The 2022 Michigan Attorney General election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Attorney General of the state of Michigan. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel ran for re-election to a second term. She was first elected in 2018 with 49.0% of the vote.

Michigan does not hold partisan primaries for statewide offices other than governor. Instead, the state parties hold conventions in August to nominate candidates for the general election. Party nomination conventions were held on April 9 for the Michigan Democratic Party and April 23 for the Michigan Republican Party.

In August 2022, Reuters reported that presumptive Republican nominee Matthew DePerno "led a team that gained unauthorized access to voting equipment while hunting for evidence to support former President Donald Trump’s false election-fraud claims" following the 2020 election. Gaining unauthorized access to voting machines is a felony in Michigan. Current Michigan Attorney General Nessel requested the appointment of an independent specialist prosecutor to investigate DePerno and his team. DePerno and former state representative Daire Rendon were indicted by a grand jury on August 1, 2023. In contrast, during his campaign, DePerno criticized Nessel, as well as Governor Gretchen Whitmer, for their policies during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and accused Nessel of abusing her powers to silence her political rivals and of attacking the First Amendment, arguing her aforementioned appointing of an independent special prosecutor to investigate DePerno's unauthorized election investigation was one of these attacks.

This election marked the first time since 1998 that Democrats had won consecutively, and the first since 1994 that an incumbent Democrat had won re-election. It was also the best performance by a Democrat since 1998, and the worst performance by a Republican since 2002.

Democratic convention Candidates Nominee Dana Nessel, incumbent attorney general

Endorsements

Republican convention Candidates Nominee Matthew DePerno, private attorney (endorsed by state party)

Eliminated at convention Ryan Berman, state representative from the 39th district Tom Leonard, former Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives and nominee in 2018

Endorsements

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of Sabato's Crystal Ball November 3, 2022Elections DailyNovember 1, 2022

Post-primary endorsements

Polling Graphical summary

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DanaNessel (D) MatthewDePerno (R) Other UndecidedCygnal (R)Cygnal (R)November 1–4, 20221,603 (LV)± 2.5%48%44%3%6%Mitchell ResearchMitchell ResearchNovember 3, 2022658 (LV)± 3.8%47%44%1%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 31 – November 2, 20221,754 (LV)± 2.3%47%43%3%7%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAOctober 28 – November 1, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%48%42%3%7%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 27–31, 20221,584 (LV)± 2.5%47%42%3%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 25–29, 20221,543 (LV)± 2.5%47%41%4%8%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.October 26–28, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%43%5%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 23–27, 20221,822 (LV)± 2.3%46%42%4%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 21–25, 20221,378 (LV)± 2.6%46%43%4%7%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 19–23, 20221,459 (LV)± 2.6%45%43%3%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 17–21, 20221,904 (LV)± 2.3%45%42%4%9%Mitchell ResearchMitchell ResearchOctober 19, 2022541 (LV)± 4.2%46%43%3%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 15–19, 20221,793 (LV)± 2.3%45%43%4%9%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 12–14, 2022640 (LV)± 3.9%45%43%3%8%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAOctober 6–12, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%39%4%14%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.September 26–29, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%30%7%18%The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)September 24–28, 20221,075 (LV)± 2.9%48%45%3%4%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRASeptember 15–19, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%48%39%–13%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRASeptember 7–13, 2022800 (LV)± 3.5%48%40%7%5%The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)August 22–25, 20221080 (LV)± 2.9%49%47%–4%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAAugust 18–23, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%39%–18%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.July 5–8, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%38%–18%Target InsyghtTarget InsyghtMay 26–27, 2022600 (RV)± 4.0%54%23%–23%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAMay 11–17, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%43%41%–16%ARW Strategies (R)ARW Strategies (R)April 18–20, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%42%41%–17%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.January 3–7, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%34%–22%

Dana Nessel vs. Tom Leonard Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DanaNessel (D) TomLeonard (R) UndecidedThe Glengariff Group, Inc.January 3–7, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%42%36%23%

Fundraising Campaign finance reports as of October 23, 2022Candidate (party)Total receiptsTotal disbursementsCash on handMatthew DePerno (R)$1,128,796.58$823,888.63$304,907.95Dana Nessel (D)$5,437,349.35$5,192,193.84$166,649.18Source: Michigan Department of State

