Ohio Auditor Keith Faber, a Republican, announced he running next year for attorney general.

“The Ohio attorney general plays a vitally important role in the lives of Ohioans,” Faber said Monday in an announcement expected for months. “I’m running for attorney general because I believe experience matters, and I will capitalize on my service as a lawyer, legislator and state auditor to create an office that protects and defends Ohio’s people and institutions.”

Faber is serving his second four-year term as state auditor. He cannot run for reelection in 2026 because of the state’s term-limits law.

Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican who is serving his second four-year term as attorney general after two terms as auditor, also cannot run for reelection next year for the same reason. Yost announced last week he would run for governor next year.

Before he was state auditor, Faber spent eight years in the state Senate, including four years as its president, and prior to that, eight years in the Ohio House.

Republicans have won every statewide executive branch election since 2010.

Faber is the first candidate to declare for attorney general.

The auditor’s office reviews financial reports for all government entities in the state and during Faber’s time as its leader, it helped convict 129 people for improperly spending public funds.

Also, Faber’s office placed Vienna in fiscal emergency in July after confirming the township was more than $1 million in debt. That led to the indictment in October of Linda McCullough, who served as the township’s fiscal officer for almost five years, on two counts of theft in office, four counts of tampering with records and one count of telecommunications fraud.

Faber’s office also helped uncover billions in unemployment fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Faber said: “I love being state auditor. You’re catching people lying, stealing and cheating with government money and you’re putting people in prison who are literally trying to take advantage of the public. The attorney general’s office is just a bigger stage. You get to do justice for Ohioans at a much bigger level.”

Faber said as attorney general, he would focus on public safety and actively support Ohio police and prosecutors.

“From human trafficking to drug trafficking to violent crime, we’ve seen the impact of national policies like the open southern border right here in Ohio,” Faber said. “My office will do all it can to aid local and federal law enforcement, protect victims’ rights and keep our communities safe.”