Tom Miller (politician)

Tom Miller
31st and 33rd Attorney General of Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 1995
Governor	Terry Branstad Tom Vilsack Chet Culver Kim Reynolds
Preceded by	Bonnie Campbell
In office January 12, 1979 – January 11, 1991
Governor	Robert Ray Terry Branstad
Preceded by	Richard C. Turner
Succeeded by	Bonnie Campbell
Personal details
Born	(1944-08-11) August 11, 1944 (age 77) Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	1
Education	Loras College (BA) Harvard University (JD)
Website	Government website

Thomas John Miller (born August 11, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 33rd and current Attorney General of Iowa. After the defeat of West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw in 2012 when running for reelection, Miller became the longest serving State Attorney General in the United States, having been in office since 1995.

A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the same position from 1979 to 1991 as the state's 31st Attorney General. Miller's combined tenure of over 38 years in office makes him the longest serving State Attorney General in United States history, having surpassed Michigan Attorney General Frank J. Kelley's 37-year term of office, though Kelley still holds the record for longest continuous tenure as an attorney general, having served from 1961 to 1999.^[1]

Early life and education[]

Miller was raised in Dubuque, Iowa to parents Elmer and Betty Miller. His father was a longtime county assessor. He graduated from Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, earned his undergraduate degree at Loras College in Dubuque, and completed his law degree at Harvard Law School in 1969.^[2][3]

Early career[]

Miller served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Baltimore for one year and as a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative John Culver of Iowa. He worked for the Baltimore Legal Aid Bureau, and taught at the University of Maryland School of Law.

In 1973, Miller returned to northeast Iowa and opened a law practice in McGregor, Iowa. He served as the city attorney for McGregor and Marquette, Iowa for five years. In 1974, he won the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of Iowa, but lost the general election to Republican incumbent Richard C. Turner.

Attorney General[]

Miller was first elected Attorney General of Iowa in 1978, defeating Richard Turner in a rematch. He was re-elected in 1982 and 1986. In 1990 Miller ran for governor and lost to Donald Avenson in the Democratic primary. After that loss, Miller worked in private practice with the Des Moines office of the Faegre & Benson law firm. He was again elected Attorney General in 1994, and was re-elected in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. Miller is serving his tenth four-year term as of 2019, and is the longest-serving state attorney general in U.S. history.^[4]

Electoral history[]

Iowa Attorney General Election, 1974

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Richard C. Turner	458,196	52.22
Democratic	Tom Miller	419,270	47.78

Iowa Attorney General Election, 1978

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller	442,895	55.59
Republican	Richard C. Turner	351,251	44.09
Socialist	Steve Wilson	2,519	0.32

Iowa Attorney General Election, 1982

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	577,277	59.45
Republican	Walter Conlon	388,284	39.98
Libertarian	Dean Heyne	2,811	0.29
Socialist	Brent Lee Vanderlinden	2,692	0.28

Iowa Attorney General Election, 1986

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	545,653	64.44
Republican	James Davis	295,203	34.86
Petition	Eddie Collins	5,922	0.70

Iowa Governor Democratic Primary Election, 1990

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Donald Avenson	79,022	39.47
Democratic	Tom Miller	63,364	31.65
Democratic	John Chrystal	52,170	26.06
Democratic	Jo Ann Zimmerman	4,475	2.24
Democratic	Darold Powers	1,167	0.58

Iowa Attorney General Election, 1994

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller	509,045	53.33
Republican	Joe Gunderson	431,997	45.26
Natural Law	Jay Marcus	13,477	1.41

Iowa Attorney General Election, 1998

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	603,523	65.45
Republican	Mark Schwickerath	298,528	32.37
Natural Law	Nancy Watkins	20,104	2.18

Iowa Attorney General Election, 2002

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	612,167	61.61
Republican	Dave Millage	364,480	36.68
Libertarian	Edward Noyes	16,607	1.67
Write-ins	Write-ins	409	0.04

Iowa Attorney General Election, 2006

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	748,181	100.00

Iowa Attorney General Election, 2010

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	607,779	53.62
Republican	Brenna Findley	486,057	42.88
Write-ins	Write-ins	797	0.07

Iowa Attorney General Election, 2014

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	616,711	53.99
Republican	Adam Gregg	481,046	42.11
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,249	0.11

Iowa Attorney General Election, 2018

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Tom Miller (inc.)	880,531	76.51
Libertarian	Marco Battaglia	262,131	22.78
Write-ins	Write-ins	8,237	0.72

References[]

Explanatory notes[]

Citations[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas John Miller.

• Iowa Attorney General's office
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Profile at Vote Smart

Legal offices
Preceded by Richard C. Turner	Attorney General of Iowa 1979–1991	Succeeded by Bonnie Campbell
Preceded by Bonnie Campbell	Attorney General of Iowa 1995–present	Incumbent