William Tong

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William Tong
Image of William Tong
Attorney General of Connecticut
Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

5

Prior offices
Connecticut House of Representatives District 147

Compensation

Base salary

$110,000

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

High school

Phillips Academy

Bachelor's

Brown University

Law

University of Chicago Law School, 2000

Contact

William Tong (Democratic Party) is the Attorney General of Connecticut. He assumed office on January 9, 2019. His current term ends on January 6, 2027.

Tong (Democratic Party, Working Families Party) ran for re-election for Attorney General of Connecticut. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Tong represented District 147 in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Tong earned his B.S. from Brown University and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.[1] His professional experience includes working as an associate with Finn Dixon and Herling, Limited Liability Partnership, as an associate with the Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, Limited Liability Partnership from 1999-2003, and as a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Limited Liability Partnership from 1995-1997. He became a member of the Person-to-Person Board in 2004.[2]

Elections

2022

See also: Connecticut Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of Connecticut

Incumbent William Tong defeated Jessica Kordas, A.P. Pascarella, and Ken Krayeske in the general election for Attorney General of Connecticut on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/William_Tong.png
William Tong (D / Working Families Party)
 
57.1
 
713,894
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Jessica-Kordas.PNG
Jessica Kordas (R)
 
41.4
 
518,128
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/AP-Pascarella.PNG
A.P. Pascarella (Independent Party)
 
0.9
 
11,788
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Ken-Krayeske.PNG
Ken Krayeske (G)
 
0.6
 
7,103

Total votes: 1,250,913
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent William Tong advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Connecticut.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Jessica Kordas advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Connecticut.

2018

See also: Connecticut Attorney General election, 2018
See also: Connecticut Attorney General election, 2018 (August 14 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Attorney General of Connecticut

William Tong defeated Susan Hatfield and Peter Goselin in the general election for Attorney General of Connecticut on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/William_Tong.png
William Tong (D) Candidate Connection
 
52.5
 
715,340
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Sue_Hatfield.PNG
Susan Hatfield (R) Candidate Connection
 
46.5
 
633,360
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Peter_Goselin_headshot.jpg
Peter Goselin (G) Candidate Connection
 
1.1
 
14,358

Total votes: 1,363,058
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Connecticut

William Tong defeated Chris Mattei and Paul Doyle in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Connecticut on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/William_Tong.png
William Tong Candidate Connection
 
57.4
 
119,574
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Chris_Mattei.jpg
Chris Mattei
 
25.8
 
53,822
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/PDoyle.jpg
Paul Doyle
 
16.7
 
34,822

Total votes: 208,218
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Connecticut

Susan Hatfield defeated John Shaban in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Connecticut on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Sue_Hatfield.PNG
Susan Hatfield Candidate Connection
 
79.3
 
106,076
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/John_Shaban.jpg
John Shaban
 
20.7
 
27,639

Total votes: 133,715
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Connecticut House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.

Incumbent William Tong ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 147 general election.[3]

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William Tong Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Connecticut Secretary of the State


Incumbent William Tong ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 147 Democratic primary.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William Tong Incumbent (unopposed)

Barry Weston ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 147 Republican primary.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Barry Weston  (unopposed)

2014

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Connecticut House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on August 12, 2014, and a general election on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 10, 2014. Incumbent William Tong was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Dennis Mahoney was unopposed in the Republican primary. Tong defeated Mahoney in the general election.[4][5]

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngWilliam Tong Incumbent 51% 3,905
     Republican Dennis Mahoney 46.4% 3,553
     Independent Dennis Mahoney 2.6% 198
Total Votes 7,656

2012

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate elections in Connecticut, 2012

Tong ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Connecticut. Tong initially sought the nomination on the Democratic ticket but did not appear on the primary ballot.[6][7]

Connecticut House of Representatives

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2012

Tong ran in the 2012 election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 147. Tong ran unopposed in the August 14 Democratic primary and defeated Nicola Tarzia (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[8][9][10]

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngWilliam Tong Incumbent 56.9% 6,214
     Republican Nicola Tarzia 43.1% 4,708
Total Votes 10,922

2010

U.S. House

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2010

Tong ran for re-election to the 147th District seat in 2010. Tong ran unopposed in the primary. He defeated independent candidate Dennis Mahoney in the November 2 general election.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147 General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png William Tong (D) 5,350
Dennis Mahoney (Ind) 2,495

2008

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Tong won re-election to the Connecticut House of Representatives from Connecticut's 147th District, defeating Brent Yarnell (write-in). Tong received 8,348 votes in the election while Yarnell received 1 vote.[11] Tong raised $8,109 for his campaign.[12]

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png William Tong (D) 8,348
Brent Yarnell (write-in) 1

