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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

Ritchie won’t run again in 2014

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Minnesota's top election official is stepping down at the end of his current term.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced today that he will not seek re-election in 2014. The two-term Democrat was first elected in 2006, when he defeated incumbent Republican Mary Kiffmeyer. He won re-election in 2010.

In a statement on his web site, Ritchie said the decision came after months of discussion with family.

"I've concluded that January 2015 will be the right time for me to step aside and make way for the next generation of leadership in the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State," Ritchie wrote. "Our team has accomplished a great deal over the past six-and-a-half years."

Ritchie, 61, presided over two high-profile, statewide recounts: the 2008 U.S. Senate race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, as well as the 2010 race for governor between Mark Dayton and Tom Emmer.

Republican critics have frequently taken aim at Ritchie, including a 2007 dustup over his use of a state government mailing list for political purposes. GOP lawmakers took Ritchie to court in 2012 after he reworded their original ballot titles for two proposed constitutional amendments.