To stand for Attorney General, a person must be at least thirty years old, be a citizen of the United States, and have the same qualifications required of a Virginia Circuit Court judge.
The Attorney General heads the Office of the Attorney General, also known as the Department of Law. The Attorney General and their Office have several duties and powers granted by state law. These include: Providing legal advice and representation in court for the Governor and the state government in general.
Because it is one of only three statewide elected offices in the state government, the post of Attorney General is seen as a stepping-stone to higher office, especially Governor of Virginia.
Elected at the Wheeling Convention and then in a May 1862 election for the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling. Attorney general for the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling, then Alexandria, after West Virginia separated, and in post-war Reconstruction Virginia.
The Virginia Republican Party, led by backers of Cuccinelli , changed the nomination procedure from a statewide primary to a nomination by convention. Cuccinelli won the nomination in 2013. When one party captures neither office, it is left without a frontrunner for the next gubernatorial election.
For example, in 2001, there was a bitter intraparty battle in the Republican party between Attorney General Mark Earley, who was strongly backed by social conservatives, and Lieutenant Governor John H. Hager, who was backed by other factions of the party.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Governor of Virginia, the Governor is replaced by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. However, if there is also a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor, then the Attorney General becomes Governor.
Five of 133 Virginia counties—3.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
The Attorney General of Virginia is elected every four years at the same time the governor is elected. These elections take place one year after the presidential elections. In Virginia, 2021, 2025, 2029, and 2033 are all election years for the attorney general.
In the 2016 presidential election, Virginia was a battleground state. Hillary Clinton (D) won Virginia with 49.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic 56.67 percent of the time and Republican 43.33 percent of the time.
A Virginia attorney general has not served three consecutive terms since 1945 when Abram Penn Staples (D) was elected for the third time. The Attorney General of Virginia is a publicly elected executive official in the Virginia state government.
The attorney general provides legal advice and representation for all state agencies. The attorney general also provides written legal advice in the form of official opinions to members of the Virginia General Assembly and other government officials. This page focuses on Virginia's general election for attorney general.
To view the full electoral history for Attorney General of Virginia, click to expand the full section. Incumbent Mark Herring (D) defeated John Adams (R) in the election for Attorney General of Virginia. On November 5, 2013, Mark Herring won election to the office of Attorney General of Virginia.
The last Republican attorney general in Virginia was Ken Cuccinelli, who served from 2010 to 2014. Cuccinelli’s election in 2009, along with that year’s election of former Governor Bob McDonnell (R), was the last time a Republican candidate won statewide office in Virginia.
SPRINGFIELD, MO – The Republican Attorney General for the State of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the School District in Springfield after allegations surfaced that they hid staff training that promotes controversial critical race theory.
CHICAGO, IL – As divisive Critical Race Theory (CRT) continues to be pushed throughout the United States, especially in educational settings, one conservative black American patriot has written and published an intelligent, positive, and affirming answer to CRT rhetoric.