CARSON CITY, Nev. — Brian Sandoval on Wednesday entered the Nevada governor race, a day after leaving a lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary.

Sandoval tells the Reno Gazette-Journal he decided to re-enter politics after being increasingly concerned about how the state is being run.

The 46-year-old Sandoval is a former state assemblyman from Reno who was the first Hispanic'to win statewide office as attorney general. He left that job in 2005 when he was confirmed as a federal judge, a post he was nominated for by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.

In his political career, he was a seen as a rising star in the Republican party and is viewed as a strong challenger to Gov. Jim Gibbons in next year's GOP primary.