UMVA has learned that Republican attorney general candidates are gearing up for a fierce battle in November, banking on voters' concerns about crime, border security, and public safety to drive them to the polls.
These candidates are positioning themselves as frontline fighters against Democratic policies on immigration and law enforcement, and a massive $11 million television offensive is underway across key battleground states.
The Republican Attorneys General Association is leading the charge, with initial ad purchases targeting attorney general races in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Kansas.
RAGA Chairman Austin Knudsen, also Montana's attorney general, says the strategy is to be aggressive, and it's a winning formula: "I think we have learned that being aggressive is a good thing. Being aggressive works."
Republicans believe this approach will put Democrats on defense over crime and public safety issues in some of the country's most competitive statewide contests, and Knudsen insists that public safety is the winning message for AG races nationwide.
Knudsen argues that attorney general races have become increasingly nationalized because they can quickly challenge federal policies through lawsuits and multistate legal coalitions, and Republican attorneys general have scored major victories against the administration.
From challenging Biden's student loan forgiveness plan to blocking the administration's revised SAVE repayment plan, GOP attorney general coalitions have made their mark, and Knudsen says: "Congress talks. Attorneys generals act."
When it comes to taking on the administration, Knudsen says Republican attorneys general can move quickly, filing lawsuits and mobilizing against policies they deem unfavorable.
The ad reservations build on a broader Republican expansion effort already underway, with Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird's campaign reserving over $2 million in fall television advertising.
RAGA says it raised a record $29.3 million across affiliated entities in 2025, and Executive Director Adam Piper says Republicans intend to capitalize on voter frustration over progressive criminal justice policies pushed by Democrats in battleground states.
Piper says RAGA has a strong map for 2026 and will be on offense, taking the fight directly to Democrats, who should understand that Republican AGs are not playing defense.
The GOP is making Michigan a centerpiece of this argument, with Republican attorney general candidate Doug Lloyd, a longtime Eaton County prosecutor, believing public safety concerns cut across party lines in the battleground state.
Lloyd says people want to feel safe in their communities, and they're not feeling that safe right now, and he accuses Democratic prosecutors of selectively refusing to enforce laws, an issue Republicans plan to elevate nationally.
In Georgia, Republicans are targeting Democratic attorney general nominee Tanya Miller over her vote against a post-Laken Riley immigration enforcement law, and Knudsen says Republicans learned important lessons during the Biden administration about how aggressively voters want attorneys general to challenge Democratic policies in court.
Knudsen insists that people have figured out that attorney general's races matter, and as attorneys general, they can move quickly and take action, making them a force to be reckoned with in the battle for public safety and against Democratic policies.
