Attorney General of Washington

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Washington Attorney General

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General information
Office Type:  Partisan
Office website:  Official Link
Compensation:  $187,543
2024-25 FY Budget:  $516,080,000
Term limits:  None
Structure
Length of term:   4 years
Authority:  Washington Constitution, Article 3, Section 2
Selection Method:  Elected
Current Officeholder(s)

Attorney General of Washington Nick Brown
Democratic Party
Assumed office: January 13, 2025

Elections
Next election:  November 7, 2028
Last election:  November 5, 2024
Other Washington Executive Offices
Governor •Lieutenant Governor •Secretary of State •Attorney General •Treasurer •Auditor •Superintendent of Education•Agriculture Commissioner •Insurance Commissioner•Natural Resources Commissioner•Labor Commissioner•Public Service Commissioner

TheAttorney General of Washington is an elected executive position in theWashington state government. As the chief legal officer for the state, theattorney general represents state clients and the public interest as directed by state law. The attorney general is popularly elected by the citizens of Washington in presidential election years and serves a four-year term.

Washington has a Democratictriplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current Attorney General of Washington isNick Brown (D). Brown assumed office in 2025.

Authority

Article 3 of thestate constitution establishes the state's executive offices.

Article III, Section 2:

Executive Department. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and a commissioner of public lands, who shall be severally chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and place of voting as for the members of the legislature.

Qualifications

Under state law, the attorney general must be a qualified practitioner of thestate supreme court.

Additionally,Article 3, Section 25 of thestate constitution establishes the qualifications of state offices in general:

  • a citizen of the United States
  • a qualified elector in Washington
Qualifications, Compensation, Offices Which May Be Abolished. No person, except a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of this state, shall be eligible to hold any state office...

Elections

Washington state government organizational chart

In Washington, thegovernor,lieutenant governor,secretary of state,treasurer,auditor,attorney general,superintendent of public instruction, andcommissioner of public lands are elected every four years. Elections are held in November and winners assume office the following January, serving until their successors are elected and qualified.

2024

See also:Washington Attorney General election, 2024

General election

General election for Attorney General of Washington

Nick Brown defeatedPete Serrano in the general election for Attorney General of Washington on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Nick Brown
Nick Brown (D)
 
55.6
 
2,093,570
Image of Pete Serrano
Pete Serrano (R)
 
44.3
 
1,669,884
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
3,616

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,767,070
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Attorney General of Washington

Pete Serrano andNick Brown defeatedManka Dhingra in the primary for Attorney General of Washington on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Pete Serrano
Pete Serrano (R)
 
42.1
 
814,372
✔
Image of Nick Brown
Nick Brown (D)
 
35.3
 
682,360
Image of Manka Dhingra
Manka Dhingra (D)
 
22.5
 
435,919
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
1,284

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,933,935
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also:Washington Attorney General election, 2020

General election

General election for Attorney General of Washington

IncumbentBob Ferguson defeatedMatt Larkin in the general election for Attorney General of Washington on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson (D)
 
56.4
 
2,226,418
Image of Matt Larkin
Matt Larkin (R) Candidate Connection
 
43.5
 
1,714,927
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
3,968

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,945,313
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Attorney General of Washington

IncumbentBob Ferguson andMatt Larkin defeatedBrett Rogers andMike Vaska in the primary for Attorney General of Washington on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson (D)
 
55.8
 
1,356,225
✔
Image of Matt Larkin
Matt Larkin (R) Candidate Connection
 
23.7
 
575,470
Image of Brett Rogers
Brett Rogers (R)
 
12.2
 
296,843
Image of Mike Vaska
Mike Vaska (R) Candidate Connection
 
8.2
 
199,826
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
2,372

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,430,736
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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

Past elections

Expand All
2016
2012
2008
2004
2000


Vacancies

In the event of a vacancy in this office, thegovernor shall fill the vacancy by appointment. The term of the appointee expires when a successor has been elected and qualified.

Duties

The specific duties of the attorney general are outlined in Chapter 43 of the Washington state laws:[1]

“
  1. Appear for and represent the state before the supreme court or the court of appeals in all cases in which the state is interested;
  2. Institute and prosecute all actions and proceedings for, or for the use of the state, which may be necessary in the execution of the duties of any state officer;
  3. Defend all actions and proceedings against any state officer or employee acting in his or her official capacity, in any of the courts of this state or the United States;
  4. Consult with and advise the several prosecuting attorneys in matters relating to the duties of their office, and when the interests of the state require, he or she shall attend the trial of any person accused of a crime and assist in the prosecution;
  5. Consult with and advise the governor, members of the legislature and other state officers, and when requested, give written opinions upon all constitutional or legal questions relating to the duties of such officers;
  6. Prepare proper drafts of contracts and other instruments relating to subjects in which the state is interested;
  7. Give written opinions, when requested by either branch of the legislature, or any committee thereof, upon constitutional or legal questions;
  8. Enforce the proper application of funds appropriated for the public institutions of the state and prosecute corporations for failure or refusal to make the reports required by law;
  9. Keep in proper books a record of all cases prosecuted or defended by him or her, on behalf of the state or its officers, and of all proceedings had in relation thereto and deliver the same to his or her successor in office;
  10. Keep books in which he or she shall record all the official opinions given by him or her during his or her term of office and deliver the same to his or her successor in office;
  11. Pay into the state treasury all moneys received by him or her for the use of the state.[2]
”

