Tom Miller (politician)


Thomas John Miller 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 continuously 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.

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.

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.

Electoral history

PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Miller442,89555.59
RepublicanRichard C. Turner351,25144.09
SocialistSteve Wilson2,5190.32

PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Miller 545,65364.44
RepublicanJames Davis295,20334.86
PetitionEddie Collins5,9220.70

PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Miller509,04553.33
RepublicanJoe Gunderson431,99745.26
Natural LawJay Marcus13,4771.41

PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Miller 612,16761.61
RepublicanDave Millage364,48036.68
LibertarianEdward Noyes16,6071.67
Write-insWrite-ins4090.04

PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Miller 607,77953.62
RepublicanBrenna Findley486,05742.88
Write-insWrite-ins7970.07

PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Miller 880,53176.51
LibertarianMarco Battaglia262,13122.78
Write-insWrite-ins8,2370.72