Republican attorney general candidates held up better than other GOP candidates in several key midterm races, according to an analysis by the Republican Attorneys General Association. The group said the results reinforced the importance of Republican attorneys general as a “front line” against Democratic policies, even after an election night it described as a “category-five political hurricane.”
“America needs Republican Attorneys General now more than ever,” RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper wrote in a memo to colleagues. He argued that, with Democrats in control of Congress, Republican attorneys general could serve as a last line of defense against proposals including court expansion, the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, gun restrictions and abolishing ICE.
Piper, who has worked in Virginia and for South Carolina Gov.-elect Alan Wilson, said the results showed GOP attorney general candidates performing somewhat better than other Republicans in a difficult election environment.
“Last night was the worst election night for the Republican Party in 50 years,” Piper wrote. Voters favored Democratic candidates by an average of 13.8 percentage points, he said, compared with 7.9 points in 2006 and 8.4 points in 2018.
“Today, we are dealing with the aftermath of a category-five political hurricane. It will take years to fully rebuild,” the memo said.
With Democrats making gains across the map, Republicans have been looking for bright spots, including in Florida. The attorney general results offered some encouragement: GOP candidates for the office ran an average of 4.62 points ahead of Republican Senate candidates in comparable states, and 2.12 points ahead of Republican gubernatorial candidates, according to figures in the memo.
Republican attorney general candidates had stronger margins than GOP Senate candidates in nine of 10 comparable states. They also outperformed Republican gubernatorial candidates in nine of 13 states, Piper wrote.
But he cautioned that “there are no moral victories.” Republicans lost five attorney general seats to Democrats. The memo also pointed to wider anticipated losses for the party in Congress, including a projected net loss of 51 House seats and the possibility of losing nine Senate seats.
Iowa, Ohio and Colorado were among the states where GOP attorney general candidates performed especially well compared with their party’s gubernatorial candidates. Their margins were higher by 9.3, 7.3 and 10.3 points, respectively. In Colorado, the Republican attorney general candidate also ran 7.7 points ahead of the GOP Senate candidate.
In Florida, Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier won by 1.8 points, slightly ahead of Gov.-elect Byron Donalds, who won by 1.3 points. Florida is now the country’s largest red state following Texas’ shift to Democrats.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers won reelection by 12.6 points. Republican Senate candidate Pete Ricketts won by 6.7 points, while Republican Gov. Jim Pillen secured an 8.4-point victory.
RAGA spent more than $40 million during the midterms, nearly double its spending in 2022, and was on track to raise more than $50 million, Piper said.
“No amount of outperformance can make up for the historical Republican losses,” the memo concluded. RAGA plans to begin recruiting candidates for the 2027 and 2028 elections, Piper wrote, and expects them to keep outperforming even in difficult political conditions.
