2nd Democrat Jumps Into Race For Attorney General

A second Democrat on Thursday formally announced his candidacy for the state's top law enforcement office.

Clinton state Rep. Harold Naughton released a video making public his plans to run for attorney general. He also announced campaign stops in Springfield, Fall River, Attleboro and Clinton.

In the video, Naughton vowed to combat gun violence and work to create safer neighborhoods.

"I'll stand in your corner to fight crime and fraud, to get illegal guns off of our streets, to keep our communities safe and be an advocate for working men and women, honest businesses and the protection of our environment," he said.

The 53-year-old Naughton currently serves as chairman of the Legislature's Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. A lawyer, Naughton, was first elected to the House in 1994.

In his video announcement, Naughton pointed to his decision to join the U.S. Army and serve in Iraq and Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 as a soldier and member of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.

Naughton's announcement comes days after Maura Healey, a 42-year-old former top deputy for Attorney General Martha Coakley, declared her candidacy for the top seat.

Healey has pointed to her work in areas like environmental protection, civil rights and as a key player in the state's challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

If elected, Healey said she would continue to focus on those and other issues, including fighting against escalating health care costs and protecting businesses and individual taxpayers by ensuring everyone is playing by the rules.

Coakley, in her second term, is running for governor, leaving an open race for the attorney general's office.

Other Democrats mentioned as possible attorney general candidates include Lowell state Sen. Eileen Donoghue and former state Sen. Warren Tolman.

On the Republican side, Gloucester state Sen. Bruce Tarr, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and Peter Flaherty, a former prosecutor and adviser to former Gov. Mitt Romney, are all possible attorney general candidates.

No Republican has officially declared an intention to run for attorney general.