JACKSON – Attorney General Jim Hood said Friday he will seek re-election rather than run for governor because he loves what he is doing.

“I am very lucky to have this job where I can help people every day, particularly like our efforts to fight child pornography, to protect the elderly and to fight domestic violence,” Hood said.

Long considered a possible Democratic candidate for governor in 2011, Hood said he made the announcement to end media speculation.

He said he would make a formal announcement for re-election next year.

Hood, a Chickasaw County native, is a former district attorney in Northeast Mississippi.

He was elected attorney general in 2003, the only Democratic candidate for the post left open by the retirement of Mike Moore. In 2007, despite an aggressive, well-funded campaign against him by Gulf Coast attorney Al Hopkins, Hood won re-election with 60 percent of the vote.

Commissioner of Public Safety Steve Simpson has expressed interest in running for attorney general in 2011 in the Republican primary.

Hood’s decision not to run for governor leaves the Democratic primary wide open. Clarksdale attorney Bill Luckett has indicated he plans to run. Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree and Greenville Mayor Heather Hudson also are considered possible candidates.

There has even been speculation that state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. might run, though that seems unlikely since he would have to step down from the judiciary to do so.

On the Republican side, Gulf Coast businessman Dave Dennis has said he plans to run. It is generally believed that Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant also will vie for the post.

Three other statewide Republican officeholders, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, Auditor Stacey Pickering and Treasurer Tate Reeves, are also considered possible candidates for either lieutenant governor or governor.

Speculation in recent days in the Capitol is that none of those three will challenge Bryant for governor.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour can’t run for another term because of a two-term limit on the governorship.

Contact Bobby Harrison at (601) 353-3119 or bobby.harrison@djournal.com.