Denver, CO (AHN) - Former Colorado Rep. Scott McInnis has launched campaign for next year's gubernatorial elections. His entrance into the race was widely expected, but the quiet nature of it has elicited criticisms that he is seeking to mitigate calls by a watchdog group to probe possible campaign finance violations.

McInnis filed paperwork at the Secretary of State's office late Tuesday without publicity. He is the second Republican to challenge Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter; Evergreen businessman and political neophyte Dan Maes made his bid official in March.

A former police officer, McInnis served as state House majority leader before being elected to the U.S. House in 1993. He finished six terms until 2005 and is now a partner at the D.C.-based law firm Hogan & Hartson.

The Colorado Ethics Watch last month had launched an investigation into possible violations of campaign finance law by the former congressman. The group says he had left a voice message announcing his gubernatorial bid and soliciting campaign donations. He also "reveals an apparent intention to illegally coordinate his campaign with a so-called 527 political organization."

A 527 group is named after a section of the U.S. tax code because, unlike political action committees, it is not limited by the same federal regulations governing political contributions. Federal and Colorado state law prohibits 527s from directly supporting candidates.

Colorado law also requires that a person who has publicly announced his bid for office, to register a campaign committee with the Secretary of State before receiving contributions.

McInnis is in third place among GOP rivals in the race, with 10.35 percent support, according to a Denver Republican Party straw poll this month. Maes is the frontrunner with 37.93 percent, followed by state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, a potential candidate and a former aide to McInnis, with 24.14 percent.