Mary Moriarty won't run for a second term

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Wednesday that she will not run for a second term.

In a statement, Moriarty said that rather than running for reelection next year, she is instead “choosing to focus on creating enduring change in the system” over the remaining 17 months of her term.

“We’ve become accustomed to elected officials who don’t deliver results and end up more invested in clinging to power than doing the work of the people. That is not me,” Moriarty said in the statement issued Wednesday evening. “As I have weighed whether I wanted to spend the last year and a half of my term focused primarily on campaigning or continuing to transform this office, the choice became clear. I want to focus on running the office, rather than running for office.”

“I trust that the voters who overwhelmingly elected me just two and a half years ago will choose a candidate in 2026 to build on our work, which is proving to make Hennepin County safer and more just,” Moriarty wrote.

Moriarty was elected to lead the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in 2022 — taking over from longtime County Attorney Mike Freeman, who chose not to run for reelection.

Moriarty was previously a public defender in Hennepin County for more than three decades, including serving as chief public defender.