Three Democrats from across the state have announced bids for attorney general in Michigan.
The attorney general and its office is in charge of prosecuting the laws of the state of Michigan. In Michigan, the attorney general is elected in midterm election years and serves terms lasting four years.
Since 1993, the attorney general is limited to two terms in office. That will include current AG Dana Nessel, a Democrat who is term-limited after next year.
Nominees for attorney general and secretary of state are selected not by a primary election, but at the state party nominating convention.
Democrats have set theirs for April 19, 2026.
The following candidates have until then to convince party delegates they are the best choice to take on a Republican candidate next November:
Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit entered the office in 2021 after his Bernie Sanders-backed campaign promised voters a vision for fair and equal justice for all residents.
Savit ushered in nearly a dozen new policies in the early months of 2021 aimed at shifting the county to a more progressive style of criminal justice.
One of those policies was to end cash bail.
People detained pretrial make up roughly half of Michigan’s jail population, often because they couldn’t afford their bail, according to a state task force study.
Savit as prosecutor has also declined to charge certain low-level drug offenses, and pledged to track racial disparities in prosecution.
His campaign is endorsed by a number of progressive state legislators, including state Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, state Reps. Donavan McKinney, D-Detroit, Tonya Meyers Philips, D-Detroit. He is also backed by former Michigan Democratic Party chair Lavora Barnes and City of Detroit corporation counsel Conrad Mallet.
Mark Totten, a lawyer appointed by former President Joe Biden as a U.S. attorney in the Western District of Michigan from May 2022 and Jan. 2025. He has also worked as a criminal law professor at Michigan State University.
Totten led prosecutions against domestic abuse, hate crimes and discrimination while working serving as U.S. attorney.
“I have watched in horror as a president has stoked division, trampled civil rights, and undermined the very rule of law,” Totten said in a video announcing his candidacy. “I refuse to stand by and watch, and that’s why I’m running for attorney general, to fight for you and to fight for everything we hold dear.”
Totten ran for Michigan Attorney General previously in 2014, when he lost to Republican incumbent Bill Schuette as the Democratic nominee.
He served as Chief Legal Counsel for the governor of Michigan from 2019 to 2022 before being appointed by Biden.
Totten is backed by a number of city officials across Michigan, including the mayors of Kalamazoo, South Haven, Benton Harbor and Flint.
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald of Birmingham became the third Democrat to enter the race back in June.
“I’m running for Attorney General because I’m someone who has always been drawn to doing the most good,” McDonald said in a statement. “Right now, our state is facing major threats on everything from public safety to the rule of law. From gun violence and human trafficking, to threats to our fundamental freedoms and federal overreach — the stakes have never been higher.”
McDonald was elected as Oakland County Prosecutor in 2020. Her early initiatives include juvenile justice and establishing a trafficking and hate crimes unit.
McDonald was a high school English teacher in Midland before becoming a prosecutor.
Prior to her election as Oakland County Prosecutor, Karen was an Oakland County Circuit Court judge from 2012 to 2019.
She is endorsed by former Michigan Governor James Blanchard, U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, state Sen. Rosemarie Bayer, state Reps. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac, Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw, the Detroit Plumbers Local 98, United Food and Commercial Workers 876.
Republican candidates include Kalamazoo County attorney Matthew DePerno, Brimingham attorney Kevin Kijewski and Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd.
