2022 Michigan Attorney General election explained

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]

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.

Democratic Party

Candidates

Nominee

Endorsements

Republican Party

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated at convention

Endorsements

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
align=left Sabato's Crystal Ball[10] November 3, 2022
Elections Daily[11] November 1, 2022

Polling

Graphical summary
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Dana
Nessel (D)
Matthew
DePerno (R)
OtherUndecided
Cygnal (R)November 1–4, 20221,603 (LV)± 2.5%48%44%3%6%
Mitchell ResearchNovember 3, 2022658 (LV)± 3.8%47%44%1%8%
Cygnal (R)October 31 – November 2, 20221,754 (LV)± 2.3%47%43%3%7%
EPIC-MRAOctober 28 – November 1, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%48%42%3%7%
Cygnal (R)October 27–31, 20221,584 (LV)± 2.5%47%42%3%8%
Cygnal (R)October 25–29, 20221,543 (LV)± 2.5%47%41%4%8%
The Glengariff Group, Inc.October 26–28, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%43%5%8%
Cygnal (R)October 23–27, 20221,822 (LV)± 2.3%46%42%4%8%
Cygnal (R)October 21–25, 20221,378 (LV)± 2.6%46%43%4%7%
Cygnal (R)October 19–23, 20221,459 (LV)± 2.6%45%43%3%8%
Cygnal (R)October 17–21, 20221,904 (LV)± 2.3%45%42%4%9%
Mitchell ResearchOctober 19, 2022541 (LV)± 4.2%46%43%3%8%
Cygnal (R)October 15–19, 20221,793 (LV)± 2.3%45%43%4%9%
Cygnal (R)October 12–14, 2022640 (LV)± 3.9%45%43%3%8%
EPIC-MRAOctober 6–12, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%39%4%14%
The Glengariff Group, Inc.September 26–29, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%30%7%18%
The Trafalgar Group (R)September 24–28, 20221,075 (LV)± 2.9%48%45%3%4%
EPIC-MRASeptember 15–19, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%48%39%13%
EPIC-MRASeptember 7–13, 2022800 (LV)± 3.5%48%40%7%5%
The Trafalgar Group (R)August 22–25, 20221080 (LV)± 2.9%49%47%4%
EPIC-MRAAugust 18–23, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%39%18%
The Glengariff Group, Inc.July 5–8, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%38%18%
Target InsyghtMay 26–27, 2022600 (RV)± 4.0%54%23%23%
EPIC-MRAMay 11–17, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%41%16%
ARW Strategies (R)April 18–20, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%42%41%17%
The Glengariff Group, Inc.January 3–7, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%34%22%
Dana Nessel vs. Tom Leonard

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of October 23, 2022
Candidate (party)Total receiptsTotal disbursementsCash 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[12]

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/06/2018.
  2. Web site: 2022 Election Dates Booklet . . December 22, 2021 .
  3. Web site: Michigan GOP sets early convention, declines vote by hand count . Craig . Mauger . The Detroit News . August 16, 2021 . December 22, 2021 .
  4. News: Layne . Nathan. Exclusive: Trump-backed Michigan attorney general candidate involved in voting-system breach, documents show . . August 8, 2022 . August 8, 2022 .
  5. News: DePerno, Rendon charged for role in Michigan tabulator probe . MLive . August 1, 2023. Jordyn Hermani. Simon Schuster .
  6. Web site: Prominent 2020 Election Critic Announces Run for Michigan AG . The State AG Report . July 22, 2021 .
  7. Web site: Attorney accused of pushing false election fraud claims wants to be Michigan's next attorney general . mlive.com . July 15, 2021 . Gus . Burns .
  8. News: Michigan Rep. Ryan Berman announces campaign for attorney general . The Detroit News . August 11, 2021 . Craig . Mauger .
  9. Web site: Former GOP House Speaker Tom Leonard to make second bid for state attorney general. 2021-12-01. Detroit Free Press. en.
  10. Web site: Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests . Sabato's Crystal Ball . November 3, 2022 . November 3, 2022.
  11. Web site: Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings . Solomon . Zack . Elections Daily . November 7, 2022 . November 29, 2022.
  12. Web site: Campaign finance data. November 10, 2022.