Attorney General Martha Coakley, launching her bid for governor in a video today, sought to position herself as a resilient figure poised to lead a state on the upswing.
In a promotional video posted online Monday morning, Coakley tried to shake the perception from her devastating 2010 Senate loss that she is aloof. The footage shows her out and about with voters, shaking hands on street corners, and in MBTA stations and coffee shops.
“You know, a lot of folks say politics is tough and it can be,†she says in the video. “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.â€
The two-minute video features images from different pockets of Massachusetts, and of Coakley interacting with voters, as the Medford Democrat’s voiceover strikes a populist theme. Paying tribute to “ordinary people with extraordinary courage,†including cops, teachers, hospital workers, and adult children caring for their parents, Coakley said she would fight for them.
“If you see them the way I see them, you can’t help but be inspired by them. These folks are the reason I’m running for governor. They need someone who will fight for them, someone who will take their side,†Coakley said.
“After some tough years, this state is ready to take off,†she said.
Following her 2010 loss to Scott Brown, Coakley was roundly criticized for running too timid a campaign, an error she seems determined not to repeat. After a morning announcement today in Medford, she will embark on a three-day, 18-community tour.
That technique appears designed to contrast not only with her own electoral past, but with the rollout technique adopted this year by Republican Charles D. Baker, who announced with a video shot in his backyard and with press availabilities.
Coakley joins a crowded Democratic primary already inhabited by Treasurer Steven Grossman, former Globe op-ed columnist and one-time homeland security official Juliette Kayyem, former Obama administration health care official Donald M. Berwick, and biotechnology executive Joseph Avellone. State senator Dan Wolf has suspended his campaign while dealing with conflict-of-interest questions stemming from his ownership stake in Cape Air.
Michael Levenson of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Jim O’Sullivan can be reached at jim.osullivan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @josreports.
