Martha Coakley Makes Her Governor Campaign Official

Associated Press

Attorney General Martha Coakley announced her candidacy for governor Monday with an online video, to be followed by a live announcement from Medford and an 18-community tour of the state.

Coakley lost her high profile Senate race to Scott Brown in 2010, and the promotional video seems healthily self-aware that this is what her name evokes to many voters. Near the end of it, she says:

A lot of people say politics is tough, and it can be. I know what it’s like to lose a race. I know how hard that is. But, you know what? It’s nothing compared to what so many people go through every day in their lives. And that’s what I’ll keep in mind every day if you give me the privilege of being your governor.

Coakley also spends most of the video nodding and looking concerned as she meets with regular ole’ voters, perhaps a (slightly) more subtle nod to the 2010 campaign, where her comments on the prospect of shaking hands outside Fenway in the cold earned her derision.

Despite that earlier loss, Coakley remains a popular political figure—she actually polls best among Democratic candidates at this early stage in the race—thanks in part to her high-profile work as Attorney General in subsequent years. Those other candidates include State Treasurer Steve Grossman, Donald Berwick; Joseph Avellone, and Juliette Kayyem. And of course, her vacated AG’s office is setting up a game of musical chairs for the down-ticket positions.