Politics


Big Money Flowing to State AG Races


Ofice gains importance for its role in national policy and as springboard for ambitious politicians.


S BY KATHRYN MCKENZIE


tate attorney general races promise to loom large in this year’s midterms as the offices play a growing


role in American politics. Republican organizations dedi-


cated to these contests have raised a record $29 million so far, according to the Associated Press. Democrats raised $28 million, twice as much as usual at this stage of the election cycle. Some 30 seats are on the ballot


this year. Money is pouring in from technology companies, tobacco com- panies, and others, all businesses that frequently face scrutiny from state attorneys general who are increasingly using the courts to legis- late policy and challenge the Trump administration. The money includes millions from


law firms, unions, and ideological groups, and it reflects the rising stat- ure of the job in national policy and as a springboard for higher office. When Kamala Harris, a former California attorney general, ran for president in 2024, three of the final- ists to be her running mate were for- mer attorneys general. On the Republican side, President


Donald Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, used to have that job in Florida. James Tierney, a former Maine


attorney general who teaches about the position at Harvard, told the AP: “Because we try to solve so many of our problems with lawsuits, the office of attorney general has become more important.” Adam Piper, executive director of the Republican Attorneys Gen-


48 NEWSMAX | MAY 2026


eral Association, said the political potential for those who win the office is a reason donors are increas- ingly interested. Some of the races that are priori-


ties for the party organizations are in swing states where Democrats won in 2022: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Democrats think they could gain


seats in Republican- leaning Georgia, Kansas, and Ohio. Republicans are targeting pickups in Minnesota and New York. In Texas, Rep.


Leaders Committee, an arm of the Democratic Attorneys General Asso- ciation, they have filed more than 80 lawsuits against the administration and have had favorable rulings in most of them. Sean Rankin, the association’s pres-


ident, said members of his group are “the only lever to hold Trump account- able” because Congress is compliant and controlled by Republicans. Arizona Attorney General Kris


Mayes, a Democrat who won the seat in 2022 by just 280 votes, said that lawsuits against the administration — her office has joined 38 — have saved Arizona $1.5 billion, including by keeping money flowing for pro- grams in AmeriCorps, Head Start, and universities.


Chip Roy — one of a line of current and former members of Congress from both parties to run for attorney general in recent years — is facing state Sen. Mayes Middleton in a May 26 runoff for the party’s nomination. Roy laid out one major appeal of


State AGs are increasingly using the courts to legislate policy and challenge the Trump administration.


leaving Congress for a state office. “I’ll be one of one instead of one of 435 (members of the U.S. House) fighting for you,” he said. This month, a group of 24 Demo-


crat officials — 22 attorneys general and two governors in states where the attorneys general are Republican — sued the Trump administration over the president’s attempt to impose tariffs on imports after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier version of the trade penalties. More than a year after Trump


returned to office, Democrat officials have a lot of practice at this. By the tally of the Progressive State


“If you don’t


have an attorney general who is will- ing to stand up to the federal govern- ment,” she said, “your state is going to get hurt.” She was the first


attorney general to file criminal charg- es against Kalshi,


the prediction market company, accusing it of operating an illegal gambling business. Rodney Glassman, one of the Republicans vying to face Mayes in November, has made withdraw- ing from Mayes’ challenges to the administration’s policies a center- piece of his campaign. In an interview, he called the fil-


ings “clickbait” and based in parti- san politics. Glassman, who faces state Sen-


ate President Warren Petersen in the June 22 primary, said that if he were to win in November, he would stop the criminal prosecutions Mayes has pursued against Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and others for trying to overturn the presi- dent’s 2020 election loss in the state.


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