Tom Miller (politician)

Tom Miller
Miller in 2020
31st and 33rd Attorney General of Iowa
In office January 6, 1995 – January 3, 2023
Governor	Terry Branstad Tom Vilsack Chet Culver Kim Reynolds
Preceded by	Bonnie Campbell
Succeeded by	Brenna Bird
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	Thomas John Miller (1944-08-11) August 11, 1944 Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	1
Education	Loras 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.

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		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

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

External links

• Iowa Attorney General's office
• Tom Miller for Iowa Attorney General campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Profile at Vote Smart