On June 29, 2005, McDaniel announced his candidacy for Attorney General. He faced two primary opponents, Paul Suskie and Robert Leo Herzfeld. During the campaign, 16 former Presidents of the Arkansas Bar Association endorsed McDaniel, as well as former State Treasurer and 2002 Democratic Candidate for Governor,
Jimmie Lou Fisher, who served as McDaniel's campaign chair.
Democratic Primary, 2006 Democratic Primary Run-off, 2006 In the general election, McDaniel faced two opponents: Republican candidate former State Senator Gunner DeLay and Green Party candidate attorney Rebekah Kennedy. McDaniel won his bid for Attorney General and became the youngest attorney general in the nation when he was sworn in at the age of 34.
November 7, 2006 General Election Results First term During his first term as Attorney General, McDaniel expanded consumer protection litigation and Medicaid fraud enforcement and established the Arkansas Attorney General's Office as a law enforcement agency. He also instigated the "Be Street Smart" Program to raise consumer awareness of scams and cybercrimes. McDaniel reorganized the Criminal Department of the Attorney General's Office to better address an increase in the caseload of habeas corpus and 1983 civil rights cases brought by or on behalf of death row inmates. In 2007, McDaniel helped resolve Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee
, a fifteen-year-old case filed by the Lake View School District that examined the structure for the funding of Arkansas schools. This case led to the subsequent overhaul of public school funding to be more fair and exact and to benefit all Arkansas students equally. McDaniel worked closely with legislators during his first two years as Attorney General. In April 2006, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation that gave the public schools additional funding. The special masters’ final report in 2007 was positive, leading the court to declare the funding program for education to be constitutional. The Lake View School District was consolidated with the Barton-Lexa School District through a final series of reforms. McDaniel demanded that payday lenders in Arkansas shut down or face legal action, ordering nearly 156 outlets to shut down and stating, "In addition, I hereby demand you void any and all current and past-due obligations of your borrowers and refrain from any collection activities related to these payday loans." Through litigation on behalf of payday loan customers, more than $7 million was awarded. In 2009, after a year of debate and discussion between agriculture advocates and animal welfare organizations, McDaniel brokered a successful bill to address animal cruelty. The bill, SB 77, called for a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty for a first offense when committed against a dog, cat, or horse. The bill defined animal cruelty as mistreating an animal, killing or injuring an animal that is not your own, abandonment, starvation, failure to provide adequate shelter, or dragging an animal behind a vehicle. SB 77 included stiffer penalties when the abuse is committed in front of a child, increased penalties for subsequent misdemeanor charges (the fourth misdemeanor charge would result in a felony), and required psychological evaluations for offenders. The bill also outlawed all animal fighting as, at the time, only dog fighting was illegal. The bill became Act 33 of 2009. McDaniel passed legislation empowering the Attorney General's Office as the statewide law enforcement agency, allowing for the creation for a cyber division that pursued online sex offenders.
Second term McDaniel was unopposed in the 2010 Democratic Party Primary. During the general election, he again faced Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy. McDaniel easily defended his seat, capturing 72.8% of the vote to secure a second term. During his second term, McDaniel became the first Arkansas Attorney General to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in nearly 16 years, successfully arguing the State's position in
Blueford v. Arkansas (2012). The term also included multiple settlements he procured for the State of Arkansas. In March 2013, McDaniel announced that an arbitration panel issued a ruling allowing a settlement between Arkansas and the tobacco companies that signed the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. Arkansas received the entire settlement money in escrow, which amounted to $22.7 million. That November, McDaniel successfully negotiated a settlement agreement with North Little Rock School District, Pulaski County Special School District, and the Little Rock School District that phased out millions in ongoing, annual desegregation payments. The state would pay the districts $65.8 million for four years, with the final year's funds used only to construct academic facilities. In January 2014, U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall accepted the agreement.
Positions held as Attorney General • National Association of Attorneys General's Southern Region, Chairman (2009-2011) • National Association of Attorneys General's Tobacco Committee, Co-chairman (2009-2013) • National Association of Attorneys General's Energy and Environment Committee, Co-chairman (2013-2014) • Democratic Attorneys General Association, Co-chairman (2009-2011) • Democratic Attorneys General Association's DNC representative (2009-2013) • State chair of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign • Rodel Fellow,
The Aspen Institute (2007–Present) In June 2012, McDaniel filed paperwork to start raising money for his 2014 campaign for Governor of Arkansas. In the first six months, McDaniel raised over $1.5 million. Early polling showed McDaniel as an overwhelming favorite for the Democratic nomination. However, in 2010 and 2012, Republicans took over Arkansas politics, and early polling showed McDaniel as a long shot against Republican opponent
Asa Hutchinson. In 2013, McDaniel announced he would not run for governor, instead endorsing
former Congressman Mike Ross for the Democratic nomination. In 2014, Asa Hutchinson defeated Mike Ross to become the 46th Governor of Arkansas. == Return to private practice ==