# Mike Hatch *Minnesota politician and lawyer; Attorney General of Minnesota, 1999–2007* Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is a Minnesota lawyer and politician of the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (DFL). He chaired the state DFL from 1980 to 1983 and headed the [[Minnesota Department of Commerce]] from 1983 to 1989.[^1] He served as [[Attorney General of Minnesota]] from 1999 to 2007.[^2] As Attorney General, Hatch pledged to act as the "people's lawyer," not only as counsel to state agencies.[^1] The filed record shows his office acting as the State's counsel in several cases: - He is named as Attorney General on a 1999 criminal appeal, *State v. Krych*.[^3] - He was counsel for the Commissioner in *Carrillo v. Fabian* (2005).[^4] - His office defended the announce clause in *RPM v. White*. The Supreme Court of the United States struck the clause down on First Amendment grounds on June 27, 2002.[^5] Hatch lost the November 7, 2006, governor's race to the incumbent, [[Tim Pawlenty]], by less than 1%, and left office in January 2007.[^1][^6] His successor, [[Lori Swanson]], held the office until 2019. In 2019 the two co-founded the law firm Swanson|Hatch P.A.[^7][^8] ## Early life and career Hatch finished East High School in Duluth in 1966 and enrolled at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He left for 18 months of service in the Merchant Marine, then returned to complete his degree with honors.[^1] He received his law degree from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in 1973.[^1] The project's claim rows list the Law School as the law school shared by several Minnesota Attorneys General, Hatch among them.[^9] Through the 1970s he worked as a trial lawyer in private practice. The DFL made him its state chair in 1980.[^1] Governor [[Rudy Perpich]] named him commerce commissioner in 1983, and he held that post until 1989.[^1] ## State Chair of the DFL (1980–1983) Hatch won the chairmanship at the party's June 1980 convention. He prevailed on the third ballot among six candidates, two years after the DFL's 1978 defeats.[^1] When he took over, the party had defaulted on the mortgage for its headquarters and had no money for the 1980 campaign.[^1] ## Commissioner of Commerce Perpich first placed Hatch at the head of the Department of Securities and Real Estate on December 7, 1982. Hatch then folded that agency, together with the insurance and banking departments, into a single Department of Commerce. The merger was finished in July 1983.[^1] As commissioner, Hatch set up an enforcement division that eventually received about 40,000 public complaints a year. Several dozen claims-processing standards were enacted during his tenure; they are known collectively as the Unfair Claims Practices Act.[^1] ## Attorney general of Minnesota (1999–2006) Before running for office, Hatch had represented more than 50 women without fee in suits seeking HMO coverage for breast cancer treatment. That work led him into the 1998 race, which he ran on health care and corporate misconduct.[^1] He won the office in 1998 and a second term in 2002. The Attorney General's office lists his tenure as 1999 to 2007.[^10][^2][^1] In March 1999 Hatch sued American Family Mutual. He alleged that the insurer paid only for the hail- or wind-damaged portion of a roof or siding. The [[Minnesota Court of Appeals]] upheld his standing to bring the suit in April 2000, and Hatch prevailed in the case that October.[^1] The court files from his tenure show the office as the State's counsel: - *State v. Krych*, No. KX-97-2291 (Minn. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 1999) (unpublished), names Attorney General Mike Hatch. The court affirmed a first-degree assault conviction and held the prosecutorial misconduct in the case harmless.[^3] - In *Carrillo v. Fabian*, No. A03-1663 (Minn. July 28, 2005), Hatch and Assistant Attorneys General Elizabeth Richter Schaffer and Jennifer A. Service appeared for the Commissioner. The decision concerns a liberty interest in a supervised-release date and the preponderance standard; the ACLU appeared as amicus.[^4] - In *RPM v. White*, 536 U.S. 765, decided June 27, 2002, Hatch's office defended the announce clause, and the Supreme Court struck it down under the First Amendment.[^5] Two newspapers covered an account that Hatch had called a reporter a "Republican whore." The Post-Bulletin ran the headline *Hatch calls reporter 'Republican whore'*, and the Duluth News Tribune reported under the headline *Hatch denies 'Republican whore' comment*.[^11][^12] The pack does not date either report. ## 2006 gubernatorial campaign At the June 2006 DFL state convention in Rochester, Hatch won the party's non-binding endorsement over state senators Steve Kelley and Becky Lourey. He chose former state auditor Judi Dutcher, who had left the Republican Party in 2000, as his running mate, and he won the September primary.