Schuchardt Calls for an Elected Attorney General in Tennessee

December 06, 2025 at 02:04 AM EST

Knoxville, Tennessee, 6 Dec 2025, ZEX PR WIRE, Elliott Schuchardt, a candidate for the Tennessee General Assembly, says that Tennessee should elect its attorney general, rather than appoint the position. This would be a change in the law.

Tennessee uses a unique method for choosing the state’s attorney general. The state Supreme Court chooses the attorney general for an eight-year term.

Tennessee is the only state in the United States that selects its attorney general in this manner. Virtually all other states have their voters select the state attorney general, by means of an election. In five states, the governor selects the attorney general. In one state – Maine – the attorney general is selected by the state legislature.

Schuchardt contends that the Tennessee system is ripe for abuse. According to Schuchardt, the Tennessee system centralizes too much power in Tennessee. “We have too many un-elected positions in the state,” he says. Schuchardt points out that the members of the state Supreme Court are chosen by the governor, from a list chosen by a nominating committee. As a result, he says, “the governor has significant control over both the courts and the attorney general’s office.” There are few checks and balances over large portions of the Tennessee government, as a result of the system.

In addition, he says, “we need to open up this position to others who want to run for office.” Schuchardt says that he is interested in running for the position, if it becomes an elected position in the future.

Schuchardt has filed a lawsuit against a government employee at the state’s Board of Professional Responsibility. In that lawsuit, Schuchardt alleges that the state ethics Board is filing cases against political candidates in Tennessee. Schuchardt has a list of more than fifty candidates attacked by the Board, in recent years. According to the complaint, the Board has filed ethics cases against two candidates for President of the United States, two candidates for governor of Tennessee, a former clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, and two presidents of their county bar associations. Schuchardt is seeking the assistance of the state Attorney General in the case.

Elliott J. Schuchardt is a candidate for the Tennessee General Assembly in the 2026 election. Schuchardt is the author of America’s Achilles Heel: How to Protect Your Family When America Loses the Reserve Currency. The book says that the dollar is artificially overvalued, due to the world’s use of the dollar in the commodities markets. In the book, Schuhcardt says that the dollar could lose much of its value, if the Middle East were to sell oil for a new currency in a short period of time.

Schuchardt is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Law School. Schuchardt practiced law for nearly thirty years, before running for office. He focused his legal practice on civil liberties issues in the courts.