Evers refusing to let attorney general represent him

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — State Superintendent Tony Evers, a Democratic candidate for governor, said Tuesday he refuses to be represented by the Republican-led Wisconsin Department of Justice in a lawsuit challenging his independence.

Evers said he was firing Attorney General Brad Schimel over what he characterized as a conflict of interest, but Schimel's spokesman said he would not step aside. That sets up what could be a protracted separate legal fight over who should represent Evers in the case.

At the heart of the underlying lawsuit is the latest battle in a decades-long fight over the constitutional powers of the state superintendent of public instruction, a position Evers has held for nearly nine years.