BY THE NUMBERS: Democratic AGs Tip The Scales

December 15, 2018

2018 is the year of the Democratic Attorney General. Not only will Democratic AGs continue to serve as a key check on the Trump administration, fighting to protect their states every day, but the room of Democratic AGs is growing. The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) played a major role in flipping four seats blue in the most expensive state AG elections in history. These pick-ups shift the balance of state AG seats nationwide to a Democratic majority.Here is a look at the Midterms 2018 and the Democratic AG wins by the numbers:

  • Democrats now hold a majority of AG seats nationwide: 27 Democratic AGs!
  • Democratic AGs now represent a majority of the U.S. population (58%) and represent states responsible for a majority of U.S. GDP (63.1%).
  • FLIPS (4): Phil Weiser in Colorado, Dana Nessel in MI, Aaron Ford in NV, and Josh Kaul in Wisconsin.
  • INCUMBENT WINS (7): California AG Xavier Becerra, Iowa AG Tom Miller, Maryland AG Brian Frosh, Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, New Mexico AG Hector Balderas, Vermont AG TJ Donovan, and District of Columbia AG Karl Racine
  • KEPT DEMOCRATIC SEATS (6): William Tong in CT, Kathy Jennings in DE, Kwame Raoul in IL, Keith Ellison in MN, Tish James in NY, and Peter Neronha in RI
  • GOVERNOR’S MANSION (1): Maine AG Janet Mills won her run for Governor in Maine. She will be the first woman to serve as Governor in Maine.
  • HISTORIC WINS (5):
    • Tish James will be the first African American elected statewide in New York and only the second woman to hold the office.
    • Keith Ellison will become the first Muslim elected statewide and the first black AG in Minnesota.
    • Aaron Ford will be the first African American AG in Nevada.
    • William Tongwill be the first Asian-American Attorney General in Connecticut, beating Trump extremist Sue Hatfield.
    • Dana Nessel will become the first openly LGBT candidate to hold statewide elected office in Michigan.
  • DIVERSITY MATTERS: Our 27 Democratic AGs are more diverse than in the past.
    • 5 African American AGs: DC, IL, MN, NV, NY
    • 6 Women AGs: DE, HI, MI, MA, NY, OR
    • 2 Asian American AGs: CT, NJ
    • 2 Latino AGs: CA, NM
    • 2 LGBT AGs: MA, MI
    • 1 Muslim AG: MN
    • 1 Sikh AG: NJ
  • MONEY $$$- Reports indicate this will be the most expensive AG election cycle in history topping out somewhere near $100 million.
    • DAGA continues to break fundraising records, and will eclipse $24 million across all vehicles for the 2017-18 by cycle year’s end. This year, DAGA doubled previous records.
    • The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) spent close to $40 million this cycle in attempts to defend 18 seats, four of which eventually fell to Democrats in Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
    • Early information from media buys and disclosure reports show the GOP committee spent almost half (approximately $18 million) of its total spend on the four loses.
    • Additionally, Wisconsin Republican incumbent Brad Schimel is the first incumbent to lose in the post-incumbency agreement landscape.
  • VOTER ENGAGEMENT: We reached more than 12 MILLION voters in more than a dozen states as part of our “digital door knock” texting program.
    • As part of the DAGA’s first-of-its-kind volunteer-to-voter education texting program, reached more than 12 million voters this cycle to inform them about the importance of AG Elections and to answer questions about candidates.
    • As the only voter outreach program texting specifically on AG races, DAGA’s digital door knock program reached voters in key states including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia

For a full breakdown, check out the press release linked here.

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