House Speaker Paul Ryan (above) said Zack Roday has been "an integral part of Team Ryan for nearly two years." | John Shinkle/POLITICO Republican AGs hire Ryan operative for 2018 buildup

The organization dedicated to electing Republican attorneys general is expanding in preparation for a huge slate of 2018 elections for the influential state positions.

Zack Roday, who has been the press secretary and spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s political operation, will become the Republican Attorneys General Association's first-ever communications director. The group is looking to protect and even grow the GOP’s foothold in the offices, which play a key consumer protection role and have the ability to derail presidential policy in court — and have often been stepping stones for future senators and governors.


There will be 31 state attorney general elections around the country over the next year. Republicans currently hold a majority of the prosecutor roles, and RAGA will take an even bigger role in the next year's campaigns by attacking sitting Democratic attorneys general for the first time, after years of informal agreement between the parties to work only in open-seat races.

The first clash comes next month in Virginia, where Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring is running for a second term. RAGA has transferred $1.15 million to the campaign of Herring’s Republican opponent, John Adams, accounting for nearly half of Adams’ reported fundraising.

Roday will help Republican attorney general candidates set strategy and campaign messages in the 2017 and 2018 elections, when the Democratic Attorneys General Association is also expected to go after GOP incumbents for the first time.

“This is another way for us to take the organization’s sophistication to another level,” said RAGA Executive Director Scott Will. “We have the Virginia attorney general race we’re heavily invested in, but beyond that, it’s just a really massive election cycle. It’s critical for every office but particularly attorney general — so many states have races and we’ve seen steady growth in the number of Republican AGs nationally.”

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“Zack has been an integral part of Team Ryan for nearly two years. He helped me win re-election in Wisconsin and helped House Republicans defend the majority in 2016,” Ryan said in a statement. “The Republican Attorneys General Association is getting a talented and dedicated operative.”

State attorneys general form a key part of both parties’ political benches — “AG” stands not only for attorney general but for “almost governor,” the old joke goes. There are plenty of aspiring senators, too: Already this year, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has announced a Senate run and Missouri’s Josh Hawley has formed an exploratory committee. Michigan’s Bill Schuette, South Dakota’s Marty Jackley and Ohio’s Mike DeWine are all running for governor — with Nevada’s Adam Laxalt expected to jump into the governor’s race in his state on Monday.

Among Democrats, Maine’s Janet Mills is running for governor, while Minnesota’s Lori Swanson is considering it. And several Democratic attorneys general have earned unusually high national profiles this year while fighting President Donald Trump’s administration in court, as did Republicans fighting former President Barack Obama in years past.

Both parties even see electing attorneys general now as a piece of long-term strategy that will become important during the next round of congressional redistricting, after the 2020 census. Some states will have to defend their new maps against court challenges.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association is also aiming to grow its footprint across the country in next year’s elections, with a budget of $10 million to $15 million. The Democratic group raised just under $3 million in the first half of 2017, while RAGA, which has traditionally been better-funded, brought in over $7.3 million.

“RAGA is a great organization with a big bench of talented AGs and candidates, so I’m excited to get to work,” Roday said.

