# Tom Miller (politician)

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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Electoral history

1974 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Richard C. Turner (incumbent) | 458,196 | 52.22% |
| | Democratic | Tom Miller | 419,270 | 47.78% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 877,466 | 100.0% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
1978 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 796,665 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |
1982 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 971,064 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1986 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 846,778 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1990 Iowa gubernatorial Democratic primary :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 200,305 | 100.00 |
1994 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 954,519 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1998 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 922,155 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
2002 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | 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 | Write-in | 409 | 0.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 993,663 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
2006 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 748,181 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 748,181 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
2010 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 607,779 | 55.5% |
| | Republican | Brenna Findley | 486,057 | 44.4% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 797 | 0.07% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,094,633 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
2014 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 616,711 | 56.1% |
| | Republican | Adam Gregg | 481,046 | 43.8% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,249 | 0.1% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,099,006 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
2018 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 880,531 | 76.51% |
| | Libertarian | Marco Battaglia | 262,131 | 22.78% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 8,237 | 0.72% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,150,899 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
2022 Iowa Attorney General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Brenna Bird | 611,081 | 50.83% |
| | Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 590,258 | 49.10% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 800 | 0.07% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,202,139 | 100.0% |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |