State Representative Evandro Carvalho has pulled papers to compete in the special election for First Suffolk Senate district, which became vacant when former state senator Linda Dorcena Forry abruptly quit her job last month.
Carvalho joins state Representative Nick Collins, who announced Friday that he will seek the post, declaring in a statement, “I am ready to be that leader.”
If no one else gets into the special election, it would be a match up between two young Democrats in a diverse district, which runs from Mattapan north to the Seaport and includes South Boston and Dorchester.
Local political experts said Collins is an emerging, popular leader who has built alliances across various communities in his years in office.
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They said Carvalho, a Dorchester lawyer, is respected within his district.
Carvalho, who has repeatedly said he’s considering the run, could not be reached for comment. The Secretary of State’s office confirmed that Carvalho had pulled the paperwork to run for state Senate.
Dorcena Forry, who until recently was the highest-ranking elected black official in Massachusetts, resigned last month — midway through her two-year term. She took a job with Suffolk Construction Co., stunning the Democratic establishment and creating a scramble for her successor in the First Suffolk Senate district.
Last week, State Representatives Russell Holmes and Dan Cullinane said they would not run.
The primary for the seat is April 3 and the special election is May 1.
Meghan E. Irons can be reached at meghan.irons@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @meghanirons.