State Auditor Brian Sonntag will not be entering next year's gubernatorial race.

The Associated Press is reporting that he said in an e-mail Monday night that he decide his current position is the place where he can best contribute.

Democrat Sonntag was first elected state auditor in 1992, and re-elected fairly easily every four years since. His entry into the governor's race would have shaken up the developing race between Democratic U.S. Rep.  Jay Inslee and Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna.

His support for performance audits makes him popular with some conservatives, and he has some statewide name recognition from all of those re-election campaigns, although auditor is not a high-profile job. Test it out, ask someone close by to name the state auditor, and keep asking people until you get the right answer. Chances are, you'll be asking for a while. (Try the same thing with attorney general, and it's likely you'll get the right answer quite a bit quicker.)

A high-profile campaign would have changed that profile, but Sonntag decided not to jump in.

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