Republican Rep. Dan Bishop (N.C.) revealed Thursday that he will be running for North Carolina attorney general instead of seeking reelection for his seat in 2024.
“For several many other reasons, it just seemed after careful deliberation by Jo, my wife, and me over the course of many months, we decided this is the right thing for me to do to come back to North Carolina,” he said on WBT Radio’s podcast, “Good Morning BT with Bo Thompson & Beth Troutman.”
“I practiced law for almost 30 years and I was a serious lawyer — still am,” he continued. “I missed that as part of my life. And I think it’s a particular time to reinforce support for prosecutors and front-line law enforcement officers. I think there’s an opportunity to use the influence of that office to restore law and order to our cities, like Asheville in particular, Charlotte and some others.”
Bishop, in the episode that aired Thursday, said he will officially make the announcement Friday. He appeared on the show to confirm reporting done earlier by WBT News.
“The decisionmaking was about whether this particular opportunity to serve as attorney general was the right thing for me, or should I seek to retain the seat in Congress? And the answer is the former,” he said.
Axios had previously reported in May that Bishop was considering a run for the state attorney general position.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) announced earlier this year that he would be running for the state’s governorship. Bishop is slated to join the race with Republican candidate Tom Murry and Democrat Tim Dunn, who announced his bid in April, the Fayetteville Observer reported.
Bishop was sworn into Congress in 2019 and has been a prominent member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. In May, he became the first Republican to publicly support ousting Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position over the debt ceiling deal.
A spokesperson for Bishop confirmed to The Hill that an announcement about his bid for the state attorney general is coming soon.
Updated: 1:03 p.m.