GOP Attorneys General Outrun Party Candidates
A post-election memo from the Republican Attorneys General Association urges GOP attorneys general to serve as a front line against leftist policies.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Political Parties
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After the midterm elections, RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper wrote a late-night memo to colleagues noting that Republican attorney general candidates ran ahead of GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidates in several states. The memo says RAGA will begin recruiting candidates for 2027 and 2028 now.
Why it matters
Republicans lost five attorney general seats to Democrats, but the association's memo presents its candidates' stronger margins as evidence of its strategy working in a difficult national environment. It signals that RAGA intends to keep overperforming and to position attorneys general as a counterweight to leftist policies at the state level.
RAGA spent more than $40 million on the midterms, nearly twice its 2022 spending, and was on track to raise more than $50 million. Republicans lost five attorney general seats to Democrats, while Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier won by 1.8 percentage points.
The players
Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA)
The Republican Attorneys General Association is the organization that supports Republican candidates for state attorney general offices and spent more than $40 million on the midterm elections.
Adam Piper
Adam Piper is the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association, who wrote the post-election memo to colleagues.
James Uthmeier
James Uthmeier is the Republican attorney general of Florida, who won reelection by 1.8 percentage points in the midterm elections.
The details
Piper's memo compared the margins of Republican attorney general candidates against GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidates across states with comparable races. The memo highlights Iowa and Ohio, where the gap between attorney general and gubernatorial margins was widest, and cites Colorado as a state where the attorney general candidate outperformed both Senate and gubernatorial candidates.
Timeline
November 3, 2026: Midterm elections held.
November 4, 2026: Piper issues the post-election memo to RAGA colleagues.
2027: RAGA plans to begin recruiting attorney general candidates for the cycle.
2028: RAGA plans to recruit candidates for the next cycle.
Political Context
The memo frames attorney general races as a deliberate counterweight to leftist policies at the state level, extending RAGA's model of heavy investment in these offices across successive election cycles. The association's claim that its candidates will keep overperforming regardless of the national environment is a substantive strategic position, though Democrats gained five attorney general seats this cycle.
For residents, the outcome of attorney general races determines who enforces state consumer protection, civil rights, and criminal law. The memo's emphasis on positioning attorneys general against leftist policies suggests that state-level legal priorities could shift depending on which party controls these offices.
The takeaway
Down-ballot races like attorney general often run differently from top-of-ticket contests, and the RAGA memo shows how party organizations interpret those results to plan future recruitment. Readers tracking state-level policy should watch these offices as the 2027 and 2028 cycles take shape.
What happens next
RAGA plans to begin recruiting candidates for the 2027 and 2028 election cycles.
Further reading
For broader context on how party organizations shape down-ballot races, see Political Parties coverage.
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