Attorney General of Virginia

	Virginia Attorney General
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$150,000
2024 FY Budget:	$69,777,290
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Virginia Constitution, Article 5, Section 15
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Attorney General of Virginia Jason Miyares; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 15, 2022
	Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2025
Last election:	November 2, 2021
	Other Virginia 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 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.

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

Current officeholder[edit]

The current officeholder is Republican Jason Miyares. He was first elected in 2021 and was sworn in on January 15, 2022.

Authority[edit]

The office of attorney general is established in Article 5, Section 15 of the Virginia Constitution.

Article V, Section 15:

An Attorney General shall be elected by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth at the same time and for the same term as the Governor; and the fact of his election shall be ascertained in the same manner...

Qualifications[edit]

Article V, Section 15 of the Virginia Constitution also establishes the qualifications of the office:

U.S. citizen
at least 30 years old
is qualified to be a judge of a court of record in the state

...No person shall be eligible for election or appointment to the office of Attorney General unless he is a citizen of the United States, has attained the age of thirty years, and has the qualifications required for a judge of a court of record...

Elections[edit]

Virginia state government organizational chart

The attorney general is elected every four years at the same time the governor is elected. These elections take place one year after the presidential elections (e.g. 2017, 2021, 2025, etc.).^[1] Legally, the inauguration is always held on the Saturday after the second Wednesday in January after an election.^[2]^[3]

2021[edit]

See also: Virginia Attorney General election, 2021

General election

General election for Attorney General of Virginia

Jason Miyares defeated incumbent Mark Herring in the general election for Attorney General of Virginia on November 2, 2021.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jason Miyares (R)	50.4	1,647,534
	Mark Herring (D)	49.6	1,621,227
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,996

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,271,757
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Virginia

Incumbent Mark Herring defeated Jerrauld Jones in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Virginia on June 8, 2021.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mark Herring	56.6	274,736
	Jerrauld Jones	43.4	210,365

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 485,101
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Republican convention

Republican Convention for Attorney General of Virginia

Select round:

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Jason Miyares in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,553
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2017[edit]

See also: Virginia attorney general election, 2017

Incumbent Mark Herring (D) defeated John Adams (R) in the election for Attorney General of Virginia.^[4]

Virginia Attorney General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Herring Incumbent	53.39%	1,385,389
	Republican	John Adams	46.61%	1,209,339
Total Votes				2,594,728
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

2013[edit]

On November 5, 2013, Mark Herring won election to the office of Attorney General of Virginia. He defeated Mark Obenshain (R) in the general election.

Attorney General of Virginia, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Herring	50%	1,105,045
	Republican	Mark Obenshain	50%	1,104,138
Total Votes				2,209,183
Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections.

Full history[edit]

To view the electoral history dating back to 2001 for the office of Attorney General of Virginia, click [show] to expand the section.

2009

On November 3, 2009, Ken T. Cuccinelli II won election to the office of Attorney General of Virginia. He defeated Stephen C. Shannon (D) in the general election.

Attorney General of Virginia, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ken T. Cuccinelli II	57.5%	1,124,137
	Democratic	Stephen C. Shannon	42.4%	828,687
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	1,772
Total Votes				1,954,596
Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections.

2005

On November 8, 2005, Robert F. McDonnell won election to the office of Attorney General of Virginia. He defeated R. Creigh Deeds (D) in the general election.

Attorney General of Virginia, 2005
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert F. McDonnell	50%	970,886
	Democratic	R. Creigh Deeds	49.9%	970,563
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	1,801
Total Votes				1,943,250
Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections.

2001

On November 6, 2001, Jerry W. Kilgore won election to the office of Attorney General of Virginia. He defeated A.D. McEachin (D) in the general election.

Attorney General of Virginia, 2001
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jerry W. Kilgore	60%	1,107,068
	Democratic	A.D. McEachin	39.9%	736,431
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	1,282
Total Votes				1,844,781
Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections.

Term limits[edit]

According to the state constitution there are no term limits for this office.^[5]

Vacancies[edit]

In the event of a vacancy in the office, the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment. The appointee shall hold office until the next general election.

Duties[edit]

The duties and powers of the office of the attorney general include:^[6]

“

Provide legal advice and representation to the governor and executive agencies, state boards and commissions and institutions of higher education. The advice commonly includes help with personnel issues, contracts, purchasing, regulatory and real estate matters and the review of proposed legislation. The office also represents those agencies in court.
Provide written legal advice in the form of official opinions to members of the general assembly and government officials.
Defend criminal convictions on appeal and defend the state when prisoners sue concerning their incarceration.
Defend the constitutionality of state laws when they are challenged in court.
Enforce state laws that protect businesses and consumers when there are violations. Individual consumer complaints are usually handled by another agency.
Represent consumers in utility matters before the Virginia Corporation Commission.
Collect debts owed to state agencies, hospitals and universities.
Conduct or assist criminal investigations and prosecutions in certain limited cases (for example Medicaid fraud, money laundering, theft of state property, environmental crimes and computer crimes).
Represent the Virginia Department of Social Services in its efforts to collect child support on behalf of children and families.
Supervise the appointment and payment of private attorneys hired by other state agencies for various matters.
Assist victims of crime who are following criminal cases at the appellate level.
Provide information to the public on identity theft prevention and remediation.
Administer grants to help reduce crimes involving gangs, drugs and sex predators.
Administer the Virginia Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Program to protect children from the most dangerous predators.^[7]

”

A complete list of the duties of the office is outlined in the Virginia state code.^[8]

Divisions[edit]

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Attorney General's Office included:^[9]

Executive & Administration
Solicitor General
Government Operations & Transactions
Health, Education & Social Services
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Civil Litigation

State budget[edit]

See also: Virginia state budget and finances

The budget for the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Law in Fiscal Year 2024 was $69,777,290.^[10]

Compensation[edit]

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The attorney general's annual salary is set by law, pursuant to Article V, Section 15 of the Virginia Constitution:

The Attorney General...shall receive such compensation as may be prescribed by law, which compensation shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.