Cross one would-be candidate off the list: Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha confirmed Friday he will not be running for governor next year.

The term-limited Democrat has for months fueled speculation about a potential bid for the state’s top office. In an email sent to his campaign listserv Friday morning, Neronha, 61, said he will not run for any elected office after his term ends next year.

“Attorney general is the only elected office I have ever been truly interested in, and politics for me was a means to an end, not an end in and of itself,” Neronha said.

“After much discussion with my wife and sons, who stood with and spoke for me on that beautiful Jamestown morning eight years ago, we’ve decided that it will be time for me to move on at the end of 2026.”

With the election still more than a year away, the 2026 gubernatorial race is already taking shape. Gov. Dan McKee and former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes have already announced campaigns, steadily building their campaign finance accounts while trading barbs over the Washington Bridge and the opioid crisis.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s name is also being floated; Shekarchi continues to fend off questions about a gubernatorial run, though he, too, has been raising money, with the largest campaign balance of any state official.

Shekarchi ended the second quarter of the year with $3.85 million cash on hand, compared with $2.1 million for Foulkes and $879,000 for McKee. Neronha’s account stood at a little over $119,000, according to reports filed with the state Board of Elections.

All three praised Neronha for his service in separate statements on Friday.

“While he and I don’t always see eye to eye, I know his priority has always been putting Rhode Islanders first – and that dedication reflects the very best of public service,” McKee said.

Foulkes highlighted Neronha’s work on health care and against the policies and actions of the Trump administration.

“His recent leadership taking on Donald Trump reflects the kind of courage our state and our country need,” she said in a statement.

Shekarchi also touted a “great working relationship” with Neronha during his time as attorney general, and previously, as U.S. Attorney. Shekarchi again did not confirm or deny a potential run for governor.

“I will make my decision not based on who is running for governor, but rather on who is the best person to lead Rhode Island in the next four years,” Shekarchi said.

Neronha did not address his would-be competitors in his email Friday, instead keeping his focus on the remaining 15 months he will serve as the state’s top prosecutor.

“The fight for Rhode Islanders continues, and it will continue to have all my focus, energy and commitment,” Neronha wrote.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, Neronha has co-led or joined 37 multi-state lawsuits against the federal administration, challenging funding freezes and policy directives spanning public health research, education, offshore wind and immigration, among others.

Neronha became the state’s 74th attorney general in 2019, winning a second term in 2022; in both elections, he was the only Democratic candidate.

A Jamestown native – his personal Bluesky account proudly lists him as a graduate of “THE Jamestown Elementary School” – Neronha got his start in public service in 1996 as a special assistant attorney general before joining the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2022. He served as U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island under President Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2017.

Nancy Lavin is senior reporter covering state politics, energy and environmental issues for the Rhode Island Current, which is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.