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

William Tong did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

William Tong completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tong's responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

My first job is to protect Connecticut families. We are under tremendous pressure, and we're all getting squeezed by big companies and powerful forces that make very difficult to raise a family, run a business, and retire comfortably here. Donald Trump makes it so much worse by attacking women, immigrants, even Connecticut taxpayers. I will be the firewall that protects and defends all of us and our way of life. I will immediately strengthen and assign additional resources to consumer protection. We will focus on protecting consumers from excessive health care and prescription drug costs, abusive and predatory lending practices, and telephone and internet scams. I will expand our state's focus on consumer protection lawsuits on a larger scale, from the generic drug price fixing suit to the the opioid investigation, the net neutrality suit, and investigations and suits related to major data and privacy breaches. And I will push the legislature to create a Civil Rights Division in the Attorney General's office to fight for Connecticut residents when their constitutional rights and fundamental liberties are threatened.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

This is a very personal campaign for me. As the son of immigrants who came to this country with almost nothing, I feel like my family and I have a target on our backs. The President has announced that he has formed a task force to de-naturalize American citizens, like my parents. And if you are like us, if you come from immigrants, or if you are a woman, or a member of a labor union, or a Connecticut taxpayer, it is clear that the President has declared war on your and your family. That is why I am running for Attorney General. The Attorney General is the first and the last line of defense to protect our way of life -- he or she is the firewall to protect Connecticut families.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Tong’s campaign website stated the following:

Gun Violence
As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, William has primary responsibility for our state’s gun laws. William took on the NRA and the gun lobby and is one of the key architects of the strongest gun laws in the nation. He led the charge to pass Lori Jackson’s law that would take guns away from domestic abusers and is fighting to ban bump stocks and ghost guns. He also played a key role in the major overhaul of our state’s gun laws after the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and wrote and passed the Lost & Stolen Firearms laws to fight gun trafficking.

As Attorney General, William will continue fighting for common sense gun laws. He will hold the gun lobby and industry accountable for gun trafficking and the proliferation of guns into Connecticut’s communities. William will resist and take legal action against any federal laws that encroach on Connecticut’s sovereign right to pass its own gun laws, including any “concealed carry” law that purports to force Connecticut to recognize gun permits from other states.

Protecting Families
As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, William wrote and passed a tough new law that holds teachers and school officials accountable for failing to report instances when teachers and administrators engage in abuse or sexual misconduct against children.

As Attorney General, Tong will protect children from predators. He will champion legislative initiatives and work with the Office of the Child Advocate to protect children everywhere in the state of Connecticut.

Criminal Justice Reform
William has taken on a system of mass incarceration and is a key leader in building a Second Chance Society here in Connecticut. William knows that Connecticut must be a state that gives ex-offenders – particularly young people who make mistakes – a second chance and real opportunity to lead productive lives. That’s why he fought to pass nationally recognized criminal justice reforms including reforming a bail system that criminalizes poverty, ending mandatory sentencing for non-violent drug possession, requiring police to wear body cameras, and repairing a broken pardon and parole process. William was the lead legislator responsible for writing and passing the Second Chance Society Law, the Excessive Use of Force Law, the Bail Reform Law, and he’s played a major role in passing many laws to build a fairer and more effective juvenile justice system.

As Attorney General, William will continue his work with community advocates, legislative leaders, prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, and public safety and corrections officials to advance criminal justice reforms across the state.

Opioid and Prescription Drug Crisis
William will take on what he considers an “Addiction Industry” responsible for the opioid crisis and the scourge of addiction, and hold accountable the pharmaceutical industry, the drug distributors, the pharmacy chains, hospitals and health care providers, and treatment centers for any wrongdoing that contributes to the opioid and addiction crisis.

In the legislature, William worked with his colleagues to combat the opioid crisis in Connecticut by establishing tough new prescription standards to avoid abuse and funding additional doses of anti-overdose medication to all state police officers.

Protecting Personal Data
With the rise of big technology that have access to our personal data and companies like Cambridge Analytica that are abusing that data for their own business purposes, Connecticut residents need someone to fight back.

William will bring action against any technology company, no matter the size, if they are abusing their terms of service to sell personal data. William Tong will fight back on behalf of Connecticut consumers.

Consumer Protection and Financial Fraud
The Attorney General’s number one job is to protect Connecticut consumers from unfair business practices.

When he was Chairman of the Banking Committee, William took on the big banks at the height of the foreclosure crisis. He passed legislation that changed Connecticut’s foreclosure laws to help struggling families stay in their homes.

President Trump and his administration are now trying to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that was created by President Obama. William will fight back by creating a state consumer financial protection bureau and financial fraud task force to step in and take action against any company that takes advantage of Connecticut families. William will use the powers granted to state Attorneys General under the Dodd-Frank Act to protect Connecticut residents from financial fraud and abuse from payday lenders, student loan lenders, high-interest consumer lenders, and large banks and financial institutions.

