The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is a United States national political advocacy group that focuses on electing Republicans as state attorneys general. Its Democratic counterpart is the Democratic Attorneys General Association.
Operations
editRAGA operated as an arm of the Republican State Leadership Committee until 2014, when RAGA was split off.[1] In 2023, the largest donations came from the Concord Fund, with total donations from Concord since 2014 coming to $16.8 million.[2] Since 2020 the group has received about $5.8 million in donations from the oil and gas industry.[3]
The current chairman is Alan Wilson, Attorney General of South Carolina.[4]
Controversy
editRAGA operates The Rule of Law Defense Fund, which became the center of controversy following revelations that it had sponsored mass robocalls urging recipients to support President Donald Trump's rally in front of the Capitol on January 6; the rally resulted in the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[5] The robocall did not advocate for violence or storming the Capitol complex.[5]
Following the January 6 attack, donations to RAGA dropped significantly.[6] The executive director of RAGA, resigned less than a week after the robocall and attack.[7] Chairman Christopher M. Carr, Georgia's Attorney General, resigned in April 2021 as a result of the split within the group over the January 6 attack.[8]
External links
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Burns, Alexander (21 January 2014). "Powerful GOP group splits apart". POLITICO. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Armiak, David (2023-08-01). "Leonard Leo's Concord Fund is RAGA's Top Funder So Far in 2023". EXPOSEDbyCMD. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ Stone, Peter (2024-08-21). "Oil firms and dark money fund push by Republican states to block climate laws". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ^ "Alan Wilson". Republican Attorneys General Association. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ a b Hanna, John (10 September 2021). "GOP group held 'war games' for state AGs before Trump loss". ABC News. AP. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Markay, Lachlan (3 August 2021). "Donations fizzle to GOP attorneys general group involved in Jan. 6 rally". Axios. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Kinnard, Meg (23 April 2021). "Republican AGs group leader quits over call pushing protest". AP. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Newkirk, Margaret (22 April 2021). "GOP Leader Quits Attorney General Group, Citing Rift Over Capitol Riot". Bloomberg. Retrieved 17 February 2022.