BANGOR – Former Bangor Mayor Timothy Woodcock, a past aide to then-U.S. Sen. William Cohen, announced Thursday that he was preparing a run for the Republican nomination for Maine’s 2nd District congressional seat.

A former federal prosecutor now in private practice in Bangor, Woodcock said he would form an exploratory committee to assess a possible run for the seat, currently held by U.S. Rep. John Baldacci, a Bangor Democrat.

Baldacci – expected to run for governor next year – has said he will not seek a fifth congressional term.

Woodcock, 49, said he would make a formal announcement on his candidacy in the next few weeks.

He counted among his reasons for entering the race a need to refocus the debate in Washington on improving the economic situation in northern and eastern Maine, which, despite a booming American economy in recent years, has lagged behind the southern part of the state and much of the nation.

“This is a race where there should be an overriding issue,” Woodcock said at an afternoon meeting at the Bangor Daily News. “This campaign is about offering opportunity to the district’s youth and sustainable economies to its communities.”

The Bangor native worked in Cohen’s office from 1978 to 1983 and again in 1987. While Cohen was chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, Woodcock served as staff director. He also was associate general counsel for the Iran-Contra hearings in the U.S. Senate.

Woodcock, an ardent advocate of a proposed east-west highway, also served on the Bangor City Council from 1995 to 1998, including a term as mayor.

Woodcock’s announcement comes just days after that of Maine Senate President Pro Tempore Richard Bennett, a longtime Republican lawmaker from the small western Maine town of Norway.

Bennett, an executive with Lens Investment Management LLC, was unsuccessful in his bid for the same seat in 1994, losing to Baldacci 46 percent to 41 percent in a four-way race.

Political analysts say Woodcock’s unexpected entry in the 2nd District contest could cause other potential GOP candidates to re-examine possible runs, with two viable candidates from opposite ends of the district already weighing in.

“These are two potential candidates that could have some staying power,” said Douglas Hodgkin of Lewiston, a Republican activist and retired political science professor at Bates College. “But I expect we will see a number of people come in and out of the race in the next few months before all is said and done.”

The names of several other Republicans have been bandied about in recent months as potential candidates, among them former state Rep. Richard Campbell of Holden, who lost his bid for the seat last year; Kevin Raye, a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, and state Rep. Stavros Mendros of Lewiston.

On the Democratic side, Maine Sen. John Nutting of Leeds has said he plans to seek his party’s nomination.

The list of potential Democratic candidates also includes Maine Senate President Michael Michaud of Millinocket and Small Business Administration official Patrick McGowan of Canaan, who nearly unseated then-U.S. Rep. Olympia Snowe in a 1990 2nd District race.

Also mentioned as possible Democratic contenders are Sens. Mary Cathcart of Orono and Susan Longley of Liberty, state Rep. Paul Tessier of Fairfield, Lewiston Mayor Kaileigh Tara and former state Sen. Sean Faircloth, a Bangor resident and children’s museum director.

Woodcock is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Maine law school.

He is married to the former Carol Hicks. The couple has three children, ages 17, 15 and 10.

Maine’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District covers most of the state including Bangor, Lewiston, northern and Down East Maine.