Richard Cordray, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announced his candidacy for the governorship of Ohio on Tuesday, releasing a video featuring former President Barack Obama and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).
Cordray, a Democrat who resigned from the CFPB last month, announced his bid for governor during an event in his hometown of Grove City, Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
In the video, both Obama and Warren praise Cordray for his tenure as the head of the controversial financial sector regulatory agency.
At Tuesday's event, Cordray, 58, touted how Democrats will bring in help from outside of Ohio for the gubernatorial race.
"We’re going to be getting a lot of help nationally," he said.
"As governor, I'll focus on the kitchen-table issues that keep people up at night," he added, listing health-care costs and consumer debt among them.
Multiple well-known Ohio Republicans—including Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Attorney General Mike DeWine, and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci—are running for the governor's office. Incumbent Gov. John Kasich (R.) is term-limited and cannot seek reelection when his second term ends in January 2019.
Cordray is considered the front-runner among Democrats. He has held a number of public offices in the state of Ohio, including attorney general, state treasurer, solicitor general, and state representative. He also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2000.