Immigration
William is the son of immigrants and a first-generation American. His parents came to this country to seek opportunity for their children. That’s why he fought hard to pass the TRUST Act in Connecticut to protect immigrant families and undocumented residents from action by the Trump administration.

As Attorney General, William will stand up for immigrant families and vigorously defend the TRUST Act and the right of Connecticut localities to declare themselves sanctuary cities to protect undocumented immigrants from unfair deportation. William will join with other Attorneys General to fight unjust laws like the so-called travel or “Muslim” ban and lawsuits by the federal government to impair or attack Connecticut laws to protect immigrants.

A Harassment-Free Workplace
William has worked in the General Assembly to pass new strict standards for sexual harassment in the legislative branch. William recently led the Judiciary Committee in passing groundbreaking new bills to combat sexual harassment and sexual assault, and he’s been a leader in fighting human trafficking. As Attorney General, he will hold his office to the highest standards to have a harassment-free workplace.

Reproductive Freedom
Over the past several years, William has personally stopped every major encroachment on a woman’s right to choose on the Judiciary Committee. William has been a steadfast supporter of reproductive freedom for women. As Attorney General, he will defend that right in court everywhere.

Workers’ Rights and the Right to Organize
William believes strongly in the right to organize and collectively bargain for better wages and benefits. That’s why William has the highest AFL-CIO rating of any candidate for Attorney General. He will vigorously defend collective bargaining and pension rights for workers across Connecticut.

Like Attorneys General Blumenthal and Jepsen, William will use the Attorney General’s office and its platform to oppose Right to Work legislation. He will support labor organizing efforts, and use his relationships and experience as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a state legislator to support:

A law to ban “Captive Audience” meetings to prevent workers from organizing; A $15 minimum wage; Policies that advance steady, full-time jobs with benefits instead of temporary or part-time work; Paid family and medical leave.

Civil Rights
William has been a leader in most of the major civil rights battles of the last decade, including marriage equality, the transgender rights bill, the repeal of the death penalty, and the TRUST Act. He recently wrote a major overhaul strengthening our state’s hate crimes laws.

As Attorney General, William will leverage his relationships in the legislature and executive branch to strengthen our state’s civil rights laws and protections, and vigorously defend all Connecticut residents when our rights and liberties are at risk.

Crumbling Foundations
William is a strong, proactive leader on investigating and remedying the crisis of crumbling foundations in Eastern Connecticut. He led the way in introducing legislation in the Judiciary Committee, and is leading an investigation into how language changes in homeowners’ insurance policies concerning the “perils of collapse” may have affected coverage.

As Attorney General, William will continue to investigate the causes of crumbling foundations and the failure of any responsible parties to help families who are at risk of losing their homes.

Net Neutrality
Attorney General Jepsen’s decision to join 20 other Attorneys General to oppose the FCC decision on net neutrality is the right one. The Trump administration’s proposal to allow big multinational companies to gain further control over the internet’s free flow of information is harmful to the country and Connecticut residents. Here in Connecticut, we will stand opposed to the harmful policies coming out of Washington.

As Attorney General, William will continue Attorney General Jepsen's participation in this lawsuit and join any further actions that keeps the internet open and free from additional restrictions and corporate influence. [13]

—William Tong’s campaign website (2018)[14]

Campaign advertisements

The following is an example of an ad from Tong's 2018 election campaign.

"William Tong for Attorney General" - Tong campaign ad, released April 24, 2018

Political career

Attorney general of Connecticut (2019-present)

Tong is the 25th attorney general of Connecticut. He was elected in November 2018 and assumed office on January 9, 2019.

Connecticut House of Representatives (2007-2019)

Committee assignments

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Connecticut committee assignments, 2017
Environment
Judiciary, Co-chair
2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Tong served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Tong served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Tong served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Tong served on these committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


William Tong campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Attorney General of ConnecticutWon general$1,038,689 $1,038,729
2016Connecticut House of Representatives, District 147Won $34,241 N/A**
2014Connecticut State House, District 147Won $35,592 N/A**
2012Connecticut State House, District 147Won $32,595 N/A**
2010Connecticut State House, District 147Won $35,108 N/A**
2008Connecticut State House, District 147Won $8,109 N/A**
2006Connecticut State House, District 147Won $87,610 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only availabale data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Connecticut

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Connecticut scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.







2018

In 2018, the Connecticut General Assembly was in session from February 7 to May 9.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor policy.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012

See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Attorney General of Connecticut
2019-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Connecticut House of Representatives District 147
2007-2019
Succeeded by
-