(WHTM) – Democrat Joe Khan, a former Bucks County Solicitor and federal prosecutor, has announced his candidacy for Attorney General.

In his announcement on Wednesday Khan highlighted crime, election integrity, abortion rights, and taking on large corporations.

“As the son of a Muslim immigrant and Catholic nurse who grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, I know that government has to work for everyone. As a prosecutor, I’ve taken on the toughest challenges: gun violence, sexual assault and hate crimes. As a solicitor, I’ve defended our democracy from Donald Trump, stood up for abortion rights, and sued Big Pharma, Big Tech and polluters to hold them accountable. I’m running for Attorney General to continue my lifelong fight to keep people safe, tackle corporate and political corruption, and build a better world for our kids,” said Khan.

Khan’s campaign also highlighted endorsements from State Senator Nikil Saval and State Representative Josh Siegel.

The brother of State Rep. Tarik Khan, Joe Khan also served in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In 2017 he finished second to Larry Krasner in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia District Attorney.

During his time as solicitor in Bucks County, he defended the county’s election administration against Republican attempts to overturn President Joe Biden’s win over Donald Trump in the 2020 election in the presidential battleground state.

He also sued social media companies, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis, and helped consolidate support among the county’s municipalities for a plan to distribute money from the state’s settlement with opioid makers and distributors.

Khan added, “As a dad, I want my kids to grow up in a more just and equitable Pennsylvania. I will be an Attorney General who defends the rights of every Pennsylvanian, including access to the ballot, abortion, a clean environment, affordable healthcare and public education. I want to keep our communities both safe and fair, and protect consumers, workers and taxpayers from corruption.” 

Khan graduated from Swarthmore College and studied law at the University of Chicago Law School where he was taught by Barack Obama. He currently lives in Doylestown.

Khan joins former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale in the Democratic primary for Attorney General. Current Attorney General Michelle Henry has said she will not run in 2024 after being appointed to replace Josh Shapiro, who was elected Governor in 2022.

The attorney general’s office has a budget of about $120 million annually and plays a critical role in arresting drug traffickers, fighting gun trafficking, defending state laws in court and protecting consumers from predatory practices.

The office helped lead state attorneys general in settlement talks with pharmaceutical distributors and manufacturers over the opioid crisis and played a central role in defending the integrity of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election against repeated attempts to overturn it in state and federal courts by Trump’s campaign and Republican allies.

The 2024 Pennsylvania Attorney General election will be held on Nov. 5, 2024.