Attorney General of Ohio
Seal of the attorney general
=
Incumbent
Dave Yost
since January 14, 2019
Ohio Department of Justice
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthFour years, two term limit
Inaugural holderHenry Stanbery
1846
FormationOhio Constitution
Salary$109,554
WebsiteOffice of the Attorney General

The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The current Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost.

History

The office of the attorney general was first created by the Ohio General Assembly by statute in 1846. The attorney general's principal duties were to give legal advice to the state government, to represent the state in legal matters, and to advise the state's county prosecutors. Originally, the attorney general was appointed by the legislature. With the adoption of Ohio's second constitution in 1851, the attorney general became an elected office. The attorney general's duties were drawn very generally at that time.

In 1952, the General Assembly passed a statute that added to the attorney general's responsibilities, including trusteeship over charitable trusts, and legal advice to more government agencies. The act stated that the attorney general could prosecute individuals only if the governor requested so in writing. Starting in 1954, the term of office was increased from two years to four years.

In 2008 Nancy H. Rogers was appointed following the resignation of Marc Dann. A special election was held in 2008 to find a permanent replacement; then–Ohio State Treasurer Richard Cordray (D) beat out Michael Crites (R), and Robert M. Owens (I) for the position.[1]

The Solicitor General of Ohio is the top appellate lawyer in the attorney general's office.

In November 2014, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine secured a $22 million settlement from the credit score company ScoreSense, which is owned by the company One Technologies. DeWine had filed civil charges against the company along with the Illinois attorney general and Federal Trade Commission. Ohio consumers and state government will receive a portion of the settlement.[2] According to the FTC, One Technologies "lured customers with "free access" to their credit scores and then billed them a recurring fee of $29.95 per month..."[3] Over 200,000 consumers had filed complaints against the company.[4]

List of attorneys general of Ohio (1846–present)

Term Attorney General Party Home county Picture Notes
1846–1851 Henry Stanbery Whig Fairfield  
1851–1852 Joseph McCormick Democratic Adams    
1852–1854 George Ellis Pugh Democratic Hamilton  
1854–1856 George W. McCook Democratic Jefferson  
1856 Francis D. Kimball Republican Medina died
1856–1861 Christopher Wolcott Republican Summit  
1861–1863 James Murray Republican Wood  
1863–1865 Lyman R. Critchfield Democratic Holmes  
1865 William P. Richardson Unionist Washington resigned
1865–1866 Chauncey N. Olds Republican Pickaway  
1866–1870 William H. West Republican Logan  
1870–1874 Francis Bates Pond Republican Morgan  
1874–1878 John Little Republican Greene  
1878–1880 Isaiah Pillars Democratic Allen  
1880–1883 George K. Nash Republican Franklin  
1883–1884 David Hollingsworth Republican Harrison  
1884–1886 James Lawrence Democratic Cuyahoga  
1886–1888 Jacob A. Kohler Republican Summit  
1888–1892 David K. Watson Republican Franklin  
1892–1896 John K. Richards Republican Lawrence  
1896–1900 Frank S. Monnette Republican Crawford  
1900–1904 John M. Sheets Republican Putnam  
1904–1908 Wade H. Ellis Republican Hamilton  
1908–1911 Ulysses G. Denman Republican Lucas  
1911–1915 Timothy S. Hogan Democratic Jackson  
1915–1917 Edward C. Turner Republican Franklin  
1917–1919 Joseph McGhee Democratic Jackson  
1919–1923 John G. Price Republican Franklin  
1923–1927 Charles C. Crabbe Republican Madison  
1927–1929 Edward C. Turner (2nd) Republican Franklin  
1929–1933 Gilbert Bettman Republican Franklin  
1933–1937 John W. Bricker Republican Franklin  
1937–1939 Herbert S. Duffy Democratic Franklin  
1939–1945 Thomas J. Herbert Republican Cuyahoga  
1945–1949 Hugh S. Jenkins Republican Mahoning  
1949–1951 Herbert S. Duffy (2nd) Democratic Franklin  
1951–1957 C. William O'Neill Republican Washington  
1957–1959 William B. Saxbe Republican Champaign  
1959–1963 Mark McElroy Democratic Cuyahoga  
1963–1969 William B. Saxbe (2nd) Republican Champaign resigned
1969–1971 Paul W. Brown Republican Franklin  
1971–1983 William J. Brown Democratic Mahoning  
1983–1991 Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. Democratic Cuyahoga  
1991–1995 Lee Fisher Democratic Cuyahoga  
1995–2003 Betty Montgomery Republican Wood  
2003–2007 Jim Petro Republican Cuyahoga  
2007–2008 Marc Dann Democratic Trumbull resigned on May 14, 2008
2008–2009 Nancy H. Rogers Democratic[5] Franklin Did not run in the subsequent special election.
2009–2011 Richard Cordray Democratic Franklin  
2011–2019 Mike DeWine Republican Greene  
2019- Dave Yost Republican Franklin Incumbent

