Chin to resign March 15 to focus on congressional race

\HONOLULU — Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin on Sunday announced he will step down to focus on his congressional campaign.

The Democrat said he would resign effective March 15.

Chin declared his candidacy for the seat representing urban Honolulu last month. He’s seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who is running for governor.

Chin shot to prominence leading Hawaii’s legal challenge to the Trump Administration’s travel ban on citizens from multiple Muslim-majority countries.

Critics had called on Chin to resign, saying he faced potential conflicts of interest serving as attorney general while raising money and seeking support for his campaign.

Chin says in a statement that over the next two month, he will dispose of his current cases or hand them off to other attorneys. Any new cases will be evaluated by a committee of deputy attorneys general.