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Wisconsin Attorney General
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 1, 2022
Primary: August 9, 2022 General: November 8, 2022 Pre-election incumbent(s): Josh Kaul (Democratic)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Wisconsin
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2022 Impact of term limits in 2022 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Wisconsin executive elections
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Incumbent Josh Kaul (D) defeated Eric Toney (R) in the general election for Wisconsin attorney general on November 8, 2022.

Kaul was first elected in 2018, defeating incumbent Brad Schimel (R) 49.4% to 48.8%. Before Kaul's election, a Republican had held the office since 2007.

In September, Sabato's Crystal Ball senior columnist Louis Jacobson named this election as one of the five most competitive attorney general races in 2022, writing, "When Kaul won the office in 2018, his vote margin was narrow and tracked the showing of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Evers. Evers is facing a tough reelection in 2022, and so is Kaul. ... [U]ltimately, [Kaul's] fate will probably mirror whatever happens to Evers in November, and possibly the result of the U.S. Senate race between GOP incumbent Ron Johnson and Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes."^[1]

Kaul's campaign website stated, "As Attorney General, Josh’s top priority is public safety. ... [H]is administration has investigated and/or prosecuted some of the most serious offenses in the state, including homicides, sexual assaults, robberies, internet crimes against children, and drug trafficking."^[2] The website also stated, "[Kaul's] administration has fought crime, protected our natural resources, and defended our rights, taking on tough issues and getting results."^[3] Kaul previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and as a voting rights attorney. Kaul's mother, Peggy Lautenschlager (D), served as attorney general from 2003 to 2007.

Toney was elected district attorney in Fond du Lac County in 2012 and was re-elected in 2016 and 2020.^[4][5][6] Toney said he was running to "restore the Department of Justice’s mission to fight crime, support law enforcement, protect families, and enforce the rule of law," saying that Kaul had "failed to support law enforcement, politicized the Department of Justice, failed to defend our election laws, has rejected the title of Wisconsin’s 'Top Cop' and has begun to systematically defund the Department of Justice’s ability to prosecute cases[.]"^[7]

The attorney general is the head of the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the chief legal officer for the state. During their campaigns, Kaul and Toney addressed issues such as public safety and crime, state abortion regulations, and election access and security.^{[2][7][8][9][10]} To read more about the candidates and their key messages, click here.

In 2018, Democrats gained a state government triplex in Wisconsin when Democratic candidates defeated Republican incumbents in the elections for governor and attorney general, and the Democratic secretary of state was re-elected. All three offices were up for election again in 2022.

This was one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer, responsible for enforcing state law and offering the state government advice on legal matters. In 43 states, the office was, at the time of the 2022 elections, an elected post. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections that took place in 2022. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2022 (August 9 Democratic primary)
• Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2022 (August 9 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Incumbent Josh Kaul defeated Eric Toney in the general election for Attorney General of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Kaul (D)	50.6	1,333,369
		Eric Toney (R)	49.3	1,298,369
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,539

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,633,277
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew Bughman (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Incumbent Josh Kaul advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Kaul	99.8	461,024
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	751

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 461,775
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Eric Toney defeated Adam Jarchow and Karen Mueller in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Toney	37.4	222,902
		Adam Jarchow	36.9	220,045
		Karen Mueller	25.6	152,581

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 595,528
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ryan Owens (R)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Wisconsin

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Josh Kaul

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

• Wisconsin Attorney General (Assumed office: 2019)

Biography:  Kaul received a bachelor's degree in economics and history from Yale University in 2003 and a law degree from Stanford Law School, where he was president of the law review, in 2006. After law school, he clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Boudin. Kaul worked for Jenner & Block from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2014, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Maryland. Kaul joined Perkins Coie as a voting rights attorney in 2014.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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Kaul’s campaign website said, "Josh’s top priority is public safety. …[H]is administration has investigated and/or prosecuted some of the most serious offenses in the state[.] … Throughout his time as AG, Josh has consistently advocated for increased funding for public safety." Kaul highlighted his $115 million public safety investment plan.

