King County Councilman Reagan Dunn announced today that he will run for state Attorney General in 2012.

Dunn, a former official at the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C. and assistant U.S. attorney in Seattle, is seeking to succeed Rob McKenna, a two-term Republican attorney general who recently announced his campaign for Governor.

“I am running for attorney general because I am concerned about the overall direction of Washington state government and I believe we can do much better,” Dunn said. “While Rob McKenna has done a very fine job as our AG, much more still needs to be done.  Our state faces significant challenges, including high unemployment, an unfavorable business climate for job creation, and crime levels that are unacceptable.”

Dunn also announced some endorsements from the legal community, including McKenna, former Attorney General Ken Eikenberry and five former United States attorneys – Mike McKay, Jim McDevitt, Bill Hyslop, Jeff Sullivan and John McKay.

Before being appointed in 2005 to replace McKenna on the King County Council, Dunn had a career in the U.S. Department of Justice.  As a special assistant United States attorney in both the southern district of Florida and the District of Columbia, Dunn prosecuted narcotics cases and other street crimes.  He then joined the United States Attorney’s Office in Seattle as an assistant United States attorney in the General Crimes Unit, prosecuting a variety of crimes including narcotics manufacturing, child pornography, Internet crimes and bank fraud.

Dunn also revealed that in the two weeks since he’s started organizing his campaign he has raised over $100,000.