Republican nominee for attorney general says his legislative experience has prepared him to pursue illegal marijuana operations, strengthen government oversight and enforce the law without political favoritism.

NORMAN, Okla. — Jon Echols says the Oklahoma attorney general’s office should be more than a prosecutorial agency. It should be “the lawyer for the taxpayers of the state of Oklahoma,” a check on government and a force against corruption, organized crime and federal overreach.

“We are gonna root out corruption,” Echols said. “We are gonna make state government follow the law, and we are gonna root out these illegal Chinese grows, and we’re gonna deliver on those promises.”