Montgomery County Republican in running for Pa. attorney general

State Sen. John Rafferty, a Montgomery County Republican, intends to be Pennsylvania’s next attorney general.

Rafferty says he’ll run for the state’s top prosecutor, a position that’s been held by the GOP since it was made an elected post in 1980.

“I believe that the Republicans are often looked at as the law and order party. And that bodes well for attorney general candidates or district attorney candidates,” he said Wednesday. “I continue to carry that mantra and that banner as we go forth in this election.”

Rafferty, who serves as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said he will stay in office he has held for nine years during the campaign.

In addition to his legislative experience, Rafferty said his time in business, as well as his work in criminal and civil law, make him a good candidate to be attorney general, the post now held by Linda Kelly and previously by Gov. Tom Corbett.

Three Democrats have announced they’ll run for the position: former Congressman Patrick Murphy of Bucks County, former Lackawanna County prosecutor Kathleen Kane, and Montgomery County lawyer Dan McCaffery.