Women Saving Democracy: An Attorneys General Explainer

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Women Saving Democracy: An Attorneys General Explainer
9/20/2022 by Steph Scaglia and Alissa Bombardier Shaw
State attorneys general are touted as the “people’s lawyers”—yet the majority are white and male.

With a nation as large as the United States, there’s a plethora of governmental positions to fulfill the various responsibilities necessary to keep the country going. Ever since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June, the national gaze has shifted towards state-level leadership. But who are the key players at the state-level? While the vast majority know about roles at the federal level, less understand who is pulling the levers of power in states. Two roles crucial to highlight are attorney general and secretary of state. What exactly do these positions entail and why do they matter? This explainer will help demystify the job of attorneys general and their critical role in protecting our democracy. (Our secretaries of state explainer can be found here.)


Attorney General 101

The office of attorney general is the central legal division of the states and exists in all 50 states, though the exact responsibilities vary. By and large, an attorney general plays an advisory role to the state legislature and relevant state government agencies, along with representing the interests of the general public. Attorneys general dictate the state’s law enforcement priorities as well as where resources flow. For the most part, the attorney general can represent the state in criminal appeals in most, if not all cases. For a handful of states, there may be certain restrictions on the types of criminal cases the attorney general is allowed to represent the state for.

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Women Attorneys General—Past and Present

The first woman attorney general was Arlene Violet (R, 1985-86) in Rhode Island. As of 2022, a total of 41 women have held the elected office of attorney general. Twenty-one states have never had a woman attorney general. Currently, there are only nine women attorneys general in office. This number is shocking considering how attorneys general are touted as the “people’s lawyers”—yet the majority are white and male. The interests of the public cannot be adequately represented when those who represent us do not reflect society’s diversity of race, gender, and the unique perspectives that come from such identities.

Women Attorneys General Saving our Democracy
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Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D), elected in 2014, was the first openly gay attorney general in the country, and the first elected woman attorney general of the state. Healey is a well-known champion of LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights and paid parental leave.


Attorneys General Maura Healey (D-Mass.), pictured above, and Leslie Rutledge (R-Ark.) are the longest current women state attorneys general, both serving since 2015. (Twitter)
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States are expected to increase the power of their attorney generals, minimizing the influence of local prosecutors. This would allow attorneys general to override decisions made within localities both in relation to abortion and otherwise. State attorneys general can be tremendously consequential both within and out of their states. In states where attorneys general are elected, voters can have their voices heard at the ballot box. This year, 30 states have attorney general contests, and many of these are in swing states, with Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin being expected to have particularly close races.

As you gear up to vote this fall, we hope this explainer has helped demystify the role of attorneys general and what important players they are in protecting our democracy.


https://msmagazine.com/2022/09/20/what-does-attorney-general-do/