ST. LOUIS • Mary Pat Carl, a former homicide prosecutor in the circuit attorney's office and current partner at Husch Blackwell LLC, announced Thursday morning that she will run against Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in the August 2020 election.

“We have to restore competence and confidence in the Circuit Attorney’s Office," Carl said in a statement. “It’s time for someone to step forward to assist victims’ families in holding these killers accountable.”

Carl ran against Gardner and two other opponents during the Democratic primary in 2016, after Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce announced she wouldn't run for a fifth term. Carl came in second, with 24 percent of the vote to Gardner's 47 percent.

Carl joined the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office in 2003. When she left the office in 2017 following Gardner's election, she was the lead homicide prosecutor.

Carl has argued that Gardner's tactics make witnesses hesitant to come forward to provide testimony in criminal cases.

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