Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter suddenly announced his resignation Wednesday, saying “certain personal matters that are becoming public will become a distraction for this office.”
The Republican, who has been in office since 2017, said his resignation will be effective June 1.
“I cannot allow a personal issue to overshadow the vital work the attorneys, agents and support staff do on behalf of Oklahomans,” he said.
Hunter did not disclose what that personal issue is. However, he filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 40 years last week, and The Oklahoman reported Wednesday that people familiar with the situation confirmed Hunter was having an affair with a state employee who did not work in his office. The newspaper asked Hunter for comment on the matter Tuesday night.
Hunter was appointed attorney general in 2017 by then-Gov. Mary Fallin to replace Scott Pruitt after he left to helm the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump. He won election to a full term in 2018, and was set to run again in 2022.
Hunter notably got Oklahoma involved in Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election results, joining 16 other states in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their complaints that Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin ― all states that President Joe Biden won ― violated the Constitution with their mail-in voting procedures.
Hunter was also among the attorneys general who urged the Supreme Court to reconsider abortion protections under Roe v. Wade by taking a case out of Mississippi. The court recently announced it would do so.