Josh Kaul
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Josh Kaul (Democratic Party) is the Attorney General of Wisconsin. He assumed office on January 7, 2019. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Kaul (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for Attorney General of Wisconsin. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Kaul was first elected in 2018, defeating incumbent Brad Schimel (R) 49.4% to 48.8%.
Kaul's election in 2018 switched the office from Republican to Democratic for the first time since January 2007, when Kaul's mother, Peggy Lautenschlager, left the office after serving a four-year term.[1][2]
Biography
Kaul received a bachelor's degree in economics and history from Yale University in 2003 and a law degree from Stanford Law School, where he was president of the law review, in 2006. After law school, he clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Boudin. Kaul worked for Jenner & Block from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2014, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Kaul joined Perkins Coie as a voting rights attorney in 2014.[3][4]
Political career
- 2019–present: Wisconsin Attorney General
Elections
2026
See also: Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Incumbent Josh Kaul is running in the general election for Attorney General of Wisconsin on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Josh Kaul (D) | |
| ||||
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2022
General election
General election for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Incumbent Josh Kaul defeated Eric Toney in the general election for Attorney General of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Kaul (D) | 50.6 | 1,333,369 |
 | Eric Toney (R) | 49.3 | 1,298,369 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,539 | ||
| Total votes: 2,633,277 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Matthew Bughman (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Incumbent Josh Kaul advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Kaul | 99.8 | 461,024 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 751 | ||
| Total votes: 461,775 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Eric Toney defeated Adam Jarchow and Karen Mueller in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eric Toney | 37.4 | 222,902 |
 | Adam Jarchow | 36.9 | 220,045 | |
 | Karen Mueller | 25.6 | 152,581 | |
| Total votes: 595,528 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ryan Owens (R)
2018
General election
General election for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Josh Kaul defeated incumbent Brad Schimel and Terry Larson in the general election for Attorney General of Wisconsin on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Kaul (D) | 49.4 | 1,305,902 |
 | Brad Schimel (R) | 48.8 | 1,288,712 | |
 | Terry Larson (Constitution Party) | 1.8 | 47,038 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 1,199 | ||
| Total votes: 2,642,851 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Josh Kaul advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Kaul | 100.0 | 432,954 |
| Total votes: 432,954 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Incumbent Brad Schimel advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Schimel | 100.0 | 394,799 |
| Total votes: 394,799 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Constitution primary election
Constitution primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin
Terry Larson advanced from the Constitution primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Terry Larson | 100.0 | 354 |
| Total votes: 354 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2022
Josh Kaul did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Campaign website
Kaul's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
I want my family—and all of our families—to live in a Wisconsin that’s safer and stronger than the one we’re on track for right now. To get there, we need an Attorney General who is willing to take on tough fights and who is focused, every day, on protecting Wisconsinites. We have an opioid epidemic that’s ripping families apart—and it’s getting worse. We’re not going to beat it until we start responding to it like the crisis it is. We have a backlog of untested rape kits and increased delays in DNA and toxicology testing. Those backlogs mean that criminals who should be in jail remain on the streets and that justice is being delayed for victims of crime. We need to end the backlogs. Protecting Wisconsin families also means enforcing the laws that keep us safe from consumer fraud and preserve our natural resources. Those who try to cheat Wisconsinites should expect to be held accountable. So should polluters who break our environmental laws. My priorities are different from those of our current Attorney General. In his first two years in office, the Department of Justice tested only nine of the thousands of kits in the rape-kit backlog. He hired a corporate lobbyist to be his first Deputy AG. He fought against guaranteed overtime pay for people who put in the hours and make a fraction of what he does. He settled an air-pollution case against a major corporation without requiring the company to pay any fine at all. And he has spent about $83,000 of taxpayer money on promotional swag—from commemorative coins to custom-made fortune cookies. We need to do better. The job of Attorney General has never been more important or more complex, and we can’t afford four more years of failed leadership. We need to bring change to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. I’d be grateful to have your support[5] |
” |
| —Kaul for Attorney General[6] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Ballot measure activity
The following table details Kaul's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Josh Kaul | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| Wisconsin Marsy's Law Crime Victims Rights Amendment (April 2020) | 2020 | Supported[7] |  Approved
|
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Attorney General of Wisconsin |
Officeholder Attorney General of Wisconsin |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Josh Kaul for Attorney General, "Meet Josh," accessed January 31, 2019
- ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2002 Fall General Election - Results," accessed January 31, 2019
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Josh Kaul," accessed September 28, 2022
- ↑ Josh Kaul 2022 campaign website, "Meet Josh," accessed September 28, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Josh Kaul for Attorney General, "Why I'm Running," accessed October 3, 2018
- ↑ Marsy's Law for Wisconsin, "Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul Announces Support for Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin," January 17, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brad Schimel (R) |
Attorney General of Wisconsin 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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