Elections

Elections in Ohio
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State government
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Governor elections
Secretary of State elections
Attorney General elections
State Auditor elections
State Treasurer elections
State Supreme Court elections
State House elections
State Senate elections
Ballot measures
2004
Issue 1
2011
Issue 2
2018
Issue 1
2022
Issue 1
2023
Akron
Mayoral elections
Cincinnati
Mayoral elections
City Council elections
Cleveland
Mayoral elections
City Council elections
Columbus
Mayoral elections
City Council elections
Cuyahoga County
County executive elections
County Council elections
Toledo
Mayoral elections

The voters of the U.S. state of Ohio elect an attorney general for a four-year term. The winning candidate is shown in bold.

Year Democratic Republican Other
2022 Jeffrey Crossman : 1,647,644 Dave Yost : 2,484,753
2018 Steve Dettelbach : 2,021,194 Dave Yost : 2,226,368
2014 David Pepper : 1,178,426 Mike DeWine : 1,882,048
2010[6] Richard Cordray : 1,772,728 Mike DeWine : 1,821,414 Marc Allan Feldman
(Libertarian) : 107,521
Robert M. Owens
(Constitution) : 130,065
2008[7] Richard Cordray : 2,890,953 Michael Crites : 1,956,252 Robert M. Owens (I) : 246,002
2006 Marc Dann: 2,035,825 Betty D. Montgomery: 1,833,846  [8]
2002 Leigh Herington: 1,123,318 James M. Petro: 2,007,411  [9]
1998 Richard Cordray: 1,240,102 Betty D. Montgomery: 2,037,864  [10]
1994 Lee Fisher: 1,625,247 Betty D. Montgomery: 1,716,451  
1990 Lee Fisher: 1,680,698 Paul E. Pfeifer: 1,679,464  
1986 Anthony J. "Tony" Celebrezze Jr.: 1,821,587 Barry Levey: 1,222,102  [11]
1982 Anthony J. "Tony" Celebrezze Jr.: 2,036,243 Charles R. Saxbe: 1,203,797 James L. Schuller:
(Libertarian): 81,974
1978 William J. Brown: 1,700,262 George Curtis Smith: 968,220  [12]
1974 William J. Brown: 1,645,933 George Curtis Smith: 1,140,556  
1970 William J. Brown: 1,613,926 John D. Herbert: 1,297,419 Al Budka
(WI): 94
1966 Robert E. Sweeney: 1,233,805 William B. Saxbe: 1,522,038  [13]
1962 Robert E. Sweeney: 198,800 William B. Saxbe  
1958 Mark McElroy: 1,561,575 William B. Saxbe: 1,466,881  [14]
1956 Stephen M. Young: 1,559,742 William B. Saxbe: 1,719,620  
1954 Paul F. Ward: 1,051,364 C. William O'Neill: 1,335,557  
1952 Paul F. Ward: 1,373,114 C. William O'Neill: 1,871,200  
1950 Herbert S. Duffy: 1,246,076 C. William O'Neill: 1,406,358  
1948 Herbert S. Duffy: 1,433,565 Hugh S. Jenkins: 1,349,516  [15]
1946 Harry T. Marshall:134,829 Hugh S. Jenkins: 173,107  
1944 George A. Hurley: 1,407,207 Hugh S. Jenkins: 1,473,180  
1942 Herbert S. Duffy: 665,131 Thomas J. Herbert: 983,732  
1940 George D. Nye: 1,401,627 Thomas J. Herbert: 1,552,462  
1926[16] Charles B. Zimmerman Edward C. Turner  
