Nessel Victory Flips Michigan AG Seat Blue; Nessel To Serve As First Openly LGBT Statewide Elected Official in Michigan

Washington, D.C.— The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) released the following statement from Executive Director Sean Rankin congratulating Dana Nessel on winning the Michigan Attorney General’s seat. Nessel beat Republican Tom Leonard to bring Democratic leadership back to the Michigan OAG. Through its aggressive recruitment for qualified candidates and the launch of the 1881 Initiative, DAGA assembled the most diverse class of attorney general candidates in history including Nessel who will be the first openly LGBT statewide elected official in Michigan.

Statement from Sean Rankin, Executive Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association:

“We applaud Dana Nessel and her campaign on winning the Michigan Attorney General race and for flipping the Michigan AG seat blue. Dana Nessel beat a sitting state senator bankrolled by special interests—and she did it by standing firm for what she believes in: equal rights and justice for all. Nessel is a fierce defender of civil rights who will fight for Michigan families to ensure they have clean drinking water, access to healthcare, and fairness under the law.”

“As AG, we know Nessel will bring the same energy she brought to her race to her work protecting Michigan communities. We look forward to welcoming Dana Nessel into our room of Democratic AGs.”

As part of the Democratic Attorneys General Association’s (DAGA) first-of-its-kind volunteer-to-voter education texting program, more than 1.6 million Michigan voters were reached this cycle to inform them about the importance of AG Elections and to answer questions about Dana Nessel’s campaign. As the only voter outreach program texting specifically on Attorney General races, DAGA’s texting program educates voters about races in key states and gives voters an opportunity to share concerns they want Attorney General candidates to address. This cycle, DAGA connected with a milestone 11 million voters including voters in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

In addition to the texting efforts, DAGA MI People’s Lawyer Project, an independent organization backed by the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), released a television ad focused on GOP candidate Tom Leonard’s corrupt behavior and cover-ups during his time in the state legislature. The ad ran in key Michigan markets in the three weeks before Election Day. Furthermore, DAGA worked with the Michigan Democratic Party to get out the vote and elevate Dana Nessel.