Tom Miller
31st and 33rd Attorney General of Iowa
In office
January 6, 1995 – January 3, 2023
GovernorTerry Branstad
Tom Vilsack
Chet Culver
Kim Reynolds
Preceded byBonnie Campbell
Succeeded byBrenna Bird
In office
January 12, 1979 – January 11, 1991
GovernorRobert Ray
Terry Branstad
Preceded byRichard C. Turner
Succeeded byBonnie Campbell
Personal details
Born
Thomas John Miller

(1944-08-11) August 11, 1944
Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children1
EducationLoras College (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Thomas John Miller (born August 11, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 33rd Attorney General of Iowa from 1995 to 2023. 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.

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 40 years in office makes him the longest serving State Attorney General in United States history, having surpassed Frank J. Kelley's 37-year term of office as Michigan Attorney General; 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 J.D. 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 narrowly lost the 2022 election to Brenna Bird (a rematch of 2010). He was the longest-serving state attorney general in U.S. history.[4]

Electoral history

1974 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard C. Turner (incumbent) 458,196 52.22%
Democratic Tom Miller 419,270 47.78%
Total votes 877,466 100.0%
Republican hold
1978 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller 442,895 55.59%
Republican Richard C. Turner (incumbent) 351,251 44.09%
Socialist Steve Wilson 2,519 0.32%
Total votes 796,665 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican
1982 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 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%
Total votes 971,064 100.0%
Democratic hold
1986 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 545,653 64.44%
Republican James Davis 295,203 34.86%
Independent Eddie Collins 5,922 0.70%
Total votes 846,778 100.0%
Democratic hold
1990 Iowa gubernatorial Democratic primary[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald Avenson 79,022 39.45
Democratic Tom Miller 63,364 31.63
Democratic John Crystal 52,170 26.05
Democratic Jo Ann Zimmerman 4,475 2.23
Democratic Darold Powers 1,167 0.58
Democratic Write-ins 107 0.05
Total votes 200,305 100.00
1994 Iowa Attorney General election
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%
Total votes 954,519 100.0%
Democratic hold
1998 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 603,523 65.45%
Republican Mark Schwickerath 298,528 32.37%
Natural Law Nancy Watkins 20,104 2.18%
Total votes 922,155 100.0%
Democratic hold
2002 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 612,167 61.61%
Republican David Millage 364,480 36.68%
Libertarian Edward Noyes 16,607 1.67%
Write-in 409 0.04%
Total votes 993,663 100.0%
Democratic hold
2006 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 748,181 100.00%
Total votes 748,181 100.0%
Democratic hold
2010 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 607,779 55.5%
Republican Brenna Findley 486,057 44.4%
Write-in 797 0.07%
Total votes 1,094,633 100.0%
Democratic hold
2014 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 616,711 56.1%
Republican Adam Gregg 481,046 43.8%
Write-in 1,249 0.1%
Total votes 1,099,006 100.0%
Democratic hold
2018 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 880,531 76.51%
Libertarian Marco Battaglia 262,131 22.78%
Write-in 8,237 0.72%
Total votes 1,150,899 100.0%
Democratic hold
2022 Iowa Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brenna Bird 611,081 50.83%
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 590,258 49.10%
Write-in 800 0.07%
Total votes 1,202,139 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

Explanatory notes

    Citations

    1. ↑ Waterman, Cole (March 6, 2021). "Michigan's longest-serving attorney general, Frank Kelley, dies at 96". Mlive. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    2. ↑ "Attorney General Tom Miller Biography". Iowa Department of Justice. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
    3. ↑ "About Attorney General Tom Miller". Iowa Department of Justice. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
    4. ↑ "Final Candidate Listing by Office : November 6, 2018 General Election : Iowa Secretary of State's Office" (PDF). Sos.iowa.gov.
    5. ↑ "PRIMARY ELECTION : June 5,1990 : OFFICIAL CANVASS SUMMARY" (PDF). Sos.iowa.gov. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
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