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3 African Americans Who Were Elected State Attorney General In The Midterms

3 African Americans Who Were Elected State Attorney General In The Midterms

Written by Ann Brown

Nov 08, 2018

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The midterm elections were full on surprises and firsts. Among them, the election of three African Americans as State Attorney General making them the first Blacks to hold this position in each of those states.

Letitia James will be the first Black woman elected to statewide office in New York as well as becoming the first African-American woman to be elected attorney general of New York.

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“James, the public advocate for New York City, also broke barriers as first Black woman elected to statewide office in New York, the first woman of any race to be elected as the state’s attorney general, and the first Black person to serve in that position,” the Huffington Post reported.

Democratic New York Attorney General-elect Letitia James, center, celebrates her victory during an election night party in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

 

“Thank you New York,” James tweeted after the election results were in. “Tonight we made history. This is a night for justice, a night for our future. I am proud to be a New Yorker who knows it’s our diversity, strength, courage and determination that makes us great. As your Attorney General I promise to fight for all of us.”

James, who hails from Brooklyn native, beat Republican nominee Keith H. Wofford. James will replace former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who was forced to resign earlier this year after allegations surfaced he physically abused four women.

Over in Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison won his for Minnesota attorney as well.

“With 100% of precincts reporting, Ellison captured about 49% of the vote to best his Republican rival Doug Wardlow, who raked in 45% of the vote, according to Minnesota’s Secretary of State’s Office,” CNN reported.

FILE – This combination of file photos shows the candidates for Minnesota attorney general in the November 2018 election from left, Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and Republican Doug Wardlow. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)

Earlier this year, Ellison decided he wanted to run for the office of attorney general and withdraw his bid for re-election to Congress and instead campaign for Minnesota’s attorney general. Ellison was one of two Muslims in Congress. Ellison has said of this decision that being in the role of Attorney General for Minnesota would put in a better position to fight against the policies of Trump. This also makes Ellison, according to Black America Web, one of the highest-ranking Muslim elected officials in the country.

In Illinois, Democrat Kwame Raoul sailed to an easy victory over Republican Erika Harold to become Illinois’ first new attorney general in an incredible 16 years. Raoul enjoyed a double-digit win over Harold.

“All the way to the end, people were saying this was a nail-biter,” Raoul said with a laugh during his victory speech. “But numbers don’t lie.”

FILE – In this Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, file photo, Illinois state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, speaks with reporters in Springfield, Ill. Raoul is a candidate for the Illinois attorney general office running against Republican Erika Harold in the Nov. 6 election. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

 

“With 86 percent of the state’s precincts reporting, Raoul had won 54 percent of the vote to Harold’s 43 percent and 2 percent for Libertarian Bubba Harsy of Du Quoin, according to unofficial results,” the Chicago Tribune reported

 

 

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