Incumbent Aaron D. Ford (D) and Sigal Chattah (R) are running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Nevada Attorney General. John T. Kennedy (L) unofficially withdrew from the race in September 2022.
In September 2022, Sabato’s Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. Nevada’s attorney general election was rated as at least somewhat competitive: “[Democrat] Ford is polished, well-funded, and has largely avoided any major hiccups in office. But he won only narrowly in the Democratic wave year of 2018, and for 2022, Nevada is one of the states where Democrats are concerned about possible GOP gains. On the Republican side, attorney Sigal Chattah has attracted notice for suing the state over COVID restrictions; she won one case but lost the others.”
Ford was first elected in 2018, defeating Wesley Duncan (R) 47.2% to 46.8%. Ford previously worked as an attorney and served in the Nevada State Senate from 2013 to 2019. In an interview with The Record-Courier, Ford said he was running because, “As Nevada’s People’s Attorney and Top Law Enforcement Officer, I believe there is no task greater than the pursuit of justice. Under my leadership, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office has proven there is no criminal too ruthless and no corporation too powerful to take on if they are hurting Nevadans.”
Chattah is a civil and criminal defense attorney who previously served on the City of Las Vegas Planning Commission and as a member of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Nevada. In an interview with The Record-Courier, Chattah said she was running “To end Government public corruption, restore public safety, protect our children from wrongful indoctrination at schools, and provide the people of the State of the Nevada government transparency that they are entitled to.”
Before Ford was elected in 2018, Adam Laxalt (R) held the position of Nevada Attorney General. The attorney general is Nevada’s chief legal counsel. He or she represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal matters in court. The attorney general also serves as legal counsel to state officers and to most state agencies, boards, and commissions. In addition, the attorney general establishes and operates projects and programs to protect Nevadans from fraud or illegal activities that target consumers or threaten public safety, and enforces laws that safeguard the environment and natural resources.
This is one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. There are currently 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Heading into the 2022 elections, there are 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party holds triplex control. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party.
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