Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, confirmed Thursday that he will seek a 10th term in the 2018 election.

Miller, 73, was initially elected to the statewide office in 1978, and he's been there ever since except for one stretch of four years in the early 1990s after he made an unsuccessful run for governor.

Miller is a Dubuque native who graduated from Harvard Law School. He's spent 35 years as Iowa's attorney general, making him the longest-serving state attorney general in the United States.

He told reporters Thursday he didn't want to hide the fact that he plans to seek re-election. But he didn't want his comments to be considered as a formal campaign announcement, which will probably come in January or February.

"I have been very clear when I have been asked that I plan on running again in 2018 for attorney general," Miller said. "I think that we are doing some of the best things that we have ever done in the office. We have a terrific staff. There is a lot of unfinished business for us to work on; opiods, for-profit colleges, and other areas. So I want to keep doing it and keep doing the best I can."

Miller and State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, who has served continously since the 1982 election, represent bright spots for an Iowa Democratic Party that has seen the Republican Party of Iowa win control of the Iowa House, Iowa Senate and governor's office, as well as both U.S. Senate seats and three of four congressional seats. Both Miller and Fitzgerald have successfully fended off repeated challenges from GOP candidates over the years.

“I am enormously grateful to the Iowa voters," Miller said. "It is a wonderful job with just incredible staff and great issues to work on. I feel very lucky that I have been able to do it this long, and I am very grateful to the Iowa voters to give me a chance to do it."

Asked jokingly by a reporter how he felt about term limits, Miller smiled and quipped, "Put me down as opposed."