Van Hollen will not seek reelection

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen will not seek a third term.

The announcement was made Monday morning. He did not say what his plans are after leaving office in 2014.

“I think it’s really important once I made up my mind, that eight years as attorney general is enough, that other people are made aware of that so people can adjust accordingly,” said Van Hollen. “It is an important job. I want to make sure that those who are capable and qualified to run for the office and do the job have as much time as they need to run a statewide campaign.”

Van Hollen said he put public safety first during his tenure, eliminated the DNA backlog at the state crime lab and expanded efforts to fight crimes against children.

“By putting public safety first, I believe the Department of Justice now enjoys healthy partnerships with local law enforcement and prosecutors, which leads to the better investigation, prosecution, and hopefully prevention of crime,” Van Hollen said in the release.

He said not running for reelection will allow him to focus on the job when he would have otherwise had to focus on a campaign.

“By being able to focus on the job and the task at hand in the next year, plus as opposed to campaigning half the time, I think we will wrap up eight years of what I set out to do,” Van Hollen said.

Van Hollen said he hopes his successor will be someone who comes from law enforcement leadership, someone who has done administrative work and budgets, and someone who is from the legal arena and won’t let their personal opinions interfere with doing their job.

He said he may consider recruiting or endorsing a candidate at some point in the race.