Attorney General Martha Coakley announced her bid for governor Monday, via an online video. After Coakely makes her announcement from her Medford home later this morning, she plans to set out on an 18-city tour over the next three days, a “top political aide” told the Boston Globe.
Coakley reportedly plans to outline a theme of expanding economic opportunity, job creation and education.
Citing recent polls, Boston.com reports that Coakley is one of the most popular political figures in Massachusetts, despite her loss to Scott Brown in the 2010 Senate race.
Coakley, a Democrat, will join a primary field comprising one woman and four men, including State Treasurer Steve Grossman, the former state and national Democratic party chairman, who, Boston.com reports, will be her main rival early in the race.
Grossman has already been campaigning across the state for support, while Coakley has remained largely off the radar.
Despite uncertainty surrounding Coakley’s run at governor, and her loss to Brown, high profile work as attorney general in the last few years has boosted her image. Boston.com reports that Coakley is leading in the early party primary polls, and running strongest against GOP nominee Charles D. Baker.
In 2010, Baker lost the women’s vote by 24 percent to Governor Deval Patrick, according to a MassINC Polling Group post-election poll. This statistic may prove significant for Coakley, who, according to Boston.com, has faced skepticism within the party regarding her ability to sustain a strong campaign in the general election.
One of Coakley’s strongest advantages, it appears, is her support from Democratic women activists and fundraisers, who had encouraged her to run last spring. Until then, Coakley was thought to likely seek a third term as attorney general, Boston.com reports.
Coakley is expected to receive significant financial resources through the national fundraising network of Emily’s List, a Washington-based political group with a mission to elect women to public office, according to Boston.com
Former Boston Globe columnist Juliette Kayyem announced last month that she would run, though the former state and federal homeland security official indicated earlier she would not get in the race if Coakley entered.
Other Democrats in the race are Donald Berwick; Joseph Avellone; and Mass. Senator Dan Wolf, who has suspended his campaign.
