Attorney General of Florida

Florida Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$132,841
2024 FY Budget:	$390,698,422
Term limits:	Two consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 4
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of Florida Ashley B. Moody Republican Party Assumed office: January 8, 2019
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other Florida Executive Offices
Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Secretary of State•Attorney General•Chief Financial Officer•Commissioner of Education•Agriculture Commissioner•Insurance Commissioner•Environmental Protection Secretary•Economic Opportunity Secretary•Public Service Commission

The Attorney General of Florida is an elected state officer who serves as the attorney for the State of Florida. The attorney general is responsible for the enforcement of state consumer protection and antitrust laws as well as civil prosecution of criminal racketeering. In the area of criminal law, the attorney general represents the state when those convicted appeal their convictions, including capital murder cases.

The attorney general issues formal legal opinions at the request of various public officials on questions relating to the application of state law and defends the constitutionality of statutes enacted by the Florida Legislature. Additionally, the attorney general serves in the governor's cabinet.

Florida has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current attorney general is Ashley B. Moody, a Republican first elected in 2018.

Before becoming attorney general, Moody was a judge for the Florida 13th Circuit Court from 2007 to 2017.

Authority

The office of attorney general is established in the Article IV, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 4

(b) The attorney general shall be the chief state legal officer.

Qualifications

Per Article IV, Section 5 of the state constitution, the attorney general must be a qualified elector at least 30 years old and have resided in Florida for at least seven years prior to election. The attorney general is also required to have been a member of the state bar for five years.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 5

When elected, the governor, lieutenant governor and each cabinet member must be an elector not less than thirty years of age who has resided in the state for the preceding seven years. The attorney general must have been a member of the bar of Florida for the preceding five years.

Elections

Attorneys general are elected to four-year terms in federal midterm election years (e.g. 2014, 2018, 2022, etc.) and assume office on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following their election. Thus, January 4, 2011, and January 6, 2015, were inauguration days.

2022

See also: Florida Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of Florida

Incumbent Ashley B. Moody defeated Aramis Ayala in the general election for Attorney General of Florida on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ashley B. Moody (R)	60.6	4,651,279
		Aramis Ayala (D)	39.4	3,025,943

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,677,222
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Florida

Aramis Ayala defeated Daniel Uhlfelder and Jim Lewis in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Florida on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aramis Ayala	44.9	637,856
		Daniel Uhlfelder	28.2	399,620
		Jim Lewis	26.9	381,575

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,419,051
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ashley B. Moody advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Florida.

2018

See also: Florida Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Florida

Ashley B. Moody defeated Sean Shaw and Jeffrey Siskind in the general election for Attorney General of Florida on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ashley B. Moody (R)	52.1	4,232,532
		Sean Shaw (D)	46.1	3,744,912
		Jeffrey Siskind (No Party Affiliation)	1.8	145,296

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,122,740 (100.00% precincts reporting)
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Florida

Sean Shaw defeated Ryan Torrens in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Shaw	73.8	1,031,640
		Ryan Torrens	26.2	367,053

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,398,693
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Florida

Ashley B. Moody defeated Frank White in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Florida on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ashley B. Moody	56.8	882,028
		Frank White	43.2	670,823

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,552,851
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Florida attorney general election, 2014

Attorney General of Florida, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Pam Bondi Incumbent	55.1%	3,222,524
	Democratic	George Sheldon	42%	2,457,317
	Libertarian	Bill Wohlsifer	2.9%	169,394
Total Votes				5,849,235
Election results via Florida Division of Elections

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2010 for the office of Florida attorney general, click [show] to expand the section.
2010 See also: Florida Attorney General election, 2010 2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election Party Candidate Vote Percentage      Republican Party a Pam Bondi 54.8%      Democratic Party Dan Gelber 41.4%      Independent Jim Lewis 3.8% Total Votes 5,263,392

