The 2018 Michigan Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, alongside elections to elect Michigan's

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Class I United States Senator, Secretary of State, as well elections for Michigan's 14 seats in the United States House of Representatives, all 38 seats in the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

and all 110 seats in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

; to elect the Secretary of State of Michigan. Incumbent Republican Attorney General

Bill Schuette William Duncan Schuette ( ; born October 13, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd attorney general of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Senate in 1990 and for Governor of Mi ...

was prohibited from seeking a third term due to term limits and unsuccessfully ran for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as th ...

instead. The Michigan GOP was unsuccessful in looking to win its 5th straight attorney general election. Along with the offices of

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and Secretary of State, the nominees for attorney general were chosen by party delegates at their respective party conventions. Nessel defeated Leonard by 115,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic attorney general of Michigan since 2003, when

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she prev ...

left office to become governor.

Republican Party

Candidates

Nominee

* Tom Leonard,

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Eliminated at convention

* Tonya Schuitmaker,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...

Declined

* Mary Beth Kelly, former Associate Justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the st ...

(2011–2015)

Democratic Party

Candidates

Nominee

Dana Nessel Dana Michelle Nessel (born April 19, 1969) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 54th Attorney General of Michigan since January 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Nessel is the second openly lesbian woman elected at ...

, civil rights attorney

Eliminated at convention

Patrick Miles Jr. Patrick A. Miles Jr. (born October 19, 1967) is a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was nominated by President Obama on March 29, 2012 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 29, 2012. ...

, former United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan (2012–2017) * William Noakes, former Wayne County Deputy Corporation Counsel

Declined

Steve Bieda Steven Marion Bieda (born January 21, 1961) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who is the Assistant Democratic Floor Leader of the Michigan State Senate. Bieda has served in the Michigan Senate since 2011, representing t ...

, state senator (running for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

) *

Tim Greimel Tim Greimel is an American politician from Michigan, who currently serves as the Mayor of Pontiac, Michigan. He previously served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, elected in a special election in 2012 to fill a vacancy create ...

, state representative and former minority leader of the

(running for

) * Eric Smith, Macomb County Prosecutor

General election

Polling

Fundraising

Results

Notes

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Tom Leonard (R) for Attorney GeneralDana Nessel (D) for Attorney General
{{2018 United States elections

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Michigan Attorney General elections Michigan Attorney General election

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...