Attorney General of Ohio

Ohio Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$124,176
2025 FY Budget:	$431,439,232
Term limits:	Two consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Ohio Constitution, Article III, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of Ohio Dave Yost Republican Party Assumed office: January 14, 2019
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other Ohio 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

The Attorney General of Ohio an elected executive position in the Ohio state government. The attorney general provides legal representation and advice to all state government departments, agencies and commissions, provides legal opinions at the request of other public officials, and handles all criminal appeals from state trial courts. The attorney general is elected every four years in midterm elections and is limited to two consecutive terms in office.

Ohio 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 Ohio is Dave Yost (R). Yost assumed office in 2019.

Authority

The Ohio Constitution establishes the office of the attorney general in Article III, Section 1:

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, and an attorney general, who shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, by the electors of the state, and at the places of voting for members of the General Assembly.

Qualifications

The state constitution outlines the qualification to hold the office of the attorney general in Article VX, Section 4:

• resident of Ohio
• a qualified elector
• at least 18 years old

No person shall be elected or appointed to any office in this state unless possessed of the qualifications of an elector.

Vacancies

Article III, Section 18 of the state constitution addresses vacancies in state offices. In the event of a vacancy, the governor appoints a successor to serve until the next general election in an even numbered year that occurs more than 40 days after the seat becomes vacant.

Duties

The attorney general has three primary duties:

• responsible for legal business of Ohio state government and its departments, boards and agencies and for the collection of debts owed to the state
• enforcement authority in consumer protection, charitable solicitation, antitrust actions and organized crime
• coordinate with local law enforcement agencies at their request and provide criminal justice support services

Elections

Ohio state government organizational chart

According to Article III, Section 1 of the state Constitution, the attorney general in Ohio is elected every four years in midterm election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030, etc.).

2022

See also: Ohio Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of Ohio

Incumbent Dave Yost defeated Jeff Crossman in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost (R)	60.1	2,484,753
		Jeff Crossman (D)	39.9	1,647,644

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,132,397
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Jeff Crossman advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Crossman	100.0	433,014

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 433,014
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Incumbent Dave Yost advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost	100.0	870,124

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 870,124
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Ohio Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Ohio

Dave Yost defeated Steven Dettelbach in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost (R)	52.2	2,272,440
		Steven Dettelbach (D)	47.8	2,084,593

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,357,033 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Steven Dettelbach advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Dettelbach	100.0	510,741

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 510,741
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Dave Yost advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost	100.0	642,717

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 642,717
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Ohio attorney general election, 2014

Republican Mike DeWine won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of Ohio, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike DeWine Incumbent	61.5%	1,882,048
	Democratic	David Pepper	38.5%	1,178,426
Total Votes				3,060,474
Election results via Ohio Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2002 for the office of Ohio Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, Mike DeWine won election to the office of Ohio Attorney General. He defeated Richard Cordray (D), Robert Owens (C) and Marc Feldman (L) in the general election. Ohio Attorney General, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Mike DeWine 47.5% 1,821,414      Democratic Richard Cordray (D) 46.3% 1,772,728      Constitution Robert Owens 3.4% 130,065      Libertarian Marc Feldman 2.8% 107,521 Total Votes 3,831,728 Election results via Ohio Secretary of State. 2008 On November 4, 2008, Richard Cordray won election to the office of Ohio Attorney General (Special Election). He defeated Mike Crites (R) and Robert Owens (I) in the general election. Ohio Attorney General (Special Election), 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Richard Cordray 56.8% 2,890,953      Republican Mike Crites 38.4% 1,956,252      Independent Robert Owens 4.8% 246,002 Total Votes 5,093,207 Election results via Ohio Secretary of State. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Marc Dann won election to the office of Ohio Attorney General. He defeated Betty Montgomery (R) in the general election. Ohio Attorney General, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Marc Dann 52.6% 2,035,825      Republican Betty Montgomery 47.4% 1,833,846 Total Votes 3,869,671 Election results via Ohio Secretary of State. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Jim Petro won election to the office of Ohio Attorney General. He defeated Leigh Herington (D) in the general election. Ohio Attorney General, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Jim Petro 64.1% 2,007,411      Democratic Leigh Herington 35.9% 1,123,318 Total Votes 3,130,729 Election results via Ohio Secretary of State.

Term limits

Term limits for the attorney general are defined by Article III, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution, which prohibits an attorney general from serving more than two consecutive terms.

Ohio Constitution, Article III, Section 2:

The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, and attorney general shall hold their offices for four years commencing on the second Monday of January, 1959. Their terms of office shall continue until their successors are elected and qualified. The auditor of state shall hold his office for a term of two years from the second Monday of January, 1961 to the second Monday of January, 1963 and thereafter shall hold this office for a four year term. No person shall hold the office of governor for a period longer than two successive terms of four years. No person shall hold any one of the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, or auditor of state for a period longer than two successive terms of four years. Terms shall be considered successive unless separated by a period of four or more years. Only terms beginning on or after January 1, 1995 shall be considered in determining an individual’s eligibility to hold the office of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, or auditor of state. In determining the eligibility of an individual to hold an office in accordance with this article, (A) time spent in an office in fulfillment of a term to which another person was first elected shall not be considered provided that a period of at least four years passed between the time, if any, in which the individual previously held that office, and the time the individual is elected or appointed to fulfill the unexpired term; and (B) a person who is elected to an office in a regularly scheduled general election and resigns prior to the completion of the term for which he or she was elected, shall be considered to have served the full term in that office.

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Attorney General's Office included:

• Antitrust
• Bureau of Criminal Investigation
• Charitable Law
• Civil Rights
• Collections Enforcement
• Constituent Services
• Constitutional Offices
• Consumer Protection
• Court of Claims Defense
• Crime Victim Services
• Criminal Justice
• Education
• Employment Law
• Environmental Enforcement
• Executive Agencies
• Health and Human Services
• Health Care Fraud
• Office of the Solicitor General
• Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy
• Organized Crime Investigations Commission
• Outside Counsel
• Policy and Legislation
• Public Utilities
• Special Prosecutions
• Taxation
• Workers' Compensation

State budget

See also: Ohio state budget and finances

The budget for the attorney general's office in Fiscal Year 2025 was $431,439,232.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

As established in Article III, Section 19 of the Ohio Constitution, the attorney general's annual salary is legally fixed and may not be raised or decreased effective during the current term. The attorney general's salary is set by Title 1, Chapter 141 of the Ohio Revised Code.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $124,176, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $121,576, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $117,582 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $113,506 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $109,553 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $109,553 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $109,553 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $109,986 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $109,986 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $109,986. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the attorney general was paid an estimated $109,554 according to the Council of State Governments.

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 Ohio 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 Ohio Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Attorney General of Ohio - Google News

Contact information

Ohio Attorney General
30 East Broad Street, 14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Phone: 800-282-0515

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Ohio Attorney General