Attorney General of North Dakota

	North Dakota Attorney General
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$165,630
2023-25 FY Budget:	$103,003,017
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Attorney General of North Dakota Drew Wrigley; Republican Party; Assumed office: February 9, 2022
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
	Other North Dakota Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission • Tax Commissioner

The Attorney General of North Dakota is an elected executive position in the North Dakota state government. The attorney general is the chief legal counsel and adviser to the state government. He or she acts as the representative of the state, its interests, and its people in legal proceedings, as well as issues opinions on questions of law.^[1] The attorney general is popularly elected every four years in midterm elections and is not subject to term limits.^[2]

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

Current officeholder

The current Attorney General of North Dakota is Drew Wrigley (R). Wrigley assumed office in 2022.

Authority

The North Dakota Constitution establishes the office of attorney general in Article V, Section 2:

The qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly shall choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, three public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer. ...^[2]

Term length

See also: North Dakota State and County Official Term Lengths, Initiative 5 (1964)

The four-year term length was established after an initiated constitutional amendment on the 1964 ballot was approved. Prior to this, the term length was two years.^[2]

Qualifications

Article V, Section 4 of the North Dakota Constitution establishes the qualifications to hold the office of attorney general:^[2]

a qualified North Dakota voter
at least 25 years old
a resident of North Dakota for at least the five preceding years
licensed to practice law in North Dakota

To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office. To be eligible to hold the office of governor or lieutenant governor, a person must be at least thirty years old on the day of the election. The attorney general must be licensed to practice law in this state.^[2]

Vacancies

Article V, Section 8 addresses vacancies in state executive offices. In the event of a vacancy, the governor nominates a successor who must be confirmed by the state Senate. Once confirmed, the individual serves the remainder of the unexpired term.^[2]

Elections

North Dakota state government organizational chart

The attorney general in North Dakota is popularly elected every four years in midterm elections, such as 2018, 2022, and 2026. The term of office is four years.^[2]

2022

See also: North Dakota Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of North Dakota

Incumbent Drew Wrigley defeated Timothy Lamb in the general election for Attorney General of North Dakota on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Drew Wrigley (R)	70.9	166,517
	Timothy Lamb (D)	28.8	67,609
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	576

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 234,702
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of North Dakota

Timothy Lamb advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of North Dakota on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Timothy Lamb	99.7	21,451
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	62

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,513
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of North Dakota

Incumbent Drew Wrigley advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of North Dakota on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Drew Wrigley	99.4	69,185
	Other/Write-in votes	0.6	383

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,568
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