Lori Swanson is the Attorney General of the US state of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. She was elected on November 7, 2006, and took office on January 2, 2007, succeeding Mike Hatch

Mike Hatch

Michael Allen Hatch is an American politician, and was Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007. In 2006, he was the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee for governor of Minnesota...

, who declined to run for re-election in order to run for governor

Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2006

The 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty was endorsed by the state Republican convention on June 2, 2006, while the state Democratic-Farmer-Labor convention endorsed Mike Hatch on June 10, 2006...

. She is the first woman elected Minnesota's attorney general.

Swanson served as deputy attorney general during Mike Hatch's first term, and as Solicitor General during his second term. She also served as chair of the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Federal Reserve Board of Governors

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the 12 District Reserve Banks and with helping implement national monetary policy. Governors are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate...

 in Washington D.C. in 2006. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, and her J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....

 in Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

.

Swanson was re-elected on November 2, 2010, defeating Republican

Republican Party of Minnesota

The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...

 challenger Chris Barden.

Electoral history

• 2010 Race for Attorney General – General Election (Unofficial)
  • Lori Swanson (DFL) 52.9%
  • Chris Barden (GOP) 41.27%
  • Bill Dann (IP) 5.06%
  • David Hoch (Resource Party) 0.69%

• 2010 Race for Attorney General – DFL Primary
  • Lori Swanson 85.61%
  • Leo F. Meyer 14.39%

• 2006 Race for Attorney General – General Election
  • Lori Swanson (DFL) 53.24%
  • Jeff Johnson (GOP) 40.72%
  • John James (IP) 4.05%

• 2006 Race for Attorney General – DFL Primary
  • Lori Swanson 41.75%
  • Steve Kelley 37.34%
  • Bill Luther
    Bill Luther
    William Paul "Bill" Luther is an American politician. Luther was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party member of the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2003, serving in the 104th, 105th, 106th, and 107th congresses, representing Minnesota's 6th congressional...
    
     20.91%

See also

Politics of Minnesota

Politics of Minnesota

Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout; in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, 78.2% of eligible Minnesotans voted – the highest percentage of any U.S. state...

Attorney General of Minnesota