Attorney General of Oregon

Oregon Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$82,220
2023-25 FY Budget:	$888,572,245
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Oregon Statutes, Chapter 180, Section 010
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of Oregon Ellen Rosenblum Democratic Party Assumed office: June 29, 2012
Elections
Next election:	November 5, 2024
Last election:	November 3, 2020
Other Oregon Executive Offices
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 Oregon is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and heads the state's department of justice. The office is elected in presidential election years and does not have term limits.

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

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Democrat Ellen Rosenblum. Rosenblum has served in this position since June 29, 2012.

Authority

The office of Oregon Attorney General is established in Chapter 180.010 of the Oregon Statutes.

Chapter 180, Section 010: Office of the Attorney General

There is established the office of Attorney General of the State of Oregon.

Qualifications

A candidate for attorney general must be:

• at least 18 years of age or older at the time of election
• a citizen of the United States
• a state resident (number of years unspecified)
• a qualified voter

Elections

Oregon state government organizational chart

The attorney general is elected every four years in presidential election years.

2024

See also: Oregon Attorney General election, 2024

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Attorney General of Oregon

Dan Rayfield and Will Lathrop are running in the general election for Attorney General of Oregon on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Dan Rayfield (D)
		Will Lathrop (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Oregon

Dan Rayfield defeated Shaina Maxey Pomerantz in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Oregon on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Rayfield	75.2	318,313
		Shaina Maxey Pomerantz	24.1	102,146
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	2,710

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 423,169
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Oregon

Will Lathrop defeated Michael Cross in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Oregon on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Will Lathrop	64.2	190,995
		Michael Cross	35.2	104,813
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	1,811

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 297,619
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Robert Neuman (R)

2020

See also: Oregon Attorney General election, 2020

General election

General election for Attorney General of Oregon

Incumbent Ellen Rosenblum defeated Michael Cross and Lars Hedbor in the general election for Attorney General of Oregon on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen Rosenblum (D / Working Families Party / Independent)	56.0	1,264,716
		Michael Cross (R)	41.3	934,357
		Lars Hedbor (L)	2.3	52,087
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	8,490

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,259,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Oregon

Incumbent Ellen Rosenblum advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Oregon on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen Rosenblum	99.0	483,273
		Other/Write-in votes	1.0	4,661

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 487,934
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Oregon

Michael Cross advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Oregon on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Cross	96.7	279,909
		Other/Write-in votes	3.3	9,537

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 289,446
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Attorney General of Oregon

Lars Hedbor advanced from the Libertarian convention for Attorney General of Oregon on July 6, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Lars Hedbor (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Oregon Attorney General election, 2016

The general election for attorney general was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Ellen Rosenblum defeated Daniel Crowe and Lars D.H. Hedbor in the Oregon attorney general election.

Oregon Attorney General, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic/Working Families/Independent Party of Oregon	Ellen Rosenblum Incumbent	55.07%	1,011,761
	Republican	Daniel Crowe	41.74%	766,753
	Libertarian	Lars D.H. Hedbor	3.19%	58,609
Total Votes				1,837,123
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Oregon Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Oregon attorney general election, 2012 Democrat Ellen Rosenblum defeated three opponents in the general election on November 6, 2012. Rosenblum was the incumbent heading into the general election, having been appointed in June 2012 to finish the unexpired of ex-Attorney General John Kroger, who resigned to become president of Reed College. Attorney General of Oregon General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Ellen Rosenblum Incumbent 56.3% 917,627      Republican James Buchal 39.2% 639,363      Libertarian James Leuenberger 2.8% 45,451      Progressive Chris Henry 1.7% 28,187 Total Votes 1,630,628 Election results via Oregon Secretary of State 2008 On November 4, 2008, John R. Kroger won election to the office of Oregon Attorney General. He defeated James E. Leuenberger (C), J. Ashlee Albies (WF) and Walter F. Brown (PG) in the general election. Oregon Attorney General, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic John R. Kroger 72.6% 1,096,507      Constitution James E. Leuenberger 11.2% 168,866      Working Families J. Ashlee Albies 10.7% 161,655      Pacific Green Walter F. Brown 5.1% 76,856      Misc. Various 0.5% 7,047 Total Votes 1,510,931 Election results via Oregon Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Hardy Myers won re-election to the office of Oregon Attorney General. He defeated Paul Connolly (R), Donald G. Smith, Jr. (L) and Richard D. Hake (C) in the general election. Oregon Attorney General, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Hardy Myers Incumbent 54.8% 935,621      Republican Paul Connolly 40.4% 690,056      Libertarian Donald G. Smith, Jr. 3.8% 64,581      Constitution Richard D. Hake 0.9% 15,740      Misc. Various 0.1% 2,000 Total Votes 1,707,998 Election results via Oregon Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Hardy Myers won re-election to the office of Oregon Attorney General. He defeated Kevin L. Mannix (R) and Thomas B. Cox (L) in the general election. Oregon Attorney General, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Hardy Myers Incumbent 49.8% 715,602      Republican Kevin L. Mannix 46.1% 662,880      Libertarian Thomas B. Cox 3.9% 56,611      Misc. Various 0.1% 1,388 Total Votes 1,436,481 Election results via Oregon Secretary of State.

Term limits

There are no term limits specified under Oregon state law for the office of attorney general.

Vacancies

Chapter 180.040 of the Oregon Statutes outlines how vacancies in the office of state attorney general are to be filled. In the event of a vacancy in the office, the governor shall appoint a suitable person to the position until the next general election, when a successor shall be elected for a full term.

Duties

The attorney general represents the state of Oregon in all legal matters and also provides written legal opinions when requested by the governor, any state agency official or any member of the legislature. The attorney general does not give legal advice to any other entity.

The official duties of the office are outlined in Chapter 180 of the Oregon Statutes:

“

Appear for the state in the trial of all civil and criminal causes in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals in which the state may be directly or indirectly interested. Appear for the state, when required by the governor or the legislature, in any court or tribunal in any cause in which the state is a party or in which the state is directly interested. Appear, commence, prosecute or defend for the state all causes or proceedings in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals in which the state is a party or interested. Appear, commence, prosecute or defend any action, suit, matter, cause or proceeding in any court when requested by any state officer, board or commission when, in the discretion of the attorney general, the same may be necessary or advisable to protect the interests of the state. Give opinion in writing, when requested, upon any question of law in which the state of Oregon or any public subdivision of the state may have an interest, submitted to the attorney general by the governor, any officer, agency, department, board or commission of the state or any member of the legislature.

”

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Department of Justice included:

• Office of the Attorney General
• Administrative Services Division
• Appellate Division
• Child Support Division
• Civil Enforcement Division
• Crime Victim and Survivor Services Division
• Criminal Justice Division
• General Counsel Division
• Trial Division

State budget

See also: Oregon state budget and finances

The budget for the Oregon Department of Justice for the 2023-25 biennium was $888,572,245.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

See statutes: Chapter 292, Section 311 of the Oregon Statutes

The attorney general, along with the rest of Oregon's elected executives, is entitled to an annual salary, payable monthly, in accordance with Title 28, Chapter 292, Section 311 (§ 292.311) of the Oregon Statutes. The amount of compensation the attorney general receives is set at $82,200 for the year beginning January 1, 2014, plus $250 per month regularly for miscellaneous, job-related expenses.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $82,220, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $82,220 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $77,200. This figure comes from 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 Oregon 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 Oregon Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Attorney General of Oregon - Google News

Contact information

Department of Justice
1162 Court Street NE
Salem, OR 97301-4096
Phone: 503-378-4400

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Oregon Attorney General