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Second Lawmaker Throws Hat Into Ring For Pa. Attorney General's Race

By Jim Melwert

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- With embattled Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane saying she plans to run for re-election next year – despite facing criminal charges -- the race is expected to draw quite a crowd. The latest to announce his candidacy is a Republican state representative who spent time in the Montgomery County DA's office.

State Representative Todd Stephens announced his decision Thursday, one he says was affected by the current situation in the Attorney General's Office.

"The law enforcement just has lost faith in the integrity of that office," Stephens says.

He says, with five years as a state representative, and nearly a decade as a prosecutor in Montgomery County, he feels he has the résumé.

"I think we need somebody who's got experience who's been in a prosecutor's office and handled real cases in the courtroom with real victims," he says, "and understands the role a prosecutor needs to play."

Stephens joins State Senator John Rafferty as the two lawmakers who've made their candidacy official. Rafferty, also of Montgomery County, announced in June that he's running for the office currently held by Kane.

Kane has said she plans to seek a second term despite criminal charges that she leaked confidential grand jury information and then lied about it under oath. She has maintained her innocence.

Jack Stollsteimer, a Delaware County lawyer and former prosecutor, also is seeking the Democratic nomination.

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