Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2020
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Oct. 19
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Sept. 28[2]
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (postmarked); Nov. 6 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: No ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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| Pennsylvania Attorney General |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: February 18, 2020 |
| Primary: June 2, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent(s): Josh Shapiro (D) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Pennsylvania |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2020 Impact of term limits in 2020 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
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Pennsylvania held an election for attorney general on November 3, 2020. The primary was scheduled for June 2, 2020. The filing deadline was February 18, 2020.
Incumbent Josh Shapiro won election in the general election for Attorney General of Pennsylvania.
Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Pennsylvania modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: The mail-in ballot receipt deadline for the general election was extended to November 6, 2020. Drop boxes were made available to return ballots. The state provided prepaid return postage for all mail-in and absentee ballots.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for Attorney General of Pennsylvania
Incumbent Josh Shapiro defeated Heather Heidelbaugh, Daniel Wassmer, and Richard Weiss in the general election for Attorney General of Pennsylvania on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Josh Shapiro (D) | 50.9 | 3,461,472 |
 | Heather Heidelbaugh (R) | 46.3 | 3,153,831 | |
 | Daniel Wassmer (L)  | 1.8 | 120,489 | |
 | Richard Weiss (G) | 1.0 | 70,804 | |
| Total votes: 6,806,596 | |||
| = 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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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Pennsylvania
Incumbent Josh Shapiro advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Pennsylvania on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Shapiro | 100.0 | 1,429,414 |
| Total votes: 1,429,414 | |||
| = 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 Pennsylvania
Heather Heidelbaugh advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Pennsylvania on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Heather Heidelbaugh | 100.0 | 1,055,168 |
| Total votes: 1,055,168 | |||
| = 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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Candidate Conversations
Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A.
Click below to watch the conversation for this race.
Campaign finance
The tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Past elections
2016
The general election for attorney general was held on November 8, 2016.
Josh Shapiro defeated John Rafferty in the Pennsylvania attorney general election.
| Pennsylvania Attorney General, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Josh Shapiro |
51.39% | 3,057,010 | |
| Republican | John Rafferty | 48.61% | 2,891,325 | |
| Total Votes | 5,948,335 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State | ||||
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2012Then-incumbent Linda Kelly (R) was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Tom Corbett when he was elected governor in 2010. In keeping with the custom of Pennsylvania statewide appointees, Kelly agreed upon her state senate confirmation not to run for attorney general in the 2012 election. On November 6, 2012, Kathleen Kane (D) defeated David Freed (R) and Marakay Rogers (L) in the general election. Kane was the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general since it became an elected office in 1980.
2008On November 4, 2008, Tom Corbett won re-election to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He defeated John M. Morganelli (D) and Marakay J. Rogers (L) in the general election.
2004On November 2, 2004, Tom Corbett won election to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He defeated Jim Eisenhower (D) and Marakay J. Rogers (G) in the general election.
2000On November 7, 2000, Mike Fisher won re-election to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He defeated Jim Eisenhower (D) and three third-party candidates in the general election.
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See also
| Pennsylvania | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
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