Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray (center) will run for governor in Ohio next year. Ohio judge: Richard Cordray plans to run for Ohio governor To run, he would have to leave the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before completing his term.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray will run for governor in Ohio next year, according to his friends, a move that would inject a Democratic celebrity into a battleground-state campaign and remove a key Obama administration holdover.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill said a mutual friend called Cordray last week to ask if the bureau chief was considering a run for governor. O'Neill himself had considered running in the past but told the friend — whom he refused to name — that he wouldn’t if Cordray did. It was clear from the conversation that Cordray will launch a campaign, O'Neill said.


"He's getting ready to run," O'Neill told POLITICO.

O'Neill's comments were first reported by Cleveland.com.

To mount a campaign, Cordray would have to leave the consumer bureau before his term expires in July 2018.

His departure would be a gift to Republicans in Washington, who have been moving to gut the bureau since its creation under former President Barack Obama. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling has called for Cordray to be fired and business groups have accused the independent regulator of running amok.

As Cordