this office.

Most recent elections

Date Office Stage Winners Details
11/08/2022 Attorney General General Keith M. Ellison (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) won with 1,254,371 votes (50.37%) and a winning margin of +0.84
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent
Keith M. Ellison Incumbent Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 1,254,371 50.37
Jim Schultz Man Republican 1,233,556 49.53
Scattering Write-In 2,362 0.09
Laurice Anderson Woman Write-In 12 0.00

Attorney General Ellison was reelected to a second term. The 0.84-point margin was the second closest general election for the office in Minnesota history, behind only DFL Secretary of State Miles Lord's 0.42-point defeat of Republican Keith Kennedy in 1956.

Schultz was an attorney from Plymouth.

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08/09/2022 Attorney General Primary Jim Schultz (Republican) won with 163,944 votes (52.51%) and a winning margin of +17.75
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent
Jim Schultz Man Republican 163,944 52.51
Doug Wardlow Man Republican 108,537 34.76
Sharon L. Anderson Woman Republican 39,723 12.72

Schultz was an attorney from Plymouth.

Wardlow was an attorney from Eagan, former state Representative (HD 38B, 2011-2013), and GOP Attorney General nominee in 2018.

Anderson was a resident of St. Paul. This was her 11th failed attempt to become the state attorney general, also losing the Independent-Republican primaries of 1982, 1986, and 1990, the 1994 general election, and the 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 Republican primaries.

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08/09/2022 Attorney General Primary Keith M. Ellison (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) won with 378,367 votes (89.35%) and a winning margin of +78.70
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent
Keith M. Ellison Incumbent Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 378,367 89.35
Bill Dahn Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 45,110 10.65

Attorney General Ellison was renominated for a second term.

Dahn was a perennial candidate from Landfall, GOP gubernatorial candidate in 1998, Independence gubernatorial candidate in 2002, Independence U.S. Senate candidate in 2008, Independence Attorney General nominee in 2010, and DFL gubernatorial candidate in 2014.

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11/06/2018 Attorney General General Keith M. Ellison (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) won with 1,249,407 votes (48.96%) and a winning margin of +3.88
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent
Keith M. Ellison Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 1,249,407 48.96
Doug Wardlow Man Republican 1,150,459 45.08
Noah Johnson Man Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis 145,748 5.71
Scattering Write-In 5,375 0.21
Tom Foley Man Write-In 771 0.03
Bennett Martin Sukalski Man Write-In 12 0.00

This was the most competitive election for the office since 1970 when DFLer Warren Spannaus won an open seat race against Robert Forsythe by 2.72 points.

Ellison was a six-term U.S. Representative (CD 05, 2007-2019) and Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017-2018).

Wardlow was an attorney from Eagan and former state Representative (HD 38B, 2011-2013).

Johnson was a Minneapolis attorney.

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08/14/2018 Attorney General Primary Keith M. Ellison (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) won with 281,142 votes (49.81%) and a winning margin of +30.67
Candidate Gender Party Votes Percent
Keith M. Ellison Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 281,142 49.81
Debra Hilstrom Woman Democratic-Farmer-Labor 108,048 19.14
Tom Foley Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 70,786 12.54
Matt Pelikan Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 59,876 10.61
Mike Rothman Man Democratic-Farmer-Labor 44,522 7.89

Ellison was a six-term U.S. Representative (CD 05, 2007-2019) and Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017-2018).

Histrom was a state Representative (HD 47B, 2001-2003; HD 46B, 2003-2013; HD 40B, 2013-2019).

Foley was an attorney from St. Paul, former Ramsey County Attorney (1979-1995), DFL candidate for U.S. Senate in 1994 and Lieutenant Governor in 1998, and Independence Party nominee for the 4th CD in 2000.

Pelikan was an attorney from Northfield and received the DFL endorsement.

Rothman was a former state Commerce Commissioner (2011-2017).

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