Dustin Blake McDaniel (born April 29, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th Attorney General of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015.

Mike Beebe, the 45th Governor of Arkansas, was a fellow law student and friend of the family.

He is a member of the Xi Chapter Kappa Sigma fraternity and the President of the Interfraternity Council.

He was elected Honor Council Prosecutor at Bowen and served as Assistant Articles Editor for the UALR Law Review.

From 2000 to 2017, McDaniel was assigned to the Department's Training Division as a Part-Time Category II member of the force.

In 2017, the families were awarded an uncollectible judgment of $150 million against perpetrators Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden.

The same year, he was appointed to the Arkansas Bar Association Law School Committee and admitted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

After securing the Democratic primary, McDaniel went on to face Billie Sue Hoggard (R) in the general election.

In that same election, President George W. Bush (R) defeated Sen. John Kerry (D) 53% to 46% in Arkansas House District 75 (Craighead County).

During his one term, he authored and passed complicated and controversial legislation, including bills regarding Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and establishing a prescription drug program for working, uninsured Arkansans called “Arkansas Rx,” which was never fully implemented.

During his term, McDaniel was the only freshman named to the Top Ten Legislators list by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Democratic Primary, 2006 Democratic Primary Run-off, 2006 In the general election, McDaniel faced two opponents: Republican candidate former State Senator Gunner DeLay and Green Party candidate attorney Rebekah Kennedy.

McDaniel reorganized the Criminal Department of the Attorney General's Office to better address an increase in the caseload of habeas corpus and 1983 civil rights cases brought by or on behalf of death row inmates.

This case led to the subsequent overhaul of public school funding to be more fair and exact and to benefit all Arkansas students equally.

In April 2006, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation that gave the public schools additional funding.

The special masters’ final report in 2007 was positive, leading the court to declare the funding program for education to be constitutional.

McDaniel demanded that payday lenders in Arkansas shut down or face legal action, ordering nearly 156 outlets to shut down and stating, "In addition, I hereby demand you void any and all current and past-due obligations of your borrowers and refrain from any collection activities related to these payday loans."

The bill, SB 77, called for a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty for a first offense when committed against a dog, cat, or horse.

SB 77 included stiffer penalties when the abuse is committed in front of a child, increased penalties for subsequent misdemeanor charges (the fourth misdemeanor charge would result in a felony), and required psychological evaluations for offenders.

McDaniel passed legislation empowering the Attorney General's Office as the statewide law enforcement agency, allowing for the creation for a cyber division that pursued online sex offenders.

Positions held as Attorney General In June 2012, McDaniel filed paperwork to start raising money for his 2014 campaign for Governor of Arkansas.

In 2013, McDaniel announced he would not run for governor, instead endorsing former Congressman Mike Ross for the Democratic nomination.

McDaniel is the national co-chair of the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus (SAGE) and serves on the board of trustees of the Central Arkansas Library System.