JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman declared his candidacy for Missouri attorney general Tuesday, setting up a potential Democratic primary in 2016.
Zimmerman joins a race that already includes Democratic state Scott Sifton and Republican state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, and could be attractive to other candidates because it will feature no incumbent.
Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster is not seeking re-election next year because he is running for governor.
Zimmerman, 40, of Olivette, won a special election to become assessor in 2011 and was re-elected in November to a four-year term. He can run for attorney general without having to give up his current job. Zimmerman previously served for more than four years in the Missouri House and was an assistant attorney general in 2002-03.
While announcing his candidacy, Zimmerman criticized what he described as a "culture of corruption in Jefferson City." Missouri is the only state with the trio of no campaign contribution limits, no limits on lobbyist gifts and no revolving-door restriction on lawmakers immediately becoming lobbyists after leaving office.
The attorney general has relatively little role in changing those laws, though it can represent the Missouri Ethics Commission in attempting to enforce fines. The attorney general's office focuses on consumer protection cases, represents the state in criminal appeals such as death penalty cases and defends state laws and agencies against lawsuits. The attorney general also can enforce Missouri's open-meetings-and-records law.
"I don't care much about how rich or influential or how powerful you are. Justice ought to look the same for everybody. That's what people are looking for in Jefferson City," Zimmerman said.
Sifton did not mention Zimmerman by name but highlighted his own experience as a trial lawyer. Sifton worked for two summers in the attorney general's office while attending law school. He was elected to the Missouri House in 2010 and the Senate in 2012.
"My extensive trial and appellate experience is an important difference in this race," Sifton said in a written statement.