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Kaul criticized Toney’s position on abortion and said, "We need to repeal Wisconsin’s mid-1800s criminal abortion ban and restore access to safe and legal abortion." Kaul's campaign website said he had "filed a lawsuit seeking a ruling that [the ban] … is not in effect," said he "[wouldn't] use any Wisconsin Department of Justice resources to investigate or prosecute anyone for alleged violations of that ban," and said he had "called for DAs to use their discretion not to enforce that ban."

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Kaul said, "Protecting clean water isn’t just about protecting natural resources—it’s also about protecting our health and economy—and I’m proud to have held polluters accountable." His campaign website said, "Josh’s administration has stood up for federal protections against air pollution and climate change, for clean water, and for endangered species."

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Show sources

Sources: Josh Kaul 2022 campaign website, "On the Issues," accessed September 28, 2022; Twitter, "Josh Kaul on September 23, 2022," accessed September 28, 2022; Facebook, "Josh Kaul on July 16, 2022," accessed September 28, 2022; Twitter, "Josh Kaul on September 24, 2022," accessed September 28, 2022; LinkedIn, "Josh Kaul," accessed September 28, 2022; Josh Kaul 2022 campaign website, "Meet Josh," accessed September 28, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Wisconsin in 2022.

Eric Toney

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

• Fond du Lac County District Attorney (Assumed office: 2013)

Biography:  Toney received a bachelor's degree in history and political science from St. Norbert College in 2006 and a law degree from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in 2009. During law school, he was a certified student attorney in the Fond du Lac County district attorney's office. Before being elected as Fond du Lac County district attorney, Toney was an attorney at O'Rourke Law Offices.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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Toney criticized Kaul, saying he "failed to support law enforcement, politicized the Department of Justice, failed to defend our election laws, has rejected the title of Wisconsin’s 'Top Cop' and has begun to systematically defund the Department of Justice’s ability to prosecute cases in Wisconsin." Toney said, "My number one focus as your attorney general will be to keep you safe. I can promise you, unlike Josh Kaul, it won’t be to appease soft-on-crime, radical politicians."

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Toney said he was "law enforcement’s choice" and highlighted endorsements he received from law enforcement officers and organizations, as well as his personal experience as the son of a police officer. He also said he supported qualified immunity "to ensure [officers] are able to maintain law and order without the threat of legal action."

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Toney said, "I strongly support improving and defending Wisconsin election laws. I’m prosecuting more election fraud than anyone in Wisconsin and [have] already convicted two defendants of breaking Wisconsin election laws in November 2020. I’m also fighting to hold the Wisconsin Election Commission Board accountable for their actions in 2020."

---

Show sources

Sources: Eric Toney 2022 campaign website, "Why I Am Running," accessed September 28, 2022; Facebook, "Eric Toney on September 20, 2022," accessed September 28, 2022; LinkedIn, "Eric Toney," accessed September 28, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Wisconsin in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Josh Kaul

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Kaul while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Eric Toney

View more ads here:

• YouTube
• Facebook

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Endorsements

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

• Josh Kaul^[11]
• Eric Toney

Election spending

Campaign finance

General election

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[12][13][14]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

• Click here to search independent expenditures reported to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
• Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
• State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in Wisconsin and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Wisconsin, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Wisconsin's 1st	Bryan Steil	Republican	R+3
Wisconsin's 2nd	Mark Pocan	Democratic	D+19
Wisconsin's 3rd	Open	Democratic	R+4
Wisconsin's 4th	Gwen Moore	Democratic	D+25
Wisconsin's 5th	Scott Fitzgerald	Republican	R+14
Wisconsin's 6th	Glenn Grothman	Republican	R+10
Wisconsin's 7th	Tom Tiffany	Republican	R+12
Wisconsin's 8th	Mike Gallagher	Republican	R+10

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Wisconsin[15]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Wisconsin's 1st	48.3%	50.3%
Wisconsin's 2nd	70.2%	28.4%
Wisconsin's 3rd	46.8%	51.5%
Wisconsin's 4th	75.9%	22.8%
Wisconsin's 5th	37.9%	60.8%
Wisconsin's 6th	41.4%	57.0%
Wisconsin's 7th	39.3%	59.2%
Wisconsin's 8th	41.5%	57.0%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

Following the 2020 presidential election, 46.1% of Wisconsinites lived in one of the state's 37 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 35.7% lived in one of 12 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Wisconsin was Battleground Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Wisconsin following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Wisconsin presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 15 Democratic wins
• 15 Republican wins
• 1 other win

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Wisconsin

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Wisconsin.

