New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to run for the post of governor of the state, according to reports emerging in US media.

James is expected to make an announcement later this week, the Associated Press reported.

James will enter the race as a candidate for the Democratic nomination just months after issuing a damning report that led to the resignation of Andrew Cuomo from office in a sexual harassment scandal.

 “Attorney General Letitia James has made a decision regarding the governor’s race. She will be announcing it in the coming days,” Kimberly Peeler-Allen, a James campaign adviser, said

The primary election is in June and the general election is in November 2022.

James, 63, is the first woman elected as New York’s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role. Her announcement will set the stage for a competitive race featuring Governor Kathy Hochul fighting to retain the job she got when Cuomo quit, and a host of other potential candidates who could sap some of the attorney general’s potential downstate strength.

Hochul, who is from the Buffalo area, entered office with a reputation as a political centrist but has been striving to win over New York City progressives, making numerous appearances in the city during her first months in office.

James, who was born and raised in Brooklyn and made her first run for City Council as a candidate of the liberal Working Families Party, would have the reverse task of winning over upstate Democrats who might be more conservative.

Before this year, James was best known nationally for her frequent legal tussles with former President Donald Trump.

Since she became attorney general in 2019, her office has investigated Trump’s business affairs and sued the Republican’s administration dozens of times over federal policies on immigration, the environment, and other matters.

James also filed a lawsuit accusing the National Rifle Association’s leaders of financial mismanagement, the latest in a string of regulatory actions that have delighted liberals but drawn complaints from Republicans that she has unfairly used her office to target political opponents.

(With AP inputs)