Attorney general races revolve around Trump
DENVER — The top priority for Democrats pushing back against President Donald Trump is gaining control of at least one branch of Congress this year, but they’re also focused on a pivotal seat lower on the ballot — state attorney general.
The top state law enforcement position comes with a political weapon Democrats have wielded 47 times since Trump took office: They have sued the administration as a way to halt policies they regard as unconstitutional or otherwise harmful. Attorneys general have gone to court over immigration, the environment, birth control and internet regulation, among other issues.
That’s a key reason the races are starting to gain attention and money.
“No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” said Sean Rankin, executive director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. “That’s the cornerstone message.”
How well that works as a selling point will be tested in some of the same swing states that also are key to presidential elections. Among them are Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Ohio, which Democrats are targeting as possible pickups because the current Republican attorneys general are not running again.
They also are targeting Republican incumbents in Arizona and Wisconsin as well as in heavily Republican Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia in an effort to add to their total of 23 attorneys general. In all, 30 states and the District of Columbia will have elections for attorney general this year.
Yet for all the pushback against Trump administration policies, how far to take the message of resistance is causing a split in some Democratic primary contests. Some candidates say opposing Trump is important but should not be all-consuming.
The rift has made for some spirited Democratic campaigns. In Colorado, first-time candidate Phil Weiser, a law school dean, explains in a TV commercial that he’s running for state attorney general because of Trump. The ad shows the former Obama administration official as preoccupied with ways to hold the president’s policies in check, even taking notes about it while hiking with his family in the Rocky Mountains.
“The reality is we have a federal government right now that is disregarding the rule of law,” Weiser said in an interview.
Inside an urban winery in a former warehouse surrounded by auto repair shops, state Rep. Joe Salazar, who also is seeking the office, took a jab at Weiser last month. He told about 30 supporters that anyone inspired to run by opposition to Trump “must have lived a very privileged life.”
Salazar, a civil rights lawyer endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, said it’s a given that either Democrat would take on the president.
“That’s the low-hanging fruit,” he said. “We’re all going to be joining lawsuits or initiating lawsuits against the administration.”
But he said he decided to run for different reasons — to spread economic benefits, protect the environment and take actions that help children.