Former Cleveland mayor, state lawmaker and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich has taken the first steps toward joining the Democratic field for Ohio governor.
Kucinich, 71, has now filed paperwork with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office naming a treasurer for his Kucinich For Ohio campaign.
Every time Kucinich appeared publicly last year, he was asked about running for governor. When he endorsed the drug price issue on the November ballot, he said: “As you know, I’m here to talk about Issue 2, but thanks for asking the question.”
At a press conference on charter schools in April, he said: "I’m not here to talk about politics.”
Kucinich said something similar at a community meeting a few weeks earlier, but also said this: “People are not satisfied with the way things are and they are ready to challenge things at the core, to shake the pillars of the government.”
Kucinich represented Ohio’s 10th District in northeast Ohio from 1997-2013, before losing to fellow Democrat Marcy Kaptur in the primary.
There are six candidates already in the Democratic primary for Ohio governor, but as a former presidential candidate (he ran for the Democratic nominations in 2004 and 2008) and commentator on Fox News, Kucinich would likely be the best-known of the group.
Also running are former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, former state Rep. Connie Pillich, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni.
