Welcome to the inaugural episode of State AG Pulse. From now until August, we’re excited to bring you our insights and commentary on the 2022 state attorney general elections, and why they matter for business leaders. In this first episode, Pulse hosts Lori Kalani and Bernie Nash talk with Karen White, Executive Director of the Attorney General Alliance. They provide a quick “AGs101” tutorial and discuss just how powerful AGs really are. They also preview key issues in the eight open seat races and note which incumbents are at risk in their state races, including some surprises so far in the run up to and early primaries. The discussion also touches on how much it costs to run an election campaign, whether money matters, and the impact of national politics on state races. For all this and more, check out this week’s episode.

State AG Pulse Podcast

Introducing State AG Pulse

In this week’s episode, we get an insider’s perspective on the Nebraska open seat race and its political and business significance from Meghan Stoppel, who served as Consumer Protection Chief under the current AG, Doug Peterson, from 2017 to 2021.

Nebraska: An Insider’s Perspective

In this week’s episode, Bernie and Lori chat with Paul Connell, previously Chief Deputy AG in Wisconsin and Cozen O’Connor’s resident expert on the Arkansas AG race. We review the candidates’ backgrounds and qualifications and try our hand at picking who will win the race in November. We consider how the leading candidate’s background is likely to influence his priorities should he be elected, and discuss Arkansas’ open-door policy and the benefits it confers for businesses seeking to know what is on an AG’s mind.

State AG Pulse

Bless Your Heart, Arkansas

In this week’s episode, hosts Bernie Nash and Jerry Kilgore talk with Pete Bisbee of the Republican Attorneys General Association about what RAGA is, how it recruits candidates, and how it raises money to fund races. They speculate on election winners and losers, which Democrats may be vulnerable, how many seats the Republications hope to pick up in November, and where. Jerry challenges Pete to make his “Pete’s just crazy” prediction, and asks what it would take for the Republicans to play in California, Oregon and other historically “blue” states.

Republicans Forecast A Red Wave

This week Bernie and Lori engage with State AG team member Chris Allen on the race in New Mexico, where the AG’s office is likely to stay blue but a red wave, if it comes, could shake things up. They also ponder AGs’ use of outside counsel to supplement – or supplant -  internal AG staff resources.

New Mexico and the Plaintiff’s Bar Money-Go-Round

In this week’s episode, Lori and fellow State AG Group team member Mira Baylson are in conversation with former AGs Frank Sue Del Papa of Nevada and Betty Montgomery of Ohio, both phenomenal leaders with distinguished track records of achievement in their states. They talk about the overall rise in the number of multi-states and provide their perspectives on the era-defining Master Tobacco settlement of 1998. They bemoan the state of bipartisanship and campaign advertising and ponder the impact of gender on leadership.

Legendary Former AGs Bemoan the State of Bipartisanship

In this week’s episode, Lori gets together with fellow State AG Group members Maria Colsey Heard and Ann-Marie Luciano to talk about the evolution of the DC Office of the Attorney General from a municipal office into a national powerhouse, Karl Racine’s legacy as its first elected AG, and how each of the candidates is likely to follow through on that legacy. They reflect on this year’s contentious race and explore DC’s unique position as both a city with pressing local issues, especially related to housing, and the seat of the federal government.

Local Job, National Impact

The two leading contenders for Maryland AG come from very different backgrounds: Anthony Brown is a past Maryland Lieutenant Governor, Congressman and long-time politician. Katie O’Malley, while she comes from a storied political family, has built her career as a District Court Judge in Baltimore City. In this week’s podcast, host Bernie and his State AG Group colleagues Milton Marquis and Chris Allen debate what this means for their election prospects and the future of the Maryland AG’s office.

The Politician v. The Judge: Maryland’s Primary

In this week’s episode, which is chock full of predictions, Lori, Bernie and Chris engage with Sean Rankin, President of DAGA, on his perceptions of the red wave and Democratic winners and losers. They discuss the complex interplay between state and national politics, which Sean likens to a chess match, the Democratic Party’s priorities for incumbent protection, and some potential surprises coming out of left field.

The Democrats: Playing Their Best Chess Match

Arizona’s demographics are changing, and this now purple state is in many ways a national bellwether. With a crowded Republican field in the down-ballot AG race, Jerry Kilgore and Paul Connell postulate that it’s money that will separate the candidates and determine AG Brnovich’s successor. They discuss the candidates that have it… and those that don’t.

Money Is the Mother's Milk of Politics

Winner Takes All in Kansas

Bernie makes his final predictions before we return after the 2022 general election to analyze the results. He, Lori and Mira review the incumbents and the challengers, talk about who may ride in on whose coattails, and speculate on the make-up of what looks like a bumper freshman class of AGs entering office in 2023.

Season Finale: 2022 AG Election Wrap-Up

In this special post-election episode, host Lori Kalani talks with her partners Jerry Kilgore, Milton Marquis, Paul Connell and Mira Baylson about the outcomes in last Tuesday’s state AG races and the issues and trends that played into the results.

Elections Are About The Future

To wrap up season 2 of AG Pulse, General Rokita of Indiana talks with Jerry Kilgore and Chris Allen about state sovereignty and the role of the states as laboratories of democracy. General Rokita bemoans the uptick in federal interventionism and the threat it presents to state authority as enshrined in the Constitution, illustrating his point of view by drawing on developments in privacy law in general, and the recent location-tracking suit against Google in particular.

