Kansas Attorney General Steve Six opened his first campaign for the job Thursday by promising to run on his two-year record of independent management of the office and to run away from politically damaging actions of his two predecessors.

Six, a Democrat with no apparent opponent in the August primary, said he would highlight the office's consumer watchdog activities, investigation of child pornography and crackdown on Medicaid fraud.

The attorney general said he wouldn't repeat mistakes of Phill Kline, a Republican defeated in 2006 after one term and now subject to a state ethics investigation for handling of abortion investigations, and Paul Morrison, the Democrat who ousted Kline and resigned amid a sex scandal in January 2008.

Six, 44, of Lawrence, was named by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to complete Morrison's unexpired term.

"Years of scandals, both personal and political, had weakened the trust Kansans must have in their top law enforcement officer," Six said during a Statehouse rally. "This office can be independent. Justice can be fair. An attorney general with the right priorities can be aggressive in protecting Kansans."

Six, the son of a former Kansas Supreme Court justice, scheduled campaign stops Thursday in Johnson County, Wichita and Pittsburg and Friday in Garden City to tout the opening of a campaign he has been informally waging for months. He paid the $1,489 filing fee to put his name on the Aug. 3 ballot.

Other candidates in the attorney general's race are Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, of Independence, and Herington attorney Ralph De Zago, who worked several years for Kline in the attorney general's office and is city prosecutor in Junction City. De Zago and Schmidt would meet in the Republican primary.

Six took credit for bolstering the office's consumer affairs division, which he said was "completely dismantled by political agendas" set by Kline. He has directed his staff to go after unscrupulous scam artists targeting seniors.

The attorney general said he will strengthen the offices's response to violent predators and sex offenders, especially those marketing child pornography. He said the office last year recovered a record $17 million fraudulently claimed from the Medicaid program. About $900,000 was recovered by the attorney general's office in 2006, he said.

"I'm not making cheap or easy political promises about what I might do as attorney general," Six said. "I'm standing on my record of real results."

Six said it was important for him to restore public confidence in the attorney general's office after Morrison's career melted down less than a year into his term.

"The attorney general must set the standard for fairness, good judgement and, above all, independence," he said.

He said his refusal to join in a lawsuit challenging federal health care reform wouldn't be a large political issue in the campaign. Schmidt was among legislators urging Six to get involved in the litigation.

Six was a district court judge in Douglas County — also appointed by Sebelius — before becoming attorney general. He previously worked at the law firm of Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman in Kansas City, Mo.