EMILY’s List announced Wednesday that it has endorsed attorney Ann McLane Kuster (D) in the open-seat race in the 2nd district.

The race for retiring Rep. Paul Hodes’ (D) seat is expected to be competitive, especially since ex-Rep. Charlie Bass (R) announced a few weeks ago that he is exploring a bid for his former seat.

Kuster announced her campaign for the seat in June and raised $343,000 through the end of September.

“Annie is running a great campaign and already has the support of hundreds of grass-roots activists in New Hampshire. She is clearly the strongest candidate to keep this seat in the Democratic column,— said Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY’s List.

Although Kuster is the only major Democrat to file for the seat, Katrina Swett (D), the wife of former Rep. Dick Swett (D) and daughter of the late Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), is reportedly still thinking about running. But according to news accounts of her 2002 bid for the seat, Swett has said she supports a parental consent law for abortions — a measure that EMILY’s List opposes.

EMILY’s List has a strong track record in the Granite State, where the abortion-rights group helped elect Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) in recent cycles.