Results

By county County Dana Nessel Democratic Matthew DePernoRepublican Other Votes % # % # % #Alcona 32.4%1,91865.5% 3,8752.1%123Alger 44.6%1,89753.5% 2,2771.9%79Allegan 39.3%22,17058.1% 32,7702.5%1,432Alpena 39.4%5,41058.3% 8,0062.3%321Antrim 41.2%5,68956.7% 7,8402.1%294Arenac 36.2%2,56761.0% 4,3232.8%196Baraga 36.5%1,24161.4%2,0862.1%72Barry 37.2%11,26059.9% 18,1172.9%942Bay 49.2%23,80748.1%23,2792.7%1,284Benzie 49.02%5,16548.99% 5,1622.0%210Berrien 44.0%27,70753.5% 33,7262.5%1,551Branch 33.5%5,32563.8% 10,1482.7%423Calhoun 46.9%23,79850.4% 25,5712.8%1,417Cass 33.8%6,78363.9%12,8182.3%463Charlevoix 44.1%6,38953.6% 7,7602.3%339Cheboygan 38.6%5,07359.1% 7,7782.3%304Chippewa 41.7%5,97355.6% 7,9632.7%380Clare 36.5%4,75360.6% 7,9002.9%378Clinton 48.3%19,47749.5%19,9422.2%876Crawford 38.4%2,46858.5%3,7603.1%198Delta 38.6%6,56959.3% 10,0912.1%364Dickinson 33.8%4,00064.1%7,5802.1%243Eaton 52.1%27,39845.5%23,9442.3%1,234Emmet 46.5%8,82251.3% 9,7312.2%421Genesee 57.1%96,49040.5%68,4012.4%3,010Gladwin 35.4%4,19262.0% 7,3442.7%316Gogebic 43.9%2,78154.1% 3,4252.0%129Grand Traverse 51.0%26,31646.7%24,1052.2%1,141Gratiot 39.4%5,93857.7%8,7042.9%445Hillsdale 28.2%5,17769.0% 12,6572.8%519Houghton 43.9%6,67953.9% 8,1902.2%329Huron 34.7%5,13362.8% 9,2842.4%356Ingham 67.5%79,12430.2%35,4552.3%2,642Ionia 39.0%10,38757.9% 15,4173.1%839Iosco 39.6%4,95058.1% 7,2632.3%282Iron 37.9%2,10460.0% 3,3342.1%117Isabella 50.9%11,95946.5%10,9302.6%616Jackson 42.9%27,30554.5% 34,7072.6%1,666Kalamazoo 60.5%69,56337.0% 42,5702.4%2,766Kalkaska 32.6%2,84564.2% 5,6073.2%283Kent 53.6%158,28642.9% 129,6302.4%6,169Keweenaw 45.6%62452.2%7132.2%30Lake 38.1%1,97958.9% 3,0573.0%156Lapeer 35.1%15,12762.3%26,8072.6%1,109Leelanau 54.1%8,26744.0%6,7251.8%277Lenawee 39.9%16,74057.3%24,0592.8%1,177Livingston 41.6%44,27556.1%59,7222.3%2,455Luce 31.2%72366.6% 1,5422.2%52Mackinac 40.7%2,39757.2%3,3692.1%121Macomb 50.4%189,71747.4% 178,2402.2%8,205Manistee 45.5%5,68351.6% 6,4362.9%359Marquette 58.5%18,02939.5%12,1792.0%630Mason 41.7%6,10855.6% 8,1332.7%396Mecosta 37.5%6,48759.5% 10,2973.0%526Menominee 33.6%3,18964.0%6,0702.4%229Midland 45.5%18,43451.9% 21,0062.6%1,063Missaukee 25.2%1,85772.1% 5,3242.7%199Monroe 40.9%27,47156.7%38,1042.5%1,773Montcalm 35.7%9,23061.2%15,8413.1%802Montmorency 30.8%1,56066.6%3,3762.6%134Muskegon 52.8%38,11344.4%32,0172.8%2,023Newaygo 32.4%7,29764.2% 14,4423.4%759Oakland 59.6%368,73738.5% 238,0771.9%11,610Oceana 38.8%4,61857.6% 6,8533.7%436Ogemaw 34.6%3,35363.1% 6,1122.3%224Ontonagon 38.2%1,22559.2%1,8982.6%82Osceola 29.2%2,99767.6% 6,9253.2%327Oscoda 31.4%1,24066.0%2,6042.5%100Otsego 36.6%4,51260.7% 7,4822.7%339Ottawa 39.6%57,06858.1% 83,7872.3%3,280Presque Isle 40.0%2,88457.9%4,1762.2%157Roscommon 38.4%4,88059.0% 7,5062.7%338Saginaw 51.8%41,46845.9%36,7842.3%1,851Sanilac 31.0%5,73366.2% 12,2172.8%516Schoolcraft 37.3%1,42660.0%2,2922.7%102Shiawassee 44.0%14,03253.3% 16,9892.8%879St. Clair 39.0%28,44558.0%42,2193.0%2,179St. Joseph 36.0%7,76860.9%13,1173.1%664Tuscola 33.7%7,98163.6%15,0712.7%650Van Buren 46.9%14,73950.4%15,8502.7%860Washtenaw 74.4%132,49423.9%42,5451.7%2,954Wayne 69.5%440,02928.4% 179,8222.0%12,844Wexford 36.0%5,37161.4% 9,1532.6%394Totals53.16%2,329,19544.56%1,952,4082.29%100,277

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Gogebic (Largest city: Ironwood)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Benzie (Largest city: Frankfort) Grand Traverse (Largest city: Traverse City) Bay (largest city: Bay City) Eaton (largest city: Charlotte) Isabella (largest city: Mount Pleasant) Macomb (largest city: Warren) Saginaw (largest city: Saginaw) Leelanau (largest municipality: Greilickville) Kent (largest municipality: Grand Rapids)

By congressional district Nessel won eight of 13 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican. District Nessel DePerno Representative 43% 55%Jack Bergman 39% 58%John Moolenaar55%43%Peter Meijer (117th Congress)Hillary Scholten (118th Congress) 48% 49%Bill Huizenga 39% 58%Tim Walberg 65% 33%Debbie Dingell 53% 45%Elissa Slotkin 54% 44%Dan Kildee 39% 58%Lisa McClain 54% 44%John James 63% 35%Haley Stevens 74% 24%Rashida Tlaib 75% 22%Shri Thanedar

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links Matthew DePerno (R) for Attorney General (Archived) Dana Nessel (D) for Attorney General (Archived)