U.S. Senate election results in Wisconsin
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	55.4%	44.6%
2016	50.2%	46.8%
2012	51.4%	45.9%
2010	51.9%	47.0%
2006	67.3%	29.5%
Average	55.2	42.8

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Wisconsin

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin.

Gubernatorial election results in Wisconsin
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	49.5%	48.4%
2014	52.3%	46.6%
2010	52.3%	46.5%
2006	52.8%	45.4%
2002	45.1%	41.4%
Average	50.4	45.7

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Wisconsin's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Wisconsin's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Wisconsin, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Tony Evers
Lieutenant Governor	Mandela Barnes
Secretary of State	Dogulas J. La Follette
Attorney General	Josh Kaul

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Wisconsin State Legislature as of November 2022.

Wisconsin State Senate

Wisconsin State Assembly

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Wisconsin was a divided government, with Democrats controlling the governorship and Republican majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Wisconsin and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Election context

2018

See also: Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Josh Kaul defeated incumbent Brad Schimel and Terry Larson in the general election for Attorney General of Wisconsin on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Kaul (D)	49.4	1,305,902
		Brad Schimel (R)	48.8	1,288,712
		Terry Larson (Constitution Party)	1.8	47,038
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	1,199

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,642,851 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Josh Kaul advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Kaul	100.0	432,954

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 432,954
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Incumbent Brad Schimel advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Schimel	100.0	394,799

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 394,799
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Constitution primary election

Constitution primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin

Terry Larson advanced from the Constitution primary for Attorney General of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Terry Larson	100.0	354

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 354
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Wisconsin attorney general election, 2014

Republican Brad Schimel won election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of Wisconsin, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brad Schimel	51.5%	1,211,388
	Democratic	Susan Happ	45.4%	1,066,866
	Libertarian	Thomas Nelson	3%	70,951
	Nonpartisan	Scattering	0%	1,120
Total Votes				2,350,325
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

2010

On November 2, 2010, J.B. Van Hollen won re-election to the office of Attorney General of Wisconsin. He defeated Scott Hassett (D) in the general election.

Attorney General of Wisconsin, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	J.B. Van Hollen Incumbent	57.8%	1,220,791
	Democratic	Scott Hassett	42.1%	890,080
	-	Scattering	0.1%	1,614
Total Votes				2,112,485
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2002 for the office of Attorney General of Wisconsin, click [show] to expand the section.

2006 On November 7, 2006, J.B. Van Hollen won election to the office of Attorney General of Wisconsin. He defeated Kathleen Falk (D) in the general election. Attorney General of Wisconsin, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican J.B. Van Hollen 50.2% 1,065,453      Democratic Kathleen Falk 49.7% 1,056,594      - Scattering 0.1% 2,420 Total Votes 2,124,467 Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Peggy A. Lautenschlager won election to the office of Attorney General of Wisconsin. She defeated Vince Biskupic (R) in the general election. Attorney General of Wisconsin, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Peggy A. Lautenschlager 51.6% 882,945      Republican Vince Biskupic 48.3% 826,862      - Scattering 0.1% 1,488 Total Votes 1,711,295 Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

• Mayoral election in Austin, Texas (2022)
• Ohio's 9th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 3 Republican primary)
• Texas' 34th Congressional District election, 2022 (March 1 Democratic primary)
• United States Senate election in Nevada, 2022 (June 14 Republican primary)
• Wisconsin gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

See also

Wisconsin	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis
Wisconsin State Executive Offices Wisconsin State Legislature Wisconsin Courts	2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Wisconsin elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016	Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Wisconsin Attorney General official website

Footnotes

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