1922[17] Stephen M. Young : 744,693 Charles C. Crabbe : 780,192  
1920[18] Joseph McGhee : 824,172 John G. Price : 1,058,561 Joseph W. Sharts : 44,180
George Edwards : 1,720
1916[19] Joseph McGhee : 558,719 Edward C. Turner : 549,169 Jacob L. Bachman : 38,432
George Hawke : 6,839
1912[20] Timothy S. Hogan Freeman T. Eagleson Robert R. Nevin (Progressive)
1910[21] Timothy S. Hogan Ulysses G. Denman  
1908[22] Timothy S. Hogan : 521,819 Ulysses G. Denman : 551,084 John C. Madden (Soc) : 31,804
George S. Hawke (Pro) : 10,854
John P. Turner (Ind) : 586
Joseph A. Meyer (Peo) : 178
Max Eisenberg (Soc Lab) : 851
1905[23] James A. Rice : 418,954 Wade H. Ellis : 461,402 John C. Madden (Soc) : 18,669
Walter S. Lister (Pro) : 13,636
James Matthews (Soc Lab) : 1,836
1903[24] Frank S. Monnette : 360,916 Wade H. Ellis : 470,589 John C. Madden (Soc) : 19,922
Thomas W. Shreve (Pro) : 13,313
Otto Steinhoff (Soc Lab) : 2,145
1901[25] W. B. McCarty John M. Sheets  
1899[26] William H. Dore John M. Sheets  
1897[27] William H. Dore : 401,338 Frank S. Monnette : 427,337 Olin J. Ross : 7,585
Cyrus A. Reider : 5,935
Daniel Wilson : 1,512
Charles F. Armistead : 453
John W. Roseborough : 3,112
1895[28] George A. Fairbanks 329,252 Frank S. Monnette 427,485  
1893[29] John P. Bailey 346,707 John K. Richards 422,449  
1891[30] John P. Bailey 345,245 John K. Richards 373,816  
1889[31] Jesse M. Lewis 373,335 David K. Watson 377,140  
1887[32] William H. Leete 327,551 David K. Watson 357,433  
1885[33] James Lawrence 341,762 Jacob A. Kohler 360,802  
1883[34] James Lawrence 360,184 Moses B. Earnhart 347,589  
1881[35] Frank C. Daugherty 287,470 George K. Nash 315,655  
1879[36] Isaiah Pillars 316,778 George K. Nash 336,100  
1877[37] Isaiah Pillars 269,506 George K. Nash 252,155  
1875[38] Thomas E. Powell 292,487 John Little 296,858  
1873[39] Michael A. Daugherty 213,413 John Little 213,983  
1871[40] Edward S. Wallace 218,077 Francis Bates Pond 237,718  
1869[41] John M. Connell 227,903 Francis Bates Pond 235,285  
1867[42] Frank H. Hurd : 240,847 William H. West : 243,449  
1865[43] David M. Wilson : 193,466 William H. West : 225,278  
1864[44][45] Lyman R. Critchfield : 183,747 William P. Richardson : 238,104  
1862[46] Lyman R. Critchfield : 183,232 Chauncey N. Olds : 178,855  
1860[47] David W. Stambaugh : 189,999 James Murray : 215,277  
1858[48] Durbin Ward : 162,136 Christopher Wolcott : 182,985  
1856[49] Samuel M. Hart : 154,313 Christopher Wolcott : 176,155 John M. Buselfreed (American)
23,095
1855[50] George W. McCook : 132,216 Francis D. Kimball : 168,868  
1853[51] George W. McCook : 149,957 Cooper K. Watson
(Free Soil) : 35,504 		William Harvey Gibson
(Whig) : 97,394
1851[52] George E. Pugh : 147,059 William A. Rogers
(Free Soil) : 12,883 		Henry Stanbery
(Whig) : 119,429

