The Republican Attorneys General Association(RAGA) is a United States national political advocacy group that focuses on electing Republicans as state attorneys general. Its Democratic counterpart is the Democratic Attorneys General Association.
RAGA operated as an arm of the Republican State Leadership Committee until 2014, when RAGA was split off. [1] In 2023, the largest donations came from the Concord Fund, with total donations from Concord since 2014 coming to $16.8 million. [2] Since 2020 the group has received about $5.8 million in donations from the oil and gas industry. [3]
The current chairman is Alan Wilson, Attorney General of South Carolina. [4]
RAGA operates The Rule of Law Defense Fund, which became the center of controversy following revelations that it had sponsored mass robocalls urging recipients to support President Donald Trump's rally in front of the Capitol on January 6; the rally resulted in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. [5] The robocall did not advocate for violence or storming the Capitol complex. [5]
Following the January 6 attack, donations to RAGA dropped significantly. [6] The executive director of RAGA, resigned less than a week after the robocall and attack. [7] Chairman Christopher M. Carr, Georgia's Attorney General, resigned in April 2021 as a result of the split within the group over the January 6 attack. [8]
Elizabeth Lynne Cheney is an American attorney and politician. She represented Wyoming's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference—the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership—from 2019 to 2021. Cheney is known for her vocal opposition to former president Donald Trump. As of March 2023, she is a professor of practice at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Theodore Edward Rokita is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served two terms as Secretary of State of Indiana from 2002 to 2010. When Rokita was elected to office in 2002 at age 32, he became the youngest secretary of state in the United States at the time.
Lee Michael Zeldin is an American attorney, politician, and officer in the United States Army Reserve. A member of the Republican Party, he represented New York's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. He represented the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including most of Smithtown, all of Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton, Shelter Island, and a small part of Islip. From 2011 to 2014, Zeldin served as a member of the New York State Senate from the 3rd Senate district.
Paul Anthony Gosar is an American far-right politician and dentist who has represented Arizona's 9th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023 and represented Arizona's 4th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. A Republican, he was elected in 2010 to represent the neighboring 1st congressional district until redistricting. Gosar's support of conspiracy theories, his extreme opposition to abortion and contraception, his alleged connections to Holocaust deniers, and his alleged ties to far-right militant groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, have sparked controversy.
Richard Lane Hudson Jr. is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, his district covers a large part of the southern Piedmont area from Concord to Spring Lake.
Kelly Townsend is an American author, childbirth educator and birth doula who was a Republican politician. She was a member of the Arizona Senate representing District 16 from 2021 to 2023, and previously was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, acting as Majority Whip from 2017 to 2018.
Debra Kay Lesko is an American politician who has represented Arizona's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2018. The district is in the West Valley portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area and includes Glendale, Surprise, Sun City, Peoria, and part of western Phoenix. A member of the Republican Party, Lesko previously served in the Arizona State Legislature from 2009 to 2018.
Michael J. Shirkey is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Michigan State Senate and as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. He was first elected to the House in 2010 and to the Senate in 2014. His district, the 16th, covered all of Branch, Hillsdale, and Jackson Counties. From 2019 to 2023, Shirkey was the majority leader of the Michigan State Senate.
John Michael Katko is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 24th congressional district, based in Syracuse, from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was an Assistant United States Attorney who led the organized crime division at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Syracuse. In that role, he helped to prosecute gang members under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Amanda Chase is an American far-right politician and conspiracy theorist. From 2016 to 2024, she was a member of the Virginia Senate for the 11th District and represented Amelia County, the city of Colonial Heights, and part of Chesterfield County. Chase, self-described as "Trump in heels" was narrowly defeated in the primary of her reelection campaign for a redrawn 12th District in June 2023 and left office in January 2024.
Christopher Michael Carr is an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he is the current Attorney General of Georgia. In 2016, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Carr as Attorney General to fill a vacancy created by the departure of former Attorney General Sam Olens. Carr was elected to a four-year term in Georgia's 2018 statewide elections. He won a second term in the 2022 Georgia Attorney General election.
Bryan George Steil is an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician from Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district since 2019. In the 118th Congress, he is chair of the House Administration Committee. Prior to his election to Congress, he served as a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.
Chris G. Miller is an American politician representing the 110th district in the Illinois House of Representatives. His district, in southeastern Illinois, includes all or parts of Coles, Clark, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar, and Lawrence counties.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Ohio will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Ohio. Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown is seeking a fourth term. He is being challenged by Republican businessman Bernie Moreno. Primary elections took place on March 19, 2024.
The 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeated Republican state senator Doug Mastriano to win his first term in office. Shapiro succeeded Democratic incumbent Tom Wolf, who was term limited.
The 85 Fund, also known as the Honest Elections Project, and formerly known as the Judicial Education Project, is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington D.C. It is among a network of conservative organizations associated with Leonard Leo, a longtime prominent figure in the Federalist Society, that are funded mostly by anonymous donors. The 85 Fund had revenue of over $65 million in 2020 and, with the Concord Fund, acts as a funding hub for other organizations in the Leo network.
After Democratic nominee Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, Republican nominee and then-incumbent president Donald Trump pursued an unprecedented effort to overturn the election, with support from his campaign, proxies, political allies, and many of his supporters. These efforts culminated in the January 6 Capitol attack by Trump supporters in an attempted self-coup d'état. Trump and his allies used the "big lie" propaganda technique to promote false claims and conspiracy theories asserting the election was stolen by means of rigged voting machines, electoral fraud and an international conspiracy. Trump pressed Department of Justice leaders to challenge the results and publicly state the election was corrupt. However, the attorney general, director of National Intelligence, and director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – as well as some Trump campaign staff – dismissed these claims. State and federal judges, election officials, and state governors also determined the claims were baseless.
In American politics, "Sedition Caucus", "Treason Caucus", or "Seditious Caucus" is a pejorative term for the Republican members of the 117th United States Congress who voted against the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. The votes, triggered by representatives objecting to the electoral results from Arizona and Pennsylvania, occurred hours after rioters supporting incumbent president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building to disrupt the vote. The term, referring to a Congressional caucus, does not refer to a formal group. Rather, it implies that the members of Congress who voted to object are in favor of or guilty of sedition, and had a direct or indirect role in the Capitol storming. It originated with the media, and has been used by political opponents of the Republicans, but also by scholars.
Julie Jenkins Fancelli is an American heiress and conservative political donor. She is an heiress to the Publix supermarkets fortune and a member of America's thirty-ninth richest family. Fancelli's organizational efforts and donations played a decisive role in the January 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally at The Ellipse that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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.