Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced in a press release Monday morning he will seek a sixth term for office as a Republican in 2022.
Wasden was first elected in 2002, making him the longest serving attorney general in Idaho history. He will face several opponents in the May primary, including former U.S. Rep. Raúl Labrador, who announced last week he is running for the post.
Other candidates who have appointed a political treasurer as Republicans seeking the office are Coeur d’Alene attorneys Arthur Macomber and D. Colton Boyles.
“It is an honor to serve my home state as attorney general,” Wasden wrote in the release. “I love Idaho and its people and still feel I have something to offer. I’m humbled by the opportunity to again throw my hat in the ring.”
The Idaho Attorney General’s office is, essentially, the state’s largest law firm. Its attorneys represent the state government, including other elected officials.
Wasden has faced criticism from conservative circles in Idaho over some of the legal opinions his office has been asked to issue. Most recently, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin held an event in East Idaho, with Macomber, to criticize Wasden’s office for its advice in a public records dispute with Idaho media organizations.
In the release, Wasden said he has provided clear, objective legal counsel based on the law, calling “balls and strikes fairly and squarely.”
“This has been my guiding principle from day one and I believe in it as strongly as ever today,” Wasden said in the release. “An attorney general does not provide their clients or their state any value by giving them the legal counsel they want to hear or that is politically convenient.”
Wasden lives in Nampa with his wife, Tracey, and previously served as a prosecutor in Canyon and Owyhee counties.
The Republican primary will take place on May 17.