The Laboratories of Democracy

This episode of State AG Pulse looks at an investigation by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison into student loan providers alleged to have violated consumer protection and registration laws in his state, and the likelihood that it will sweep in other regulators and ripple throughout the debt servicing industry.

Action By MN AG Ellison Could Ripple Through Debt Servicing Industry

In Episode 3, Meghan Stoppel and Hannah Cornett recommend that all businesses pay attention to the CFPB’s recently issued guidelines on the use of AI tools in credit writing, since other regulators are likely to follow suit and the impacts go beyond the credit industry.

CFPB’s AI Guidelines for Lenders Send Important Signals For All Businesses

In Episode 4, Chris Allen and Emily Yu look at the history of the SAFER Banking Act and consider whether the latest legislative proposal will realize AGs’ bipartisan ambitions for a regulatory and enforcement regime for cannabis that generates additional state revenues, deters bad actors, and provides businesses with predictability and legal certainty.

SAFER Banking Finally Coming To The Cannabis Industry?

When more than $2 billion was withdrawn from consumer bank accounts without authorization, the AGs took notice. The root cause? A payment processor’s use of real customer data instead of dummy data to test one of its payment products and faulty internal data security controls. In Episode 7, Meghan Stoppel and Emily Yu talk about why AGs are particularly concerned about this kind of consumer harm, and what companies can do to prevent this kind of scrutiny.

When Testing Systems, Don’t Use Real Data!

A data breach that exposed sensitive data collected in genetic testing that could potentially be used to target vulnerable populations has attracted the attention of Connecticut AG William Tong. In Episode 9, Chris Allen and Hannah Cornett discuss the implications of the breach and consider ways businesses that collect highly sensitive information can anticipate and prepare for data security incidents.

CT AG Reacts to Genetic Data Breach

State AGs’ authority is by no means limited to their more traditional jurisdictions - consumer protection, privacy, and antitrust - as several recent actions by state AGs in the labor and employment arena clearly demonstrate. In the penultimate episode of season 3, Chris Allen and Keturah Taylor consider recent efforts by Democratic AGs to help protect workers’ access to overtime pay and an enforcement action in DC related to a company’s misclassification of its workforce.

AGs Clock In On Wages

In our third State AG Pulse episode in season 4, we spotlight the pivotal Pennsylvania race with the benefit of insights from Cozen Public Strategies’ Jim Davis in Harrisburg and Joe Hill in Philadelphia. Meghan Stoppel and Siran Faulders engage with Jim and Joe on the PA races from the top of the ticket down. From Rust Belt state Pennsylvania, they traverse the other swing states of the Sun Belt and the South to explore how demographics in those other purple states may also drive voter behaviors.

Swinging Through the Rust Belt, the Sun Belt and the South

In Episode 8 of State AG Pulse, Chris Allen, Ketan Bhirud, and Emily Yu dive into the remaining primaries in this year’s state AG election cycle and the increasingly prominent role played by AGs in influencing federal policy.

The State AG: Both Advocate & Influencer

DEI in the Federal and State Spotlight

In Episode 2 of Season 5, as the new administration pursues actions that will fundamentally reshape US government, former Arkansas AG, now Cozen O’Connor State AG Group Co-Chair, Dustin McDaniel and team members Chris Allen and Grace Garver discuss how #stateAGs will step up and the tools they have to fill the #regulatory void.

With the Reshaping of Government, More Power To State AGs

Episode 3 of Season 5 explores how companies that make products that impact consumers’ and especially kids’ health – from e-cigarettes at one end of the well-being spectrum to breakfast cereals at the other – attract close scrutiny from state AGs.

Don’t Mess With Our Health or Our Kids!

In Episode 4 of Season 5 Jerry Kilgore sits down with Chuck Slemp, who recently joined Cozen O’Connor’s State AG Group, for a peek at the role and responsibilities of a Chief Deputy AG and to find out how his “insider knowledge” informs how he guides clients.

The Inside Scoop: On Being Chief Deputy

In Episode 5 of Season 5 Chris Allen and Hannah Land analyze Texas AG Ken Paxton’s recent $1.4B settlement with Google over alleged use of embedded tracking software and what it tells us about AGs’ privacy and data security concerns.

Massive Google Settlement Shows AGs Serious About Privacy

In Episode 6 of Season 5 Chris Allen and Emily Yu examine New York’s proposed FAIR Business Practices Act and what it tells us about how AGs’ consumer protection authority is evolving to address the challenges on the horizon.

A FAIR Go For NY Consumers

In Episode 7 of Season 5 former VA Chief Deputy AG Chuck Slemp runs down the Democratic candidates in the upcoming VA Primary with Grace Garver and gives his prediction for who will win the race in November.

The VA Primary – A Bellwether For the Country?

In the final episode of Season 5, Keturah Taylor talks with Cozen O’Connor colleagues Danielle Sapega and Rick Van Buren about the complex regulatory environment for GLP-1 drugs—including increasing state AG scrutiny—and they outline a road map to help legitimate market participants avoid pitfalls.

State AGs Weigh In On GLP-1s

In this bonus episode in Season 5, Chris Allen and Chuck Slemp consider the power of incumbency and other determining factors in next year’s bumper state AG election cycle.

An Early Peek At the 2026 State AG Elections

Welcome to State AG Pulse, presented by Cozen O’Connor’s State AG Group. State AG Pulse is a limited series podcast that leverages our decades of experience to help business leaders navigate the 2022 state AG elections and understand and manage related opportunities and risks.

State AG Pulse

Popular tracks