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Attorney General of Utah

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Utah Attorney General

UT Atty Gen logo.JPG

General information
Office Type:  Partisan
Office website:  Official Link
Compensation:  $157,320
2024 FY Budget:  $66,011,400
Term limits:  None
Structure
Length of term:   4 years
Authority:  Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 1
Selection Method:  Elected
Current Officeholder

Attorney General of Utah Sean D. Reyes
Republican Party
Assumed office: 2013-12-30

Elections
Next election:  November 5, 2024
Last election:  November 3, 2020
Other Utah Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Attorney General •Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Attorney General of Utah is a publicly elected executive position within the Utah state government. The attorney general is the chief law enforcement, legal officer, and lawyer for Utah. The attorney general also serves as a member of the State Boards of Prison Commissioners, Insane Asylum Commissioners, and Reform School Commissioners.

Utah has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current attorney general is Sean D. Reyes (R). Gov. Gary Herbert (R) appointed Reyes on December 30, 2013.[1]

Authority

The office of attorney general is established in Article VII, Section 1 of the state constitution.

Article VII, Section 1:

The elective constitutional officers of the Executive Department shall consist of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Attorney General...[2]

Qualifications

Article VII, Section 3 of the Utah Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

To be eligible for the office of Attorney General a person shall be 25 years of age or older, at the time of election, admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Utah, and in good standing at the bar.[2]

Elections

Utah state government organizational chart

According to Article VII, Section 2 of the state constitution, Utah voters elect the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer and auditor.

Per Article VII, Section 1, the newly elected attorney general takes office beginning on the first Monday of January next after their election.

...every four years at the time and place of voting for members of the Legislature. The candidates respectively having the highest number of votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected. If two or more candidates have an equal and the highest number of votes for any one of the offices, the two houses of the Legislature at its next session shall elect by joint ballot one of those candidates for that office.[2]

2024

See also: Utah Attorney General election, 2024

General election

General election for Attorney General of Utah

Rudy Bautista, Derek Brown, Andrew McCullough, Austin Hepworth, and Michelle Quist are running in the general election for Attorney General of Utah on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/RudyBautista.png
Rudy Bautista (D)
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Derek_Brown.jpg
Derek Brown (R)
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/W._Andrew_McCullough.jpg
Andrew McCullough (L)
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/AustinHepworth2024.jpeg
Austin Hepworth (Unaffiliated)
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/MichelleQuist.png
Michelle Quist (United Utah Party)

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Utah

Derek Brown defeated Rachel Terry and Frank Demcy Mylar in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Utah on June 25, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Derek_Brown.jpg
Derek Brown
 
45.8
 
118,560
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/RachelTerry_UT.jpg
Rachel Terry Candidate Connection
 
33.6
 
86,828
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FrankDemcyMylar.jpg
Frank Demcy Mylar
 
20.6
 
53,287

There were no incumbents in this race. Source

Total votes: 258,675
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Andrew McCullough advanced from the Libertarian primary for Attorney General of Utah.

United Utah Party primary election

The United Utah Party primary election was canceled. Michelle Quist advanced from the United Utah Party primary for Attorney General of Utah.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Attorney General of Utah

Rudy Bautista defeated David Carlson in the Democratic convention for Attorney General of Utah on April 27, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/RudyBautista.png
Rudy Bautista (D)
 
64.4
 
511
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/DaveCarlson.png
David Carlson (D)
 
35.6
 
282

There were no incumbents in this race.

Total votes: 793
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican Convention for Attorney General of Utah

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Rachel Terry in round 2 , and Frank Demcy Mylar in round 2 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 3,778
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Attorney General of Utah

Andrew McCullough advanced from the Libertarian convention for Attorney General of Utah on April 20, 2024.

Candidate
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/W._Andrew_McCullough.jpg
Andrew McCullough (L)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

United Utah Party convention

United Utah Party convention for Attorney General of Utah

Michelle Quist advanced from the United Utah Party convention for Attorney General of Utah on April 20, 2024.

Candidate
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/MichelleQuist.png
Michelle Quist (United Utah Party)

There were no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Utah Attorney General election, 2020

General election

General election for Attorney General of Utah

Incumbent Sean D. Reyes defeated Greg Skordas and Rudy Bautista in the general election for Attorney General of Utah on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/220px-Sean_Reyes_.jpg
Sean D. Reyes (R)
 
60.6
 
878,853
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Greg Skordas (D)
 
33.7
 
489,499
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/RudyBautista.png
Rudy Bautista (L)
 
5.7
 
82,444

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,450,796
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Utah

Incumbent Sean D. Reyes defeated David Leavitt in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Utah on June 30, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/220px-Sean_Reyes_.jpg
Sean D. Reyes
 
54.0
 
275,212
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/DavidLeavitt1.jpg
David Leavitt
 
46.0
 
234,036

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 509,248
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Attorney General of Utah

Greg Skordas defeated Kevin Craig Probasco in the Democratic convention for Attorney General of Utah on April 25, 2020.

Candidate
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/KevinProbasco1.jpg
Kevin Craig Probasco (D)
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Greg Skordas (D)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican Convention for Attorney General of Utah

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: David Leavitt in round 2 , and Sean D. Reyes in round 2 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 3,570
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2016

See also: Utah Attorney General election, 2016

The general election for attorney general was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Sean D. Reyes defeated Jon Harper, Andrew McCullough, and Michael IsBell in the Utah attorney general election.