[^1] On November 7, 2006, he lost to Pawlenty by under 1% in a four-way race. The race also included Independence Party nominee Peter Hutchinson and Green Party nominee Ken Pentel.[^1][^6] The project's time-table row on the race gives the margin as 1%.[^6] After his term ended in January 2007, Hatch went back to private practice.[^1] Swanson had succeeded him and served as Attorney General from 2007 to 2019.[^7] She and Hatch co-founded Swanson|Hatch P.A. in 2019; the firm gives its founding as 2019, immediately after Swanson left office.[^8][^13] ## Awards Hatch received the Joan and Walter Mondale Award for Public Service at the 2013 Humphrey-Mondale Awards.[^1] ## Federal action against the State On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^14] The pack does not carry the complaint's docket, allegations or status. The record does not establish any role in that action for Hatch, who left office in January 2007.[^14][^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Mike Hatch (DFL), Minnesota Attorney General, 1999–2007.[^2][^10] ### What - His office defended the announce clause in *RPM v. White*; the Supreme Court struck the clause down.[^5] - Named as Attorney General in *State v. Krych* (1999) and as counsel for the Commissioner in *Carrillo v. Fabian* (2005).[^3][^4] - Co-founded Swanson|Hatch P.A. with Lori Swanson.[^8] ### When - Elected Attorney General, 1998.[^10] - *RPM v. White* decided, June 27, 2002.[^5] - *Carrillo v. Fabian* decided, July 28, 2005.[^4] - Lost the governor's race, November 7, 2006.[^6] - Swanson|Hatch P.A. founded, 2019.[^8] ### Where - Minnesota.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Mike Hatch* (revision 1375460159, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biography: birth date, education, DFL chair 1980–1983, Commerce commissioner, Attorney General tenure, 2006 campaign, 2019 firm, 2013 award. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hatch [^2]: Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, *Attorney General History* — lists Mike Hatch as Attorney General, 1999–2007. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/AGHistory.asp [^3]: Minnesota Court of Appeals, *State v. Krych*, No. KX-97-2291 (Apr. 27, 1999) (unpublished) — Attorney General Mike Hatch named; first-degree assault conviction affirmed; prosecutorial misconduct held harmless. https://mn.gov/law-library-stat/archive/ctapun/9904/1036.htm [^4]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *Carrillo v. Fabian*, No. A03-1663 (July 28, 2005) — counsel for the Commissioner: AG Mike Hatch, AAGs Elizabeth Richter Schaffer and Jennifer A. Service; liberty interest in supervised-release date; preponderance standard; ACLU amicus. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mn-supreme-court/1081318.html [^5]: Supreme Court of the United States, *RPM v. White*, 536 U.S. 765 (June 27, 2002) — announce clause, defended by Hatch's office, struck down on First Amendment grounds. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/536/765/ [^6]: Minnesota Secretary of State, *Historical Election Data* — official election results, including the November 7, 2006 general election. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/data-maps/historical-election-data/ [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Lori Swanson* — Minnesota Attorney General 2007–2019; co-founder of Swanson|Hatch P.A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_Swanson [^8]: Swanson|Hatch P.A., *Swanson|Hatch P.A.* (firm website) — firm founded 2019, immediately after Swanson left office. https://www.swansonhatch.com/ [^9]: University of Minnesota Law School, *Our History* — the Law School, listed in the record as the law school of several Minnesota Attorneys General including Hatch. https://law.umn.edu/about/our-history [^10]: Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, *Minnesota Attorney General* (website) — the office Hatch (DFL) won in the 1998 election. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/ [^11]: Post-Bulletin, *Hatch calls reporter 'Republican whore'* (undated in the pack) — news report. https://www.postbulletin.com/news/hatch-calls-reporter-republican-whore-says-report [^12]: Duluth News Tribune, *Hatch denies 'Republican whore' comment* (undated in the pack) — news report of Hatch's denial. https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/hatch-denies-republican-whore-comment [^13]: Swanson|Hatch P.A., *Lori Swanson* (firm page) — Swanson's profile at Swanson|Hatch P.A. https://swansonhatch.com/lori_swanson [^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — lawsuit announced; Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime