Ohio Attorney General election, 2022

Elections in Ohio, 2022

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← 2018
Ohio Attorney General
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 2, 2022
Primary: May 3, 2022 General: November 8, 2022 Pre-election incumbent(s): Dave Yost (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voting in Ohio
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2022 Impact of term limits in 2022 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Ohio executive elections
Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Treasurer Auditor State Board of Education (5 seats)

Ohio held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for May 3, 2022. The filing deadline was February 2, 2022. This was one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer, responsible for enforcing state law and offering the state government advice on legal matters. In 43 states, the office was, at the time of the 2022 elections, an elected post. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections that took place in 2022. 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. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

In September 2022, Sabato's Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. Ohio's attorney general election was rated as not competitive, meaning the seat was expected to stay in Republican hands: "Yost, who was elected state auditor in 2010 and served 2 terms before winning the race for attorney general, is the favorite over state Rep. Jeff Crossman, the Democratic nominee. Yost has taken some heat for comments on Fox News casting doubt about the claim that a 10-year-old had to go to Indiana to get an abortion, which later proved to be true. Still, that doesn’t seem to be enough to overcome the state’s GOP leanings, as well as Yost’s superior name identification and war chest." Click here to read the analysis.

Incumbent Dave Yost won election in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Ohio Attorney General election, 2022 (May 3 Democratic primary)
• Ohio Attorney General election, 2022 (May 3 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Ohio

Incumbent Dave Yost defeated Jeff Crossman in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost (R)	60.1	2,484,753
		Jeff Crossman (D)	39.9	1,647,644

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,132,397
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Jeff Crossman advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Crossman	100.0	433,014

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 433,014
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Incumbent Dave Yost advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost	100.0	870,124

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 870,124
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Ohio

Election information in Ohio: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 11, 2022
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 11, 2022
• Online: Oct. 11, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 5, 2022
• By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2022
• Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 12, 2022 to Nov. 7, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Jeff Crossman (D)

Ohioans are constantly being ripped off and our cost of living is rising due in part to the inept Columbus politicians, statehouse corruption, and bad faith politics. As Attorney General, I will strive everyday to hold corrupt officials accountable, no matter their party, their office, or how many powerful allies they have. Ohioans must have a government which works each day to improve the lives of the people of this state.

Protecting our civil rights and inherent freedoms is paramount as Attorney General. Extremists in Ohio are waging a war on women and treating them as second class citizens by not allowing them to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions - this is a massive government overreach into the private lives of women and must be stopped so we can preserve the life, health, and religious freedom of everyone in our state.

We must fight for Ohio workers and make sure Ohio remains a “workers first” state. Not only does this mean working to create good paying jobs, but also holding bad employers accountable when they refuse to play by the rules and evade labor protections. From wage theft due to misclassifying workers, to intentionally hiring undocumented workers and not paying their fair share of taxes, too many big businesses are getting away with cheating workers. The Attorney General can and should play a big role in ensuring employers play by the rules and treat workers fairly. As a son, grandson, brother, and husband of labor members, I will always fight for workers.

Dave Yost (R)

Protecting the unprotected

Upholding the rule of law

Defending the Constitution

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Jeff Crossman (D)

I'm passionate about fiscally responsible, transparent, and accountable government. Our state has developed a reputation as one of the most corrupt in the country. That corruption costs out state millions of dollars a year, dollars that could help better fund our public schools, that could support treatment for those battling addiction, or any other public policy priority.

I'm also deeply invested in making sure that Ohioans have access to affordable, quality healthcare and health insurance. I watched my mother battle brain cancer while the national debate raged about whether to blow up the Affordable Care Act, a move that would placed my mother's access to treatment and insurance in great jeopardy at a crucial point in her life.

I also sincerely care about protecting a woman's right to choose. I believe it is not the government's business to tell a woman whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term.

Lastly, as the grandson, son, and spouse of union workers I am passionate about protecting the right to organize and other policies that advance the interests of working people. Through my own family I have seen just how important unions are to establishing a quality, middle-class life.

Dave Yost (R)

Criminal Justice: The first and most important function of government is community safety. Safe streets only come from good policing and fair, predictable punishment for wrongdoers in the courts.

My team has made Ohio a national leader in the fight against human trafficking, re-imagining a law enforcement focus on the buyers rather than the sellers of sex, who are often survivors of trafficking. We've worked to update Ohio's laws and create new legal tools to that end.

Federalism means that most experiments in policy happen in the states, with minimal national consequences for bad ideas. Federalism allows blue states and red states to live as their people wish, without improper interference from a president or Congress of the opposite party.

The attorney general often sets policy priorities for law enforcement. For example, a state's attorney general may decide to dedicate extra resources to combat human trafficking. Are there certain areas of law enforcement that you would emphasize?

Dave Yost (R)

The attorney general’s office has devoted $15 million for police training this year. We have funded, trained and expanded new technology in drug testing, putting portable drug-testing units in cruisers. We've provided millions of dollars to fund bullet-proof vests for law enforcement officers and much more.

Maybe the most important role of the attorney general for law enforcement is to support law enforcement publicly and vocally. When an individual officer goes off the rails, the officer should be held accountable. But the attorney general should regularly and vocally speak up for the men and women who protect us honorably and professionally at the risk of physical harm or death.

