New London - Andrew R. Lockwood Sr., the Republican 39th House District candidate, has been endorsed by the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, the candidate announced Friday.

The Groton-based group describes itself as "a non-partisan, grassroots organization ... dedicated to protecting the unalienable right of all citizens to keep and bear arms."

"The attack on legal gun owners and the rights of all citizens must stop," Lockwood said in a statement.

In a rematch of the 2010 contest for the district seat, Lockwood is seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic state Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London.

Last month, Lockwood announced that he had gathered enough signatures to get onto the November ballot and would file paperwork to officially seek the 39th House District seat.

On Friday, the Secretary of the State's office said Lockwood will indeed appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as the Republican nominee for the General Assembly seat.

Though Lockwood was not endorsed by the New London Republican Town Committee or nominated at the party's convention in May, he petitioned his way into a primary. Because there was no other candidate running in the primary, Lockwood became the Republican nominee, according to Av Harris, a spokesman for the Secretary of the State's office.

In 2009, Lockwood ran on the Republican ticket for City Council and came in last place. The next year, he challenged Hewett for the 39th District seat and lost by a roughly 2-1 margin. And in 2011, Lockwood was a petitioning candidate for mayor and received fewer than 200 votes.

c.young@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung