Former legislator eyes AG post
Former state Sen. Scott Pruitt says he hopes to make a decision “in the near future” about running for state attorney general in the 2010 election.
Pruitt, a Republican from Broken Arrow, served two terms in the Senate before opting to skip seeking a third four-year term in 2006 to run for lieutenant governor. He narrowly lost the GOP nomination in a runoff to then-House Speaker Todd Hiett.
Pruitt, 41, is an attorney and managing partner of the Oklahoma City RedHawks minor league baseball team.
Pruitt said he is concerned about the federal government’s growing powers over state and individual rights. He said he wants to protect states’ rights against federal intrusion.
“We see the federal government taking steps that are very aggressive,” Pruitt said.
He said he is concerned about President Barack Obama’s administration allowing federal ownership of banks and General Motors and wanting to revise the country’s health care system.
More state lawmakers are thinking about pushing back against Washington’s growing powers, he said. It’s the role of the state attorney general to defend those actions, he said.
During his tenure in the Senate, Pruitt sought legislation to revise the state’s workers’ compensation system.
He said he would ensure the attorney general’s office would aggressively prosecute fraud in the workers’ compensation system.
Attorney General Drew Edmondson has said he is not seeking a fifth term. A Democrat, Edmondson instead is running for governor.
The only other announced candidate for the post is Ryan Leonard, an Oklahoma City attorney. Leonard, a Republican, is a native of Beaver and is a former legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Don Nickles.
The filing period is in June.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
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