Who Is Dave Yost? Inside the Career of Ohio's Outgoing Attorney General

Dave Yost served as Ohio's 51st Attorney General from January 2019 through his resignation on June 7, 2026. Yost ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2026 but suspended that campaign in May 2026 after the Ohio Republican Party endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy. With his term expiring in January 2027 and a state constitutional bar on consecutive terms, Yost confirmed on May 7, 2026 that he would leave the AG office on June 7 to take a position with Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian conservative legal organization. Governor Mike DeWine will appoint a successor to fill the remainder of Yost's term through January 2027. This guide walks through how Yost built his career across 25 years of Ohio public service, what his AG tenure produced for Ohioans, and what the AG office's operational portfolio means for the state's residents.

From journalist to county prosecutor to state auditor to AG

David Anthony Yost was born in 1956 and grew up in Columbus, Ohio. He earned his undergraduate degree in journalism from The Ohio State University in 1978 and worked as a newspaper reporter for the Columbus Citizen-Journal before deciding to pursue a legal career. He earned his Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School in 1984.

Yost entered Ohio politics through the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office, where he served as an assistant prosecuting attorney before being elected Delaware County Prosecutor in 2003. He served two terms in that role before running successfully for Ohio State Auditor in 2010. As state auditor from 2011 through 2019, Yost oversaw audits of state agencies, local governments, and school districts, building a public profile around financial-accountability investigations and an active office posture that drew bipartisan attention.

In 2018, Yost ran for Ohio Attorney General, defeating Democratic candidate Steve Dettelbach in a closely-contested race. He took office in January 2019. He was re-elected in 2022, defeating Democratic candidate Jeff Crossman. His electoral and biographical record on Ballotpedia traces the eight-year arc of his AG tenure and the prior auditor and county-prosecutor roles.

The Ohio Attorney General's office under Yost

The Ohio Attorney General's Office represents the state in civil litigation, defends the constitutionality of Ohio statutes when challenged, prosecutes certain statewide criminal categories (Medicaid fraud, organized crime, public corruption), provides legal services to state agencies, runs a Bureau of Criminal Investigation with statewide investigative authority, runs a Consumer Protection Section, and operates the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. The office's portfolio is among the broadest of any state AG office because Ohio's combination of population, industry, and federal-litigation activity drives consumer-protection, antitrust, and federal-coalition work that other states' AG offices handle on a smaller scale.

Several major actions characterize Yost's eight years as Ohio AG:

• Opioid distributor and manufacturer settlements. The Yost office negotiated Ohio's share of multistate settlements with opioid distributors (McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen) and manufacturers, producing more than $2 billion in funding directed to Ohio's opioid-response programs over the 18-year payout period.
• Energy-policy litigation. Yost intervened in the Ohio "House Bill 6" scandal that resulted in the conviction of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, recovering tens of millions of dollars on behalf of Ohio ratepayers.
• Multistate federal litigation. Ohio joined Republican-state AG coalitions challenging federal regulatory actions during the Biden administration and continued the multistate-coalition pattern into the second Trump administration in 2025 and 2026.
• Consumer protection enforcement. The Consumer Protection Section pursued investigations against companies operating in Ohio across telecommunications, healthcare billing, online retail, and home-improvement contracting categories.
• Bureau of Criminal Investigation expansion. Under Yost, BCI added forensic-laboratory capacity and digital-evidence units, supporting local law-enforcement agencies that lacked specialized investigative resources.

The 2026 governor's race and the decision to leave the AG office

Yost entered the 2026 Ohio Republican gubernatorial primary in early 2025, seeking to succeed two-term Governor Mike DeWine, who is term-limited under the Ohio Constitution. The Republican primary field included Yost; Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted (who ultimately moved to a different race); Heather Hill, the Mayor of Morgantown; and Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate who had returned to Ohio after that campaign.

In May 2026, the Ohio Republican Party endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. About a week after the endorsement, Yost announced he was suspending his campaign, writing in a message to supporters that "a steep climb to the nomination for governor has become a vertical cliff. I do not wish to divide my political party or my state with a quixotic battle over the small differences between my vision and that of my opponent."

With the governor's race no longer in play and Ohio's constitutional bar on consecutive terms preventing him from running for re-election as AG, Yost confirmed on May 7, 2026 that he would resign as AG on June 7 to take a position with Alliance Defending Freedom, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based Christian conservative legal organization that has pursued litigation on religious-liberty, free-speech, abortion-restriction, and sexual-orientation cases. Governor DeWine will appoint a successor to serve the remainder of Yost's term through January 2027; the 2026 general election will determine the AG for the term beginning January 2027.

