Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton, said Monday he will seek the Democratic nomination for Missouri attorney general in 2016.

Sifton would be returning to the office where his legal career began.

“I am tremendously grateful for the experience I gained early in my legal career working on special prosecutions and defending against criminal appeals in the Missouri attorney general’s office,” he stated in the release. “I pledge that as attorney general, I will work to make Missouri safer for every family, consumer, community and business.”

Sifton was elected to the Senate in 2012.

He was elected to the House in 2010. He served on the Affton Board of Education from 2001 to 2010 and was board president from 2007 to 2009.

While with the attorney general’s office, Sifton worked to uphold the sentences imposed on murderers, drug dealers, rapists, child abusers and drunk drivers. He also worked on special prosecutions in cases of public corruption, senior fraud, nursing home patient neglect and methamphetamine manufacturing.

In the Senate, Sifton has championed strong ethics rules for legislators, having refused to accept lobbyist gifts and introduced a bill banning them. He has also pushed legislation to expand the use of DNA evidence in criminal investigations, reform Missouri’s school transfer law, protect consumers and reduce property taxes for seniors. He also advocates for veterans’ benefits as a member of the Missouri Veterans Commission.