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Drew Wrigley | |
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| 30thAttorney General of North Dakota | |
| Assumed office February 8, 2022 | |
| Governor | Doug Burgum Kelly Armstrong |
| Preceded by | Wayne Stenehjem |
| United States Attorney for theDistrict of North Dakota | |
| In office April 17, 2019 – February 28, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Tim Purdon |
| Succeeded by | Mac Schneider |
| In office November 6, 2001 – September 11, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | John Schneider |
| Succeeded by | Tim Purdon |
| 37thLieutenant Governor of North Dakota | |
| In office December 7, 2010 – December 15, 2016 | |
| Governor | Jack Dalrymple |
| Preceded by | Jack Dalrymple |
| Succeeded by | Brent Sanford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Drew Howard Wrigley (1965-10-10)October 10, 1965 (age 60) Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kathleen (married 1998, divorced 2025) |
| Education | University of North Dakota (BA) American University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Drew Howard Wrigley (born October 10, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician fromNorth Dakota. Wrigley serves as theattorney general of North Dakota. He declared his candidacy for the office in early January 2022. Weeks later, then-incumbentWayne Stenehjem died unexpectedly, and GovernorDoug Burgum appointed Wrigley to serve the final year of that term. Wrigley was elected to a four-year term in November 2022, garnering 71% of the vote. Wrigley previously served as theUnited States attorney for the District of North Dakota from 2001 to 2009 and again from 2019 to 2021, appointed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush andDonald Trump, respectively.[1] Between his terms as United States attorney, Wrigley served as the 37thlieutenant governor of North Dakota from 2010 to 2016.
Wrigley was the deputy chief of staff to then-GovernorJohn Hoeven prior to serving in elected office.[2]
A native ofBismarck, North Dakota, Wrigley grew up inFargo, North Dakota, where he graduated fromFargo South High School. He is a fourth-generation North Dakotan, with roots inBurke County andWalsh County.[3] Wrigley is an honors graduate of theUniversity of North Dakota inGrand Forks, North Dakota, where he graduatedcum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a minor in philosophy. Wrigley was an active member ofPhi Delta Theta during college. He completed hisJuris Doctor at theWashington College of Law ofAmerican University in Washington, D.C., where he was active in student government, mentoring programs, and he interned for U.S. senatorBob Dole.
After law school, Wrigley served as a judicial law clerk in Delaware, after which he became an assistant district attorney inPhiladelphia, serving in that capacity for five years before returning to North Dakota.[2]
In 2001, PresidentGeorge W. Bush appointed Wrigley to be theUnited States attorney for North Dakota. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate.
Wrigley's most notable case was theDru Sjodin kidnapping and murder. Capital punishment was abolished in the state of North Dakota in 1973, but because the crime involved crossing state lines, the trial fell under jurisdiction of the federal government, leaving the decision about whether or not to seek the death penalty up to Wrigley, who chose to request the death penalty.[citation needed] He personally handled the case and successfully prosecuted Alfonso Rodriguez, a repeat sex offender fromCrookston, Minnesota, for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sjodin (he wassentenced to death on September 22, 2006).[citation needed]
A February 9, 2007, article in theNew York Times stated that according to a transcript of the court proceedings, Judge Ralph R. Erickson, who imposed the sentence, said "This is the first time since 1914 that any judge has been confronted with a death penalty sentence in North Dakota or Minnesota...Mr. Rodriguez's senseless and horrendous" act forced an uncomfortable discussion of capital punishment to the forefront.In addition to personally leading the trial team in the trial that lead to Rodriguez's death sentence, Wrigley successfully argued the case before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Rodriguez's conviction and death sentence.[citation needed] The United States Supreme Court later denied the Rodriguez's request for review, essentially affirming the death sentence and appellate affirmation of the jury's death verdict.