What this matters for Ohioans

The Ohio Attorney General's operational reach into ordinary residents' lives runs through several specific functions. Consumer-protection complaints are filed through the office's online intake at ohioattorneygeneral.gov. The Charitable Law Section regulates nonprofits operating in Ohio. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit prosecutes provider fraud against the Ohio Medicaid program. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation supports local law-enforcement investigations across the state.

Most ordinary criminal prosecutions in Ohio are handled by elected county prosecutors, not by the AG. Civil and personal-injury litigation in Ohio runs through the state's Common Pleas Court system with private-practice attorneys, governed by Ohio-specific statutes that differ from neighboring states' frameworks. For Ohio residents evaluating a workers' compensation claim — one of the most distinctive areas of Ohio law, run through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation — our Cleveland workers' comp lawyer guide walks through the BWC process, the attorney-fee structure, and what an injured worker needs to know.

Bottom line

Dave Yost completed 25 years in Ohio public service across roles as county prosecutor, state auditor, and Attorney General before transitioning to private-sector legal work in June 2026. His AG tenure produced major opioid settlements, energy-policy recoveries, and an aggressive multistate-coalition federal-litigation posture. Governor DeWine's appointment of Yost's successor will determine how the office operates through the end of Yost's term in January 2027; the 2026 general election will determine the AG for the term beginning January 2027. The office's operational portfolio — consumer protection, charitable regulation, Medicaid fraud, statewide criminal investigation — continues regardless of which individual holds the office.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the current Attorney General of Ohio?

Dave Yost served as Ohio AG from January 2019 through June 7, 2026, when he resigned to take a position with Alliance Defending Freedom. Governor Mike DeWine will appoint a successor to fill the remainder of Yost's term through January 2027. The 2026 general election will determine the AG for the term beginning January 2027.

What was Dave Yost's career before becoming Ohio AG?

Yost worked as a newspaper reporter at the Columbus Citizen-Journal before pursuing a legal career. He earned his JD from Capital University Law School (1984), worked as an assistant prosecutor in Delaware County, was elected Delaware County Prosecutor in 2003 (serving two terms), then was elected Ohio State Auditor in 2010 (serving from 2011 through 2019), then was elected Ohio Attorney General in 2018 (taking office in January 2019). He was re-elected AG in 2022.

Why did Dave Yost resign before his term ended?

Yost ran for the 2026 Ohio Republican gubernatorial nomination but suspended his campaign in May 2026 after the Ohio Republican Party endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy. With Ohio's constitutional bar on consecutive AG terms preventing him from running for re-election, Yost confirmed on May 7, 2026 that he would resign on June 7, 2026 to take a position with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian conservative legal organization.

What does the Ohio Attorney General do?

The Ohio AG is the chief legal officer of the state. The office represents Ohio in civil litigation, defends the constitutionality of state statutes, prosecutes statewide criminal categories (Medicaid fraud, organized crime, public corruption), provides legal services to state agencies, runs the Bureau of Criminal Investigation with statewide investigative authority, runs a Consumer Protection Section, and operates the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. Most ordinary criminal prosecutions in Ohio are handled by elected county prosecutors, not by the AG.

How do I file a consumer complaint with the Ohio AG?

The Ohio Attorney General's office accepts consumer complaints through the online intake portal at ohioattorneygeneral.gov. Common categories include consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, charitable-solicitation fraud, Medicaid fraud reporting, and complaints about practices by nonprofits operating in Ohio. Each category has its own intake form and process.

Sources

• Ohio Attorney General's Office — ohioattorneygeneral.gov.
• Dave Yost electoral and biographical record on Ballotpedia.
• NBC4 — Attorney General Dave Yost drops out of Ohio's 2026 race for governor.
• The Statehouse News Bureau — Yost confirms he's resigning as Ohio attorney general to take job with Christian legal group.
• The Statehouse News Bureau — Yost reflects on 25 years in Ohio politics.
• National Association of Attorneys General — Dave Yost AG directory profile.

Featured image: photo by Joe Deptowicz on Unsplash.

This article is general legal information about the Ohio Office of the Attorney General and is not legal advice. For case-specific evaluation of an Ohio legal matter, contact an Ohio-licensed attorney in the relevant practice area.