"My brother Kevin is always talking about principles," says Shurtleff. "Don't test the polls, don't worry about whether something will get you votes — that's not the reason to make a decision."

So he expects to run for a third term, which is ironic because after the last legislative session he was so disillusioned by political back-room deal-making — specifically, by politicians refusing to vote for a certain bill because the bill's sponsor once refused to vote for his bill on another issue — that he told his division chiefs, "I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore."

Shurtleff, a former naval officer and a drill sergeant's son, will tell you he is not the same man he was when he first took office, not the same black-and-white, law-and-order man. He says he has become more compassionate and empathetic. Wrestling a knife away from one of your daughters with your bare hands will do that to a man.

So will sitting in a room with a victim of polygamy who is telling her story and sobbing. That's when he has a sense of mission about his job.

Shurtleff risked almost everything to campaign for the attorney general's job. He went into debt, spent the family's savings and cleaned out his kids' college funds, all for a position that offered a $15,000 pay cut.

"It motivates you," he says. "If you lose, you're never going to pay off those debts. If you win, you can get help with fund-raisers."

M'Liss, who has a master's degree in speech therapy, took on extra work to help support the family and their five children.

"We're stressed about money," says Shurtleff. "It's hard. We're not putting away any money."

So why do it?

"It's simple," says Kevin Shurtleff. "We were raised on public service and making a difference."

Their parents, Leonard and Sandra, were both school teachers and active in grass-roots politics. They served five missions for their church. Leonard served in the National Guard and became principal of Bingham High School.

"We debated issues constantly around the house," says Kevin Shurtleff. "We picked a topic at dinner or family gatherings — Vietnam, abortion, death penalty, whatever — and tried to find solutions.

"We were real loud and opinionated, and Dad was in the middle of it. We still do it. Now our kids want to join in on the topic of the day."

Of Shurtleff's three brothers, Mike is a teacher and director of religion at the University of South Carolina; Keith is an Army chaplain and law school student; Kevin is an inventor, chemist and entrepreneur. All four of the brothers served LDS missions and were Eagle Scouts.