U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge To Leave Post Aug. 21

Let the speculation begin.

U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge announced on Tuesday that he would be resigning from his post on Friday, Aug. 21.

He did not announce his intentions for what his next move would be, but Eldridge has been rumored to be considering a challenge to U.S. Senator John Boozman, R-Arkansas, in 2016.

Eldridge, appointed by President Obama to the Western District post in 2010, said he would discuss his future plans after he leaves the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“I am extremely proud of the work we have done to make communities throughout Arkansas safer places to live. We have focused on prosecuting those who bring crime and violence onto streets across our state, threaten our children, and defraud hard-working Arkansans,” Eldridge said in a statement released Tuesday. “I am confident that work has made a difference. It has been a privilege to stand alongside law enforcement, prosecutors, and community leaders to confront crime and to work to make sure that we create an environment that gives all kids in our state a chance to succeed.”

Prior to serving as U.S. Attorney, Eldridge served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Clark County, Arkansas; as CEO of Summit Bank, also located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable G. Thomas Eisele in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Kenneth Elser, currently Eldridge’s First Assistant U.S. Attorney, will serve as acting U.S. Attorney upon Eldridge’s departure.

Talk Business & Politics profiled Eldridge earlier this year.