A state's attorney general has many responsibilities. Which of those do you personally consider the most important?

Dave Yost (R)

That's a bit like asking a parent which of their many responsibilities is most important. The answer is, you must attend to them all.

But just as a parent might say that their most important responsibility is to love their children, an attorney general's most important job is to advocate for and protect Ohio and the rule of law. A myriad of actions is contained in those words.

Attorneys general can represent their states in legal conflicts with the federal government. Do you consider this an important part of an attorney general's responsibilities?

Dave Yost (R)

Yes. The federal government does do some things we need done as a country: national defense, coining money, interstate commerce. Imagine the chaos if each of these things were handled by the states!

But the federal government has only the powers it was given by the states; all other powers remain with the states, or the people. It is the attorney general's job to use the courts to keep the federal government in its own lane. My client is the people of Ohio.

To that end, I ask three questions of each case:

1. Was there a clear violation of the Constitution or federal law? 2. Was harm done to Ohioans? Is there anything to be gained from adding Ohio’s name to the suit? 3. What is the evidence? Can we make the case?

Past elections

2018

See also: Ohio Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Ohio

Dave Yost defeated Steven Dettelbach in the general election for Attorney General of Ohio on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost (R)	52.2	2,272,440
		Steven Dettelbach (D)	47.8	2,084,593

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,357,033 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Steven Dettelbach advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Dettelbach	100.0	510,741

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 510,741
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio

Dave Yost advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Ohio on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dave Yost	100.0	642,717

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 642,717
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Ohio attorney general election, 2014

Republican Mike DeWine won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of Ohio, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike DeWine Incumbent	61.5%	1,882,048
	Democratic	David Pepper	38.5%	1,178,426
Total Votes				3,060,474
Election results via Ohio Secretary of State

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
• Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
• State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in Ohio and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Ohio, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Ohio's 1st	Steve Chabot	Republican	D+2
Ohio's 2nd	Brad Wenstrup	Republican	R+25
Ohio's 3rd	Joyce Beatty	Democratic	D+20
Ohio's 4th	Jim Jordan	Republican	R+20
Ohio's 5th	Bob Latta	Republican	R+15
Ohio's 6th	Bill Johnson	Republican	R+16
Ohio's 7th	Open	Republican	R+7
Ohio's 8th	Warren Davidson	Republican	R+14
Ohio's 9th	Marcy Kaptur	Democratic	R+3
Ohio's 10th	Mike Turner	Republican	R+4
Ohio's 11th	Shontel Brown	Democratic	D+28
Ohio's 12th	Troy Balderson	Republican	R+18
Ohio's 13th	Open	Democratic	R+1
Ohio's 14th	David Joyce	Republican	R+9
Ohio's 15th	Mike Carey	Republican	R+6

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Ohio
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Ohio's 1st	53.5%	45.0%
Ohio's 2nd	26.7%	72.0%
Ohio's 3rd	71.1%	27.4%
Ohio's 4th	31.4%	67.1%
Ohio's 5th	35.8%	62.6%
Ohio's 6th	35.0%	63.7%
Ohio's 7th	44.8%	54.0%
Ohio's 8th	38.3%	60.3%
Ohio's 9th	47.7%	50.6%
Ohio's 10th	47.4%	50.9%
Ohio's 11th	78.3%	20.7%
Ohio's 12th	33.8%	64.7%
Ohio's 13th	50.7%	47.9%
Ohio's 14th	41.9%	56.8%
Ohio's 15th	45.8%	52.6%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 43.4% of Ohioans lived in one of the state's 71 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 37.7% lived in one of six Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Ohio was Trending Republican, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Ohio following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Ohio county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	71	43.4%
Solid Democratic	6	37.7%
Trending Republican	8	9.7%
New Republican	2	4.6%
Battleground Democratic	1	4.6%
Total voted Democratic	7	42.3%
Total voted Republican	81	57.7%

Historical voting trends

Ohio presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 12 Democratic wins
• 19 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	D	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Ohio

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Ohio.

U.S. Senate election results in Ohio
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	53.5%	46.6%
2016	58.0%	37.1%
2012	50.7%	44.7%
2010	57.3%	39.0%
2006	56.2%	43.8%
Average	55.1	42.2

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Ohio

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Ohio.

Gubernatorial election results in Ohio
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	50.4%	46.7%
2014	63.6%	33.0%
2010	49.0%	47.0%
2006	60.5%	36.7%
2002	57.8%	38,3%
Average	56.3	40.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Ohio's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Ohio, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	1	4	5
Republican	1	12	13
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	16	18

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Ohio's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Ohio, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Richard Michael DeWine
Lieutenant Governor	Jon Husted
Secretary of State	Frank LaRose
Attorney General	Dave Yost

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Ohio General Assembly as of November 2022.

Ohio State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	8
	Republican Party	25
	Vacancies	0
Total		33

Ohio House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	35
	Republican Party	64
	Vacancies	0
Total		99

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Ohio was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Ohio Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Ohio and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Ohio
	Ohio	United States
Population	11,799,448	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	40,858	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	80.5%	70.4%
Black/African American	12.4%	12.6%
Asian	2.3%	5.6%
Native American	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Two or more	3.6%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	3.9%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	90.8%	88.5%
College graduation rate	28.9%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$58,116	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	13.6%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Ohio Attorney General official website