On August 16, 2018, PresidentDonald Trump announced his intent to nominate Wrigley to be the U.S. attorney for the District of North Dakota.[4] On August 27, 2018, his nomination was sent to theUnited States Senate.[5] His nomination was not acted upon during the115th United States Congress. He was renominated in February 2019.[6] On February 28, 2019, his nomination was unanimously reported out of committee byvoice vote.[7] On April 11, 2019, his nomination was unanimously confirmed byvoice vote by the full Senate.[8] On April 17, 2019, he was sworn into office as the United States attorney for a second time.[9]
On February 8, 2021, the Biden administration directed the United States attorneys were to resign their posts, as is routine during a presidential transition.[10][11] On February 23, 2021, Wrigley announced his resignation, effective February 28, 2021.[12]
On November 4, 2010, then-Lieutenant GovernorJack Dalrymple designated Wrigley as his successor once his transition of the governor's office was completed (then-GovernorJohn Hoeven had just been elected to theU.S. Senate).[2] Wrigley was sworn into office on December 7, 2010, following the swearing in of Governor Dalrymple. Dalrymple and Wrigley were elected to full terms in November 2012.
Wrigley considered running in the2016 North Dakota gubernatorial election, but ultimately decided not to run.
Wrigley declared his candidacy for Attorney General, in early January 2022. Weeks later, the 22 year incumbent attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, died unexpectedly. On February 8, 2022, GovernorDoug Burgum appointed Wrigley asNorth Dakota attorney general following the death of former attorney generalWayne Stenehjem.[13] Wrigley had announced on December 30, 2021, that he would run for a full term in the2022 election.[14][15] Wrigley won a full term in the November general election, receiving 71% of the votes cast.
Wrigley was put into the public eye in the aftermath of the2023 shooting of Fargo police officers in which he released thebodycam footage from Officer Zach Robinson of the shooting, information on the perpetrator, and further information on the investigations incredibly early into the case. He received praise for his swift work with the case.[16][17][18][19]
Later in the year, Wrigley reported that the state crime lab had completed the backlog of sexual assault examination kits in October.[20][21] In the aftermath of the indictment ofRay Holmberg, Wrigley shared information that involved his predecessor,Wayne Stenehjem, not “saving himself” from the case.[22] This especially was the case after a long period of time where Stenehjem's government emails with relation to the case were deleted after his death.[23][24][25] Wrigley also has plans to investigate everyone who had knowledge of any of Holmberg's activities and conduct.[26]
Crime reports from 2023, a year into his term, showed North Dakota had received a small uptick in violent crime and theft. Wrigley himself attributed the increase to general population increase and law enforcement position vacancies.[27]
Before the2024 North Dakota elections, Wrigley engaged in a series of efforts to fight a state court ruling that theIndian Reservations within the state, specifically theSpirit Lake andTurtle Mountain tribes, be given their own specific legislative district.[28] Wrigley defended the states position in appealing to theUnited States Supreme Court with the argument that the court hasn't ruled on whether a state's attempt to satisfy a federal law, the Voting Rights Act, satisfies the Equal Protection Clause.[29] The states arguments failed, and the redistricting would go into effect.[30]
In May 2024, Wrigley joined other Republican attorney generals in litigation against theBiden administration's interpretational ruling onTitle IX, the administrations argument being that Title IX would allowtransgender students to participate in the gendered sport of their choice.[31]
Democrats in the state have been critical of the attorney general's office continuing increase of spending since Wrigley took office.[32]
Attorney General Wrigley lives in Bismarck, ND, and has three children. He and Kathleen Boyle Wrigley separated in 2023 and divorced in 2025.[33]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of North Dakota 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forNorth Dakota Attorney General 2022 | Most recent |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by John Schneider | United States Attorney for theDistrict of North Dakota 2001–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Attorney for theDistrict of North Dakota 2019–2021 | Succeeded by Nick Chase Acting |
| Preceded by Troy Seibel Acting | Attorney General of North Dakota 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota 2010–2016 | Succeeded by |
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| Lieutenant governors | ||