Rachael Rollins pulled papers Wednesday to run again for Suffolk County’s top prosecutor, a spokesperson for the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office said. Rollins held the role of Suffolk County district attorney for three years before becoming U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, and she resigned from that position following ethics violations.
Current Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden took over the role in an acting capacity when Rollins became the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, going on to win a full term in the 2022 election.
Just three weeks ago, Hayden charged a Boston police officer with manslaughter. Officer Nicholas O’Malley shot and killed Stephenson King, a Black man, while on duty. According to a police report, O’Malley fired at King while King was driving a car, in violation of department procedures.
Since Hayden announced those charges, rumors have swirled about potential challengers for his seat.
Linda Champion, a local attorney and former prosecutor, also pulled papers for the district attorney job this week. She previously ran in 2018, earning 9% of the Democratic primary vote and placing fifth behind top vote-getter Rollins.
Neither Hayden nor Champion immediately responded to a request for comment.
Rollins won the district attorney job in 2018, pledging a progressive vision for the office. She then ascended to the U.S. attorney of Massachusetts, after being appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021 and confirmed despite heavy opposition from Senate Republicans. But she resigned in disgrace in 2023 over multiple ethics violations, including interfering in the very race that put Hayden in office.
The 2022 campaign to replace Rollins was an unusually messy one.
Rollins worked behind the scenes to try to help her preferred candidate — then-City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo — over Hayden. According to a May 2023 investigation issued by the Department of Justice’s watchdog under the Biden administration, she leaked information to reporters about Hayden, and denied to investigators that she had provided information to a journalist at the Boston Herald.
At the time, Hayden was also publicly accused of leaking information to the press about a sexual misconduct investigation into Arroyo, an allegation he denied.
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As district attorney, Rollins gained an unusually high profile for her progressive policies. She put out a list of more than a dozen low-level offenses that her office would not prosecute — including trespassing, shoplifting and some drug offenses.
Rollins and Champion will each need to collect 1,000 signatures by April 28 to get on the ballot.
