Your state’s next attorney general could help determine abortion access

In the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion, state attorneys general have played central roles in both defending and eroding reproductive rights — and their power to do so extends far beyond their home states.

Just in the past couple of months, the Republican attorneys general of Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama have sued California, Massachusetts and New York before the Supreme Court over shield laws that protect providers in the liberal-leaning states when they send abortion medications to patients in states with bans. The same conservative attorneys general have also sued individual providers in the liberal-leaning states in a federal district court. 

Democratic attorneys general, meanwhile, have moved to protect abortion access within their own states and beyond. Arizona’s Kris Mayes and Massachusetts’ Andrea Joy Campbell have created reproductive rights units within their offices. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted shield laws related to reproductive healthcare, and their attorneys general will be the ones poised to defend the laws if they are challenged like those in the lawsuits brought by Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana. 

Attorneys general are elected in 43 states, appointed by the governor in five, elected by the legislature in Maine and appointed by the state Supreme Court in Tennessee. 

Here are some of the most competitive of the 30 races on ballots this year that could impact abortion access in those states and beyond:

Arizona 

Democrat Mayes is trying to fend off a challenge from Republican Warren Petersen, who leads the party in the state Senate. Petersen backed legislation that established a 15-week abortion ban and supported a pre-statehood law that functioned as a near-total abortion ban. After Arizonans in 2024 approved a state constitutional amendment protecting abortion access, Petersen intervened in court to continue defending aspects of the 15-week ban when Mayes would not. Mayes also created the state’s first-ever Reproductive Rights Unit within the attorney general’s office and joined with other Democratic attorneys general to challenge restrictions on medication abortion. 

Georgia

Georgia’s current GOP attorney general, Chris Carr, unsuccessfully ran for governor this cycle, so Republican Brian Strickland, a state senator, is trying to hold the office in a race against Democrat Tanya Miller, a state House member. Strickland voted for Georgia’s 2019 six-week abortion ban that was designed to take effect if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade; he has also sought restrictions on access to medication abortion. Miller, meanwhile, has said she opposes the six-week ban and that medical decisions should be made between women and their doctors. The president of EMILY’s List, which backs Democratic women who support abortion rights, recently wrote an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution urging Georgia voters who support abortion access to back Miller. 

Iowa

Incumbent Republican Brenna Bird is being challenged by Democrat Nathan Willems, a former state legislator. Bird has defended Iowa’s six-week abortion ban before the state Supreme Court, opposed medication abortion and supported anti-abortion pregnancy centers. Willems has not focused on reproductive healthcare access during his campaign, but it is expected that he would not have the same anti-abortion focus as Bird. 

Kansas

The attorney general race in Kansas is being closely watched, with anti-abortion incumbent Republican Kris Kobach trying to fend off Democrat Chris Mann, a prosecutor and former police officer. Kobach has made a name as one of the most aggressively anti-abortion attorneys general in the country despite the state passing a constitutional amendment to protect access in 2022. Mann has criticized Kobach for focusing on undermining abortion access even after its voters weighed in, and said he would defend the 2022 amendment. 

Michigan

Democrat Eli Savit is trying to hold Michigan’s attorney general office for his party in a race against Republican Doug Lloyd and several independent or third-party candidates. Savit, a county prosecutor, refused to prosecute abortion providers under a state law from 1846 (updated in 1931) that banned abortion in the months after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — he also supported a 2022 ballot measure that added protections for reproductive rights to the state’s constitution. Lloyd, also a county prosecutor, has campaigned alongside prominent anti-abortion activists in the state. He also previously said he was willing to prosecute abortion providers despite an injunction being in place for a defunct ban. 

Minnesota

Incumbent Democrat Keith Ellison is seeking a third term in his race against Republican Ron Schutz, a lawyer and National Republican Committee delegate from Minnesota. As the state’s attorney general, Ellison has taken repeated steps to defend abortion access, including refusing to appeal lower-court rulings striking down abortion restrictions and arguing that anti-abortion pregnancy centers lack the standing to challenge Minnesota laws protecting abortion access. Schutz’s campaign has focused on immigration enforcement and benefits fraud, not abortion. He said in a debate that he sees abortion access as being settled law in the state. 

Nevada

Nevada is one of three states voting on ballot measures this year that would add additional abortion protections to their respective state constitutions. Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro, the state’s Senate majority leader, is running in a competitive race against Republican Adriana Guzmán Fralick, an attorney endorsed by current GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo. Cannizzaro supports the ballot measure and has sponsored legislation to protect abortion patients from out-of-state prosecution. Guzmán Fralick, who was also endorsed by President Donald Trump, has said little about abortion during her campaign, and her website does not mention the issue. The current attorney general, Democrat Aaron Ford, is term-limited and running for governor.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, incumbent Democrat Josh Kaul is trying to fend off another challenge from Republican Eric Toney, whom he defeated by less than a point in their 2022 matchup. As the state’s attorney general, Kaul successfully challenged a 1849 criminal abortion ban before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Toney, a county prosecutor, said in the 2022 race that he believed prosecutors should be able to cross county lines to bring abortion-related prosecutions; he later walked the statement back in the days before the election. Wisconsin currently has a 20-week abortion law in place, and in this cycle’s contest, Toney said he would not seek to challenge the law, leaving it up to voters. 

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