Notes

  1. ^ Election results wkyc.com [dead link]
  2. ^ Payne, Mark (20 November 2014). "Credit score company pays $22M in case filed by FTC and AGs of Illinois, Ohio". Legal Newsline. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  3. ^ "FTC, Illinois, and Ohio Stop Scheme That Offered 'Free' Credit Scores, Then Charged Consumers for Credit Monitoring Programs They Never Ordered" (Press release). San Francisco: Federal Trade Commission. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ Harris, Sheryl (19 November 2014). "ScoreSense to repay $22 million to consumers duped by free credit score offer: Plain Dealing". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  5. ^ When appointed by Democratic Governor Ted Strickland on May 28, 2008, Ms. Rogers announced that she was a Democrat although she had been a registered Republican in the past and has donated money to Republican candidates.
  6. ^ "Attorney General November 2, 2010". Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  7. ^ "Ohio Attorney General - Unexpired Term Ending January 9, 2011: November 4, 2008". Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  8. ^ "Attorney General: November 7, 2006 - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2017-11-25.
  9. ^ "Attorney General/Auditor of State - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2018-10-13.
  10. ^ 1990-1999 Official Election Results sos.state.oh.us
  11. ^ "1980 - 1989 Official Election Results - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2018-10-13.
  12. ^ "General Election Overview: November 7, 1978 - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2018-10-08.
  13. ^ "1960-1969 Official Election Results - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2018-10-13.
  14. ^ "1950-1959 Official Election Results - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2018-10-13.
  15. ^ "1940-1949 Official Election Results - Ohio Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2018-10-13.
  16. ^ "The Supreme Court of Ohio and The Ohio Judicial System – Charles Ballard Zimmerman". Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  17. ^ Brown, Thad H (1923). Vote polled in the several counties of the State of Ohio at the Election held November 7, 1922 and at the Primary Elections held August 8, 1922. p. 17.
  18. ^ Ohio General Assembly (1921). Journal of the House of Representatives of the 84th General Assembly of the State of Ohio. Vol. CIX. Columbus: F J Heer Printing. p. 22.
  19. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eighty Second General Assembly of the State of Ohio. 1917. p. 27.
  20. ^ Powell 1913 : 453-454
  21. ^ Powell 1913 : 423
  22. ^ Ohio Secretary of State (1905). Ohio election statistics. Columbus. page 408 of pdf file
  23. ^ Ohio Secretary of State (1905). Ohio election statistics. Columbus. page 19 of pdf file
  24. ^ Ohio Secretary of State (1905). Ohio election statistics. Columbus. page 1669 of pdf file
  25. ^ Powell 1913 : 379-380
  26. ^ Powell 1913 : 371-372
  27. ^ Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... Vol. 2. State of Ohio. p. 121. page 388 of pdf file
  28. ^ Smith 1898 : 665
  29. ^ Smith 1898 : 644
  30. ^ Smith 1898 : 605
  31. ^ Smith 1898 : 579
  32. ^ Smith 1898 : 541
  33. ^ Smith 1898 : 512
  34. ^ Smith 1898 : 473
  35. ^ Smith 1898 : 450
  36. ^ Smith 1898 : 406
  37. ^ Smith 1898 : 379
  38. ^ Smith 1898 : 342
  39. ^ Smith 1898 : 319
  40. ^ Smith 1898 : 286
  41. ^ Smith 1898 : 268
  42. ^ Smith 1898 : 238
  43. ^ smith 1898 : 209
  44. ^ Smith 1898 : 195
  45. ^ Bell 1876 : 147
  46. ^ Smith 1898 : 150
  47. ^ Smith 1898 : 128
  48. ^ Smith 1898 : 84
  49. ^ Smith 1898 : 65
  50. ^ Smith 1898 : 40
  51. ^ Bell 1876 : 120-121
  52. ^ Bell 1876 : 114-115

References

External links

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