Andy Wilson appointed Ohio Attorney General

Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday appointed Andy Wilson as Ohio attorney general, replacing Attorney General Dave Yost. Wilson, the current director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, will serve the remainder of Yost's term, which ends in January 2027 and is up for election this year. Yost was term-limited and ineligible to run for reelection. Democrat John Kulewicz and incumbent Auditor of State Keith Faber, a Republican, are running to replace Yost in the Nov. 3 general election. "I am looking forward to serving as Ohio attorney general and to continuing the mission of keeping Ohioans safe," Wilson said in a news release. "I know from experience how important the office of the Ohio attorney general is," said DeWine, who served as attorney general from 2011-19, in the same news release. "I have great confidence that Andy Wilson will do a great job as the attorney general for the state of Ohio. I base this on watching him as a former Clark County prosecuting attorney and working with him on a daily basis as the director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety." Yost has announced he is taking a private sector job starting next month. In a separate news release, Yost called DeWine's pick to replace him a "wise selection to ensure that the mission of the office and the great progress we've made in the past seven-plus years remains in steady hands." "As a former county prosecuting attorney, Andy understands law enforcement and the Attorney General's Office. As director of the Department of Public Safety, our offices have frequently collaborated to keep Ohioans safe," Yost said. "Congratulations to Andy and his family — I wish him the best." Wilson is a graduate of Wright State University and the University of Dayton School of Law. He and his wife Libby have two daughters. A veteran of the Ohio National Guard, his legal career began in 2002 in Clark County where he specialized in prosecuting crimes against children. Wilson was appointed Clark County prosecutor in 2011 and later elected to two terms. He served as DeWine's senior adviser for criminal justice policy starting in 2019 and worked on numerous statewide task forces, boards and special projects. In 2020, DeWine assigned Wilson to help the Pike County Prosecutor's Office prosecutor four defendants in the 2016 murders of eight people in the Rhoden, Manley and Gilley families. Two of the defendants pleaded guilty and Wilson helped convict a third at trial, according to DeWine's office. DeWine appointed Wilson as director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety in late 2022, where Wilson oversaw the department's 10 divisions, nearly 4,000 employees and a $2.5 billion biannual budget.