| Election Name: | 2022 Michigan Attorney General election |
| Country: | Michigan |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Michigan Attorney General election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2022 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Michigan Attorney General election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Image1: | Dana Nessel Michigan Is Preparing for 'Every Scenario' on Election Day THE CIRCUS SHOWTIME 0-25 screenshot (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Dana Nessel |
| Party1: | Michigan Democratic Party |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,329,195 |
| Percentage1: | 53.16% |
| Nominee2: | Matthew DePerno |
| Party2: | Michigan Republican Party |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,952,408 |
| Percentage2: | 44.56% |
| Attorney General | |
| Before Election: | Dana Nessel |
| Before Party: | Michigan Democratic Party |
| After Election: | Dana Nessel |
| After Party: | Michigan Democratic Party |
The 2022 Michigan Attorney General election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Attorney General of the state of Michigan. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel ran for re-election to a second term. She was first elected in 2018 with 49.0% of the vote.[1]
Michigan does not hold partisan primaries for statewide offices other than governor. Instead, the state parties hold conventions in August to nominate candidates for the general election. Party nomination conventions were held on April 9 for the Michigan Democratic Party and April 23 for the Michigan Republican Party.[2] [3]
In August 2022, Reuters reported that presumptive Republican nominee Matthew DePerno "led a team that gained unauthorized access to voting equipment while hunting for evidence to support former President Donald Trump’s false election-fraud claims" following the 2020 election. Gaining unauthorized access to voting machines is a felony in Michigan. Current Michigan Attorney General Nessel requested the appointment of an independent specialist prosecutor to investigate DePerno and his team.[4] DePerno and former state representative Daire Rendon were indicted by a grand jury on August 1, 2023.[5] In contrast, during his campaign, DePerno criticized Nessel, as well as Governor Gretchen Whitmer, for their policies during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and accused Nessel of abusing her powers to silence her political rivals and of attacking the First Amendment, arguing her aforementioned appointing of an independent special prosecutor to investigate DePerno's unauthorized election investigation was one of these attacks.[6]
This election marked the first time since 1998 that Democrats had won consecutively, and the first since 1994 that an incumbent Democrat had won re-election. It was also the best performance by a Democrat since 1998, and the worst performance by a Republican since 2002.
| Source | Ranking | As of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[11] | November 3, 2022 | |
| Elections Daily[12] | November 1, 2022 |
Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Dana Nessel (D) | Matthew DePerno (R) | Other | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cygnal (R)[13] | November 1–4, 2022 | 1,603 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 48% | 44% | 3% | 6% | ||
| Mitchell Research[14] | November 3, 2022 | 658 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 47% | 44% | 1% | 8% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[15] | October 31 – November 2, 2022 | 1,754 (LV) | ± 2.3% | 47% | 43% | 3% | 7% | ||
| EPIC-MRA[16] | October 28 – November 1, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 48% | 42% | 3% | 7% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[17] | October 27–31, 2022 | 1,584 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 47% | 42% | 3% | 8% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[18] | October 25–29, 2022 | 1,543 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 47% | 41% | 4% | 8% | ||
| The Glengariff Group, Inc.[19] | October 26–28, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 44% | 43% | 5% | 8% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[20] | October 23–27, 2022 | 1,822 (LV) | ± 2.3% | 46% | 42% | 4% | 8% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[21] | October 21–25, 2022 | 1,378 (LV) | ± 2.6% | 46% | 43% | 4% | 7% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[22] | October 19–23, 2022 | 1,459 (LV) | ± 2.6% | 45% | 43% | 3% | 8% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[23] | October 17–21, 2022 | 1,904 (LV) | ± 2.3% | 45% | 42% | 4% | 9% | ||
| Mitchell Research[24] | October 19, 2022 | 541 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 46% | 43% | 3% | 8% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[25] | October 15–19, 2022 | 1,793 (LV) | ± 2.3% | 45% | 43% | 4% | 9% | ||
| Cygnal (R)[26] | October 12–14, 2022 | 640 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 45% | 43% | 3% | 8% | ||
| EPIC-MRA[27] | October 6–12, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 43% | 39% | 4% | 14% | ||
| The Glengariff Group, Inc.[28] | September 26–29, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 43% | 30% | 7% | 18% | ||
| The Trafalgar Group (R)[29] | September 24–28, 2022 | 1,075 (LV) | ± 2.9% | 48% | 45% | 3% | 4% | ||
| EPIC-MRA[30] | September 15–19, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 48% | 39% | – | 13% | ||
| EPIC-MRA[31] | September 7–13, 2022 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 48% | 40% | 7% | 5% | ||
| The Trafalgar Group (R)[32] | August 22–25, 2022 | 1080 (LV) | ± 2.9% | 49% | 47% | – | 4% | ||
| EPIC-MRA[33] | August 18–23, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 43% | 39% | – | 18% | ||
| The Glengariff Group, Inc.[34] | July 5–8, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 44% | 38% | – | 18% | ||
| Target Insyght[35] | May 26–27, 2022 | 600 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 54% | 23% | – | 23% | ||
| EPIC-MRA[36] | May 11–17, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 43% | 41% | – | 16% | ||
| ARW Strategies (R)[37] | April 18–20, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 42% | 41% | – | 17% | ||
| The Glengariff Group, Inc.[38] | January 3–7, 2022 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 44% | 34% | – | 22% |
| Campaign finance reports as of October 23, 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate (party) | Total receipts | Total disbursements | Cash on hand | |
| Matthew DePerno (R) | $1,128,796.58 | $823,888.63 | $304,907.95 | |
| Dana Nessel (D) | $5,437,349.35 | $5,192,193.84 | $166,649.18 | |
| Source: Michigan Department of State[39] | ||||
Nessel won 8 of 13 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.[40]
| District | Nessel | DePerno | Representative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43% | 55% | Jack Bergman | ||||
| 39% | 58% | John Moolenaar | ||||
| 55% | 43% | Peter Meijer (117th Congress) | ||||
| Hillary Scholten (118th Congress) | ||||||
| 48% | 49% | Bill Huizenga | ||||
| 39% | 58% | Tim Walberg | ||||
| 66% | 33% | Debbie Dingell | ||||
| 53% | 45% | Elissa Slotkin | ||||
| 54% | 44% | Dan Kildee | ||||
| 39% | 58% | Lisa McClain | ||||
| 54% | 44% | John James | ||||
| 63% | 35% | Haley Stevens | ||||
| 74% | 24% | Rashida Tlaib | ||||
| 75% | 22% | Shri Thanedar |
Partisan clients