Utah Attorney General, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Sean D. Reyes Incumbent 65.41% 719,043
     Democratic Jon Harper 25.07% 275,568
     Libertarian Andrew McCullough 6.73% 73,973
     Independent American Party Michael IsBell 2.79% 30,687
Total Votes 1,099,271
Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office-Elections

Full history


Vacancies

In the event of a vacancy in the office of attorney general, treasurer, auditor, or superintendent of public instruction, Article VII, Section 10 of the state constitution allows the governor to fill the vacancy by appointment. The appointee must be from the same political party as the previous officer and shall hold the office until a successor is elected and qualified.[2]

Duties

The mission of the office of the attorney general is to uphold the constitutions of the United States and of the state, enforce the law, provide counsel to state agencies and public officials, assist law enforcement, and protect the interests of the state, its people, environment and resources. Specific duties of the attorney general include:[2]

“
  • Prosecute or defend all causes in which the state or a state agency is a party.
  • Initiate legal proceedings on behalf of the state.
  • Direct the process of executions on judgments.
  • Account for state funds which comes into possession of the office.
  • Keep a file on each case, civil or criminal, in which the attorney general is required to appear.
  • Act as supervisor to district and county attorneys within the state.
  • Give opinions on questions of law to state agencies, officers, boards, commissions and to county or district attorneys.
  • Assist district or county attorneys when required by public service or by the governor.
  • Purchase property in the name of the state offered under executions and enter partial or whole satisfactions of judgment as directed by the state board of examiners.
  • If a judgment debtor’s property is under a prior encumbrance, the attorney general shall redeem the property.
  • Pay costs necessary to the prosecution of any proceedings necessary to set aside fraudulent conveyances made by judgment debtors.
  • Discharge the duties of a member of any official boards of which the attorney general is legally required to be a member.
  • Prosecute corporations which act illegally.
  • Investigate in order to recover property which should revert to the state.
  • Administer the state children's justice center program.
  • Assist the state constitutional defense council.
  • Investigate and prosecute criminal violations of the Utah False Claims Act.
  • Investigate and prosecute complaints of abuse, neglect or exploitation of patients at health care facilities that receive payments under the state Medicaid program.[3]
 ”

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, divisions within the Attorney General's Office included:[4]

  • Constitutional
  • Appellate
  • Civil
  • Criminal

State budget

See also: Utah state budget and finances

The budget for the attorney general's office in Fiscal Year 2024 was $66,011,400.[5]

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: UT Code § 67-22-1 (2014)

The attorney general, along with Utah's other elected executives, is entitled to a fixed salary, pursuant to Article VII, Section 18 of the Utah Constitution.

The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and any other state officer as the Legislature may provide, shall receive for their services a fixed and definite compensation as provided by law.[2]

The amount of compensation the attorney general receives annually is set by Title 67, Chapter 22, Section 1 of the Utah Code.[6]

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $157,320, according to the Council of State Governments.[7]

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $157,320, according to the Council of State Governments.[8]

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $152,709 according to the Council of State Governments.[9]

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $104,405 according to the Council of State Governments.[10]

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $104,405 according to the Council of State Governments.[11]

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $104,405 according to the Council of State Governments.[12]

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $104,405 according to the Council of State Governments.[13]

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $98,509 according to the Council of State Governments.[14]

2014

In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $98,509 according to the Council of State Governments.[15]

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $98,509. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.[16]

Historical officeholders

There have been 21 attorneys general of Utah since 1896.[17]

List of officeholders from 1896-Present
# Name Tenure Party
1 A. C. Bishop 1896 - 1901
2 M. R. Breeden 1901 - 1909
3 A. R. Barns 1909 - 1917
4 Dan B. Shields 1917 - 1921
5 Harvey H. Cluff 1921 - 1929
6 George P. Parker 1929 - 1933
7 Joseph Chez 1933 - 1941
8 Grover A. Giles 1941 - 1949
9 Clinton D. Vernon 1949 - 1953
10 E. R. Callister 1953 - 1959
11 Walter L. Budge 1959 - 1961
12 A. Pratt Kessler 1961 - 1965
13 Phil L. Hansen 1965 - 1969
14 Vernon B. Romney 1969 - 1977
15 Robert B. Hansen 1977 - 1981
16 David L. Wilkinson 1981 - 1989
17 Paul Van Dam 1989 – 1993
18 Jan Graham 1993 - 2001
19 Mark L. Shurtleff 2001 - 2013 Ends.png Republican
20 John Swallow 2013 - 2013 Ends.png Republican
21 Sean Reyes 2013 - present Ends.png Republican

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Utah Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Attorney General of Utah - Google News

Contact information

Office of the Attorney General
350 North State Street Suite 230
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2320

Phone: 801-366-0260

See also

Utah State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Utah State Executive Offices
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Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Attorney General of Utah, "Meet Sean," accessed January 11, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Utah State Legislature, "Utah Constitution," accessed January 11, 2021
  3. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ Attorney General of Utah, "Departments," accessed January 11, 2021
  5. ↑ Utah Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, "Budget of the State of Utah and related Appropriations - Fiscal years 2023 and 2024," accessed December 6, 2023
  6. ↑ Justia.com, "UT Code § 67-22-1 (2014)," accessed January 11, 2021
  7. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
  8. ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 28, 2022
  9. ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2020," accessed January 5, 2021
  10. ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2019," accessed January 5, 2021
  11. ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2018," accessed January 5, 2021
  12. ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2017," accessed January 5, 2021
  13. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
  14. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
  15. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed December 8, 2014
  16. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," January 29, 2014
  17. ↑ Garrett Fortin, "Email communication with the Research Center of the Utah State Archives & Utah State History," January 14, 2014
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