Republican attorney and University of Missouri School of Law associate professor Josh Hawley announced plans Thursday to run for state attorney general.
The 35-year-old from Columbia said in an online video that he's running on a conservative platform and planned to "stand up for the Constitution, to stand up for our liberties and stand up for the values of Missourians" if he's elected. Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster has said he plans to run for Missouri governor in 2016.
Hawley faces a likely primary with Republican state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, another Columbia lawyer. Democrats Sen. Scott Sifton of Affton and St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman also are running for attorney general.
Hawley, who has never before run for elected office, touted himself as a political outsider.
"If you want a schmoozer and a back-slapper, then elect another politician to be attorney general," Hawley said in an interview with the Associated Press in advance of his official announcement. "But if you want someone who has the expertise to stand up in the Supreme Court of the United States and defend our liberties and defend our values, then elect a constitutional lawyer."
Hawley previously served as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. He also was part of a team of about 15 lawyers in a U.S. Supreme Court case in which Hobby Lobby and other businesses challenged a federal requirement to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives for employees. The high court ultimately ruled that corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt of the birth control requirement of the Affordable Care Act enacted under President Barack Obama.
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.