Hoffmann, 38, made the announcement at a midday event at the pedestrian bridge in Providence, with current Attorney General Peter Neronha at his side. Neronha is barred by term limits from seeking re-election and has not yet said whether he will run for governor next year.

"They need access to healthcare," Hoffmann said of Rhode Islanders. "They need someone to stand up to the extremism and the overreach of the federal government. They need an attorney general who's willing to fight for them and stand up for them and that's what I'll do as attorney general."

Hoffmann's entry comes one day after state Rep. Robert Craven (D-North Kingstown), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, announced his own bid. State Rep. Jason Knight (D-Barrington) is scheduled to unveil his campaign at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Guild in Warren.

A University of Pennsylvania and Fordham Law School graduate, Hoffmann grew up in Rhode Island and worked as a fellow establishing medical-legal partnerships to aid veterans. He led a team of legal aid lawyers at the New York Legal Assistance Group before returning to the state. In the attorney general's office, he served as chief of the civil and community rights unit before becoming Neronha's policy director. He has represented the state in complex civil and criminal cases and helped pass legislation aimed at ending childhood lead poisoning.

Hoffmann said he would try to emulate Neronha's approach, citing Neronha and former attorneys general Sheldon Whitehouse, now a U.S. senator, and Patrick Lynch as the best Rhode Island AGs in his lifetime.

He identified the biggest challenge facing the next attorney general as the harm posed by the federal government and the loss of legal and regulatory protections. He said federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Federal Trade Commission can no longer be counted on to protect Rhode Islanders.

"When the federal government is distracted by a petty politics of grievance, and is inadequately resourcing core federal law enforcement functions — the FBI, the ATF, the DEA — when they aren't focusing sufficiently on gun-running, when they aren't focusing sufficiently on human trafficking, we have to fight back and we have to make sure we are protecting Rhode Islanders against those things through our work in the office of Attorney General," Hoffmann said.

Hoffmann said the biggest challenge he has faced personally was losing his father at age 13 to lung cancer linked to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. His mother raised three teenagers alone with the support of family, friends and neighbors.

"I learned from that not just the value of perseverance, but also the strength of our community and the importance of that community to helping me get up when you get knocked down," he said.

Hoffmann lives in Providence with his wife, Rachel, and their two children. He is being advised by Tad Devine, a Providence native and prominent Democratic strategist. Hoffmann has not yet reported any fundraising but said he will have something to say on that next week. He said he would support Neronha if the attorney general decides to run for governor.

Neronha had previously encouraged former U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha to seek to succeed him, but Cunha does not appear to be pursuing a run.