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Pa. AG Josh Shapiro to announce run for governor on Wednesday

The Montgomery County native is seeking to replace fellow Democrat Tom Wolf, who cannot run for a third consecutive term.

File photo of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro at a news conference about an investigation that lead to arrests in three different drug-trafficking organizations operating in Kensington, at Harrowgate Plaza in Philadelphia, Pa. on Monday, August 24, 2020.
File photo of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro at a news conference about an investigation that lead to arrests in three different drug-trafficking organizations operating in Kensington, at Harrowgate Plaza in Philadelphia, Pa. on Monday, August 24, 2020.Read moreMONICA HERNDON / Staff Photographer

Josh Shapiro, the second-term attorney general of Pennsylvania, will announce on Wednesday his candidacy to become the Democratic nominee for governor.

The winner of the gubernatorial contest next year will replace Democrat Tom Wolf, who is serving his second term and cannot run for a third consecutive four-year stint.

Shapiro, 48, of Abington, will make his morning announcement in Pittsburgh, his campaign spokesperson confirmed Monday evening.

As the state’s top law enforcement official, his public profile skyrocketed after the 2020 national election as he fought off unrelenting court challenges by former President Donald Trump’s campaign to upset Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania.

Shapiro served as a state representative before making local history in 2011 when he and a fellow Democrat were elected as the controlling faction of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.

In 2016, the resignation of disgraced Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane cleared the way for Shapiro to make his first statewide run.

Though he had never served as a prosecutor, Shapiro, who was backed by President Barack Obama, defeated Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala in the Democratic primary and marched to victory in the general election.

During his first term, Shapiro repeatedly went to court to fight Trump policies, including the travel ban that was viewed by critics as a ban on Muslims.

Shapiro also gained prominence by releasing a damning grand jury report on the Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal.

He won reelection last November.