Waukesha County’s district attorney wants to be Wisconsin’s next Attorney General. Republican Brad Schimel on Monday formally announced he will be a candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014.
Schimel has been district attorney in Waukesha County since 2006, and a prosecutor there since 1990. In that time, he says he’s learned “an awful lot about what problems are facing citizens out in our communities, about the ways that law enforcement can approach those problems, and I’ve learned an awful lot about how to work with other people to find solutions.”
Much like outgoing Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, Schimel says fighting the state’s growing heroin epidemic would be one of his top priorities. He says those addictions are having a ripple effect on the residents of the state by increasing crimes ranging from theft to human trafficking.
While no other candidates have announced plans to enter the race so far, Democratic State Representatives Chris Taylor (D-Madison) and Jon Richards (R-Milwaukee) have indicated they are considering a run. Wisconsin Professional Police Association executive director Jim Palmer has said he’s looking at running as an independent.