{ "id": "epm4z4pbew", "slug": "dan-rayfield", "title": "Dan Rayfield", "updated": "2026-09-29", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law" }, { "id": "society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers", "label": "Law officers, prosecutors, and military legal personnel", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers.attorneys_general", "label": "Attorneys General", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers.attorneys_general" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers.attorneys_general.us_state_ag_biographies", "label": "US state and territorial Attorneys General (people)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers.attorneys_general.us_state_ag_biographies" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Law officers, prosecutors, and military legal personnel", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers", "label": "Law officers, prosecutors, and military legal personnel", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Dan Rayfield is an American attorney and Democrat who became Attorney General of Oregon in 2024 after a decade in the legislature, elected Speaker of the House in 2022.", "snippet": "Dan Rayfield is an American attorney and Democrat who became Attorney General of Oregon in 2024 after a decade in the legislature, elected Speaker of the House in 2022.", "node": "society.law.practice.people.people.law_officers.attorneys_general.us_state_ag_biographies", "markdown": "# Dan Rayfield\n\nDan Rayfield is an American politician and attorney who has served as Attorney General of Oregon since being sworn in on December 31, 2024.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) A Democrat, he was elected attorney general in 2024 after a decade in the [Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/oregon) legislature, where he was elected Speaker of the House in 2022.[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/) • [1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n| --- | --- |\n| Party | Democrat[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/) |\n| Current office | Attorney General of Oregon (since December 31, 2024)[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) |\n| Previous offices | Member, Oregon House; Speaker of the House (elected 2022); Co-Chair of the Ways and Means committee[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) |\n| Education | Western Oregon University; Willamette University Law School[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) |\n\n## Party affiliation\n\nRayfield is a Democrat.[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/) His official biography notes that his mother was a Green Party member and his father a Republican, and that he has described learning to identify common ground among differing worldviews.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/)\n\n## Early life and education\n\nRayfield earned his undergraduate degree at Western Oregon University and attended Willamette University Law School; he was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 2006.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) He spent 18 years in private practice.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) He lives in Corvallis with his wife, Amanda, and his son, Adam.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/)\n\n## Career\n\nRayfield served in the Oregon legislature for a decade, representing the City of Corvallis.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) He spent four years as Co-Chair of the Ways and Means committee and was elected Speaker of the House in 2022.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) His official biography describes his tenure as Speaker as including what it calls the nation's strongest abortion protections and bipartisan investments in Oregon's semiconductor industry, education, and housing.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/)\n\nRayfield was elected Attorney General of Oregon in 2024 and was sworn in on December 31, 2024.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) In a 2026 message, he wrote, \"As we enter the second year of this administration, the challenges facing Oregonians demand even more from us.\"[3](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/2026-strategic-vision/) His office states that in his first year the Department of Justice created a new Economic Justice Section, doubled the size of its consumer protection team, launched a public safety pilot program to increase collaboration between state and local law enforcement against organized crime, safeguarded over $4.6 billion in federal dollars for Oregon, and challenged tariffs at the U.S. Supreme Court.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/)\n\n## Electoral history\n\nRayfield was elected Speaker of the Oregon House in 2022.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) He was elected Attorney General of Oregon in 2024.[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/)\n\n## Issues specific to Rayfield\n\nSince taking office, Rayfield has pursued litigation against the federal administration. In July 2025, he joined 20 other attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging the federal government's reinterpretation of a law governing access to social services, which restricted states from using federal funds to provide certain services to individuals who cannot verify immigration status. A federal court later granted the coalition's motion for summary judgment, vacating rules his office said threatened programs including Head Start, Title X family planning clinics, [food banks](https://www.edgepedia.org/food-bank), domestic violence shelters, adult education, and community health centers. Rayfield said, \"Once again, the Trump Administration was playing dangerous games with the lives of vulnerable Oregonians. And once again, we stood up to block these actions and the courts agreed.\"[4](https://www.doj.state.or.us/media-home/news-media-releases/ag-rayfield-protects-social-services-from-trump-attack/)\n\nIn June 2026, the Oregon Legislature's Emergency Board approved 16 new positions in the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division on June 17, 2026, including five assistant attorneys general and one economist, which Rayfield's office said would double the number of attorneys and triple the division's capacity.[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/)\n\n## Positions and voting record\n\n### Antitrust and corporate consolidation\n\nRayfield has made fighting corporate mergers a focus of his tenure, saying the federal government is not doing enough to fight monopolies and mergers. \"Corporations are being allowed to consolidate unchecked - with no federal oversight,\" he said in a statement, adding, \"Oregon and other states are now the last line of defense to protect working families and that's what drove the urgency.\"[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/) Oregon joined a multi-state coalition that sued Live Nation and [Ticketmaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/ticketmaster) in May 2024 under then-Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, and Rayfield's administration continued Oregon's participation; a federal jury determined the companies were operating as a monopoly and overcharging for concert tickets. Oregon was also part of a group that blocked a merger between Kroger and [Albertsons](https://www.edgepedia.org/albertsons) before Rayfield took office, and the state is part of an effort to block [Nexstar Media Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/nexstar-media-group)'s proposed purchase of Tegna.[2](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/)\n\n### Federal funding and social services\n\nRayfield's office states that as attorney general he is focused on keeping communities safe, protecting seniors and working families, and upholding Oregon's values and the rule of law.[1](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/) Regarding the 2025 social services lawsuit, he said, \"The federal administration attempted to block basic services that thousands of Oregonians rely on every day–things like childcare, health care and food assistance.\"[4](https://www.doj.state.or.us/media-home/news-media-releases/ag-rayfield-protects-social-services-from-trump-attack/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Dan Rayfield, Attorney General - Oregon Department of Justice](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/)\n2. [Oregon lawmakers approve effort to boost antitrust division at Justice Department](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/17/antitrust-division-hiring-oregon/)\n3. [2026 Strategic Vision - Oregon Department of Justice](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/2026-strategic-vision/)\n4. [Attorney General Rayfield Protects Social Services from Trump Attack](https://www.doj.state.or.us/media-home/news-media-releases/ag-rayfield-protects-social-services-from-trump-attack/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › Law officers, prosecutors, and military legal personnel › Attorneys General › US state and territorial Attorneys General (people)*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Dan Rayfield\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Dan Rayfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Dan Rayfield\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-rayfield. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Dan Rayfield is an American attorney and Democrat who became Attorney General of Oregon in 2024 after a decade in the legislature, elected Speaker of the House in 2022." }