Doug Peterson (Nebraska politician)

Doug Peterson (born 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 33rd and current Attorney General of Nebraska. A Republican, Peterson was elected Attorney General during the 2014 election and assumed office in January 2015.

Doug Peterson
33rd Attorney General of Nebraska
Incumbent
Assumed office January 8, 2015
Governor	Pete Ricketts
Preceded by	Jon Bruning
Personal details
Born	1959 (age 61–62) Columbus, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	University of Nebraska, Lincoln (BA) Pepperdine University (JD)
Website	Official website

Biography

Peterson, who was born in Columbus, Nebraska, was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1981 and earned a Juris Doctorate from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 1985. Peterson worked for the District Attorney of Lincoln County for two years until serving an additional two years as an Assistant Nebraska Attorney General to Robert Spire from 1988 until 1990. He entered private practice, where he would remain until his 2014 election as Attorney General of Nebraska.[1][2]

Peterson was sworn in as the 32nd Attorney General of Nebraska at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln on January 8, 2015.[3]

Peterson, who lives in Lincoln, is the nephew of former Governor of Nebraska Val Peterson.[2]

Tenure

In July 2017, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led a group of Republican Attorneys General from nine other states, including Peterson, plus Idaho Governor Butch Otter, in threatening the Donald Trump administration that they would litigate if the president did not terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy that had been put into place by president Barack Obama. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery, III subsequently reversed his position and withdrew his participation from the proposed suit on August 31. Slatery went further to urge passage of the DREAM Act.[4][5] The other Attorneys General who joined in making the threats against Trump included Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas, Lawrence Wasden of Idaho, Derek Schmidt of Kansas, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, and Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia.[6]

Electoral history

Nebraska Attorney General Republican Primary, May 13, 2014[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Doug Peterson	67,578	35.65%
	Republican	Brian C. Buescher	48,316	25.49%
	Republican	Mike Hilgers	43,371	22.88%
	Republican	Pete Pirsch	30,321	15.99%
Plurality			19,262	10.16%
Total votes			189,586	100.00%

Nebraska Attorney General Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Doug Peterson	339,846	66.06
Democratic	Janet Stewart	174,614	33.94

References

1. "Doug Peterson Sworn in as 32nd Attorney General of Nebraska". 1011now.com. January 8, 2015. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
2. Hammel, Paul (February 5, 2014). "Lincoln lawyer Doug Peterson to run for Nebraska attorney general". Omaha.com. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
3. Johnson, Megan (January 8, 2015). "Doug Peterson Sworn In as Nebraska Attorney General". ABC. NebraskaTV. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
4. Tennessee’s attorney general: I’ve changed my mind, DACA is good, pass the DREAM Act, Vox.com, Dara Linddara, September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
5. Texas leads 10 states in urging Trump to end Obama-era immigration program, Texas Tribune, Julián Aguilar, June 29, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
6. SPLC denounces letter from 10 Attorneys General seeking "cruel and heartless" repeal of DACA, Southern Poverty Law Center, June 30, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
7. "Official Report – Primary Election – May 13, 2014" (PDF). Office of the Secretary of State of Nebraska. Government of Nebraska. Retrieved October 26, 2018.