Mike DeWine
COLUMBUS, OHIO (Legal Newsline)-Former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine said Monday he won't run for Ohio Attorney General in November.
Instead, he said he is focused on helping Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to win the Buckeye State in November.
"You know, this was a tough decision for me. I think I would have enjoyed very much being attorney general and I would've been good at it and cleaned up the messes," said DeWine, who was unseated in the 2006 midterm elections by Democrat Sherrod Brown.
DeWine, an influential Republican and co-chair of McCain's Ohio campaign, has yet to endorse a candidate for AG.
Disgraced Democrat Marc Dann resigned as Ohio attorney general last month amid a sexual harassment scandal. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland appointed Nancy Hardin Rogers to serve as attorney general until the special election is held in November.
The Republican and Democratic parties have until Aug. 20 to name a nominee.
Republicans have said the Dann scandal has given them a shot at the post, which is considered the No. 2 seat in Ohio state government.
But a recent Quinnipiac Poll indicates 67 percent of voters said the Dann scandal would have no effect on their view of the Democratic Party, while 23 percent of respondents said they would be less supportive of the party because of Dann, who was elected in 2006.
The poll of 1,738 Ohio voters was conducted between May 29 and June 2. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo by e-mail at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.