Term limits

As one of the three members of the Florida Cabinet (alongside the chief financial officer and the commissioner of agriculture), the attorney general is barred by the state constitution from seeking re-election after eight consecutive years in office, meaning that attorneys general may not serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. The section of the constitution imposing term limits on members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate was overturned in a 1995 case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida Constitution, Article VI, Section 4b

No person may appear on the ballot for re-election to any of the following offices: (1) Florida representative, (2) Florida senator, (3) Florida Lieutenant governor, (4) any office of the Florida cabinet, (5) U.S. Representative from Florida, or (6) U.S. Senator from Florida if, by the end of the current term of office, the person will have served (or, but for resignation, would have served) in that office for eight consecutive years

Vacancies

The Governor of Florida fills a vacancy in any, "state, district, or county office," by appointing a replacement to serve out the remainder of the term. If there are more than 28 months left remaining in the term when the vacancy occurs, the replacement appointee serves until the first Tuesday after the first Monday following the next general election.

Duties

The attorney general is responsible for "protecting Florida consumers from various types of fraud," and prosecuting violations of its antitrust laws. Additionally, the office is responsible for representing the state in civil litigation and in criminal appeals. The attorney general's office also investigates large-scale criminal activities like identity theft, drug trafficking and gang activity through its office of statewide prosecution.

Beyond their prosecutorial duties, the attorney general is responsible for issuing formal legal advice to state agencies, advising the legislature on the constitutionality of potential statutes and answering other questions, "relating to the application of state law." The attorney general is also a member of the governor's cabinet and sits on the board of directors of several other state agencies, including the departments of highway safety and motor vehicles, insurance, law enforcement, revenue and veterans affairs.

Divisions

As of January 7, 2021, the Florida Attorney General's Office is divided into the following divisions:

• ADA Coordinator
• Administrative Law
• Administrative Services
• Antitrust
• Cabinet Affairs
• Capital Appeals
• Child Support Enforcement
• Children's Legal Services
• Citizen Services
• Civil Appeals Section
• Civil Rights
• Civil
• Commission on the Status of Women
• Communications
• Corrections Litigation Section
• Criminal Appeals Division
• Criminal Justice Programs
• Economic Crimes
• Eminent Domain
• Employment Litigation
• Ethics Commission Advocate
• Finance
• Florida Elections Commission
• General Counsel
• Human Resources
• Inspector General
• Legislative Affairs
• Lemon Law
• Library
• Medicaid Fraud
• Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Authority
• Opinions
• Purchasing
• Revenue Litigation
• Solicitor General
• State Programs Litigation Section
• Statewide Prosecution
• Tort Litigation
• Victim Services

State budget

See also: Florida state budget and finances

The budget for the Florida Attorney General’s Office in Fiscal Year 2024 was $390,698,422.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of elected executive officials in Florida are determined by state law as mandated in the Florida Constitution. Article II, Section 5 of the state constitution states that compensation of state officers is determined by the Florida State Legislature.

Text of Section 5: Public Officers (a) No person holding any office of emolument under any foreign government, or civil office of emolument under the United States or any other state, shall hold any office of honor or of emolument under the government of this state. No person shall hold at the same time more than one office under the government of the state and the counties and municipalities therein, except that a notary public or military officer may hold another office, and any officer may be a member of a constitution revision commission, taxation and budget reform commission, constitutional convention, or statutory body having only advisory powers. (b) Each state and county officer, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall give bond as required by law, and shall swear or affirm: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida; that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the state; and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of (title of office) on which I am now about to enter. So help me God.”,and thereafter shall devote personal attention to the duties of the office, and continue in office until a successor qualifies. (c) The powers, duties, compensation and method of payment of state and county officers shall be fixed by law.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $132,841, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $132,841, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the attorney general received a salary of $128,972.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Attorney General of Florida has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Attorney General Florida. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Attorney General of Florida - Google News

Contact information

Address:
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050

Telephone Switchboard: 850-414-3300
Citizens Services: 850-414-3990
Florida Relay/TDD: 800-955-8771
Florida Toll Free: 1-866-966-7226

External links

• Florida Attorney General Overview