Incumbent Democratic Attorney General of Maryland J. Joseph Curran Jr. declined to seek a sixth term in office, prompted by his son-in-law, Martin O'Malley running for Governor and so wanting to avoid a conflict of interest.

[1] Montgomery County State's Attorney Doug Gansler won the Democratic primary to succeed Curran and faced off against Scott Rolle, the Frederick County State's Attorney who was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Ultimately, Gansler defeated Rolle in a landslide and became the Attorney General of Maryland.

As Gansler and Simms rolled out campaigns for attorney general, they were joined by Montgomery County Councilman Thomas Perez, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, rolled out endorsements from unions, and aired television ads before the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that he did not meet the requirements to appear on the ballot as a candidate.

[2] Glenn Ivey, the Prince George's County State's Attorney, was rumored to be a possible candidate[3] but ultimately declined to run.