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Attorney General's Office included:[3]

  • Agriculture & Health
  • Antitrust
  • Bankruptcy & Collections
  • Civil Rights
  • Complex Litigation
  • Consumer Protection
  • Corrections
  • Environmental Protection Division
  • Criminal Justice
  • Ecology
  • Education
  • Government Compliance & Enforcement
  • Labor & Industries
  • Labor & Personnel
  • Licensing & Administrative Law
  • Medicaid Fraud Control
  • Public Counsel
  • Public Lands & Conservation
  • Regional Services
  • Revenue
  • Social & Health Services (Olympia)
  • Social & Health Services (Seattle)
  • Solicitor General
  • Spokane
  • Tacoma
  • Torts
  • Transportation & Public Construction
  • University of Washington
  • Utilities & Transportation
  • Washington State University
  • Past Cases

State budget

See also:Washington state budget and finances

The budget for the attorney general's office in Fiscal Year 2024-2025 was $516,080,000.[4]

Compensation

See also:Compensation of state executive officers

The attorney general's salary is addressed inArticle III, Section 21 of theWashington Constitution. The constitution initially set the annual salary of the attorney general at $2,000, but provided for the amount to be raised up to a maximum of $3,500 at the discretion of theWashington State Legislature. Since 1986, the attorney general's salary has been determined by the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.[5]

In 1948, the voters adopted the 20th constitutional amendment, creating Article 28, Section 1, which authorized the state legislature to establish the compensation received by all elected state officials. Several changes to the procedure, including three more constitutional amendments, followed, the most recent being the 78th amendment or House Joint Resolution 49. Approved voters in the 1986 general election, HJR 49 created the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, the independent salary-setting authority that took over the legislature's responsibility of setting the salaries of elected officials across the three branches of the Washington state government.[6][7]

2023

In 2023, the officer's salary was $187,543, according to theCouncil of State Governments.[8]

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $172,259, according to theCouncil of State Governments.[9]

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $172,259, according to theCouncil of State Governments.[10]

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $167,381 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[11]

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $162,599 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[12]

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $160,989 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[13]

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $159,395 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[14]

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $156,270 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[15]

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $151,718 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[16]

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $151,718 according to theCouncil of State Governments.[17]

2012

In 2012, the attorney general was paid an estimated$151,718 according to theCouncil of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

There have been 18 attorneys general since Washington became a state on November 11, 1889. Prior to statehood, James Metcalf was the attorney general for the territory.[18]

List of officeholders from 1887-Present
#NameTenureParty
1James B Metcalf1887-1889No affiliation
2William C. Jones1889-1897No affiliation
3Patrick Henry Winston1897-1901Populist
4Wickliffe Stratton1901-1905Ends.pngRepublican
5John Atkinson1905-1909Ends.pngRepublican
6Walter Bell1909-1911Ends.pngRepublican
7William V. Tanner1911-1919Ends.pngRepublican
8L.L. Thompson1919-1923Ends.pngRepublican
9John Dunbar1923-1933Ends.pngRepublican
10Garrison Hamilton1933-1940Electiondot.pngDemocratic
11Smith Troy1941-1952Electiondot.pngDemocratic
12Don Eastvold1953-1956Ends.pngRepublican
13John J. O'Connell1957-1968Electiondot.pngDemocratic
14Slade Gorton1969-1980Ends.pngRepublican
15Ken Eikenberry1981-1992Ends.pngRepublican
16Christine Gregoire1993-2004Electiondot.pngDemocratic
17Rob McKenna2005-2012Ends.pngRepublican
18Bob Ferguson2013-2025Electiondot.pngDemocratic
19Nick Brown2025-PresentElectiondot.pngDemocratic

Recent news

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Contact information

1125 Washington Street SE
PO Box 40100
Olympia, WA 98504

Phone: (360) 753-6200

See also

WashingtonState Executive ElectionsNews and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑Washington State legislature, "RCW 43.10.030: General powers and duties," accessed January 11, 2021
  2. ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. ↑Washington Attorney General, "Divisions," accessed January 11, 2021
  4. ↑Washington State Legislature, "Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5187," December 6, 2023
  5. ↑Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, "Homepage," accessed January 11, 2021
  6. ↑salaries.wa.gov, "The History of Compensation for Elected Officials’ in Washington," accessed February 24, 2015
  7. ↑Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, "Homepage," accessed February 24, 2015
  8. ↑Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2023 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2025
  9. ↑Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
  10. ↑Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 28, 2022
  11. ↑Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2020," accessed January 5, 2021
  12. ↑Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2019," accessed January 5, 2021
  13. ↑Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2018," accessed January 5, 2021
  14. ↑Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2017," accessed January 5, 2021
  15. ↑Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
  16. ↑Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
  17. ↑Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed December 8, 2014
  18. ↑Washington Attorney General, "Brief History of the Office of the Attorney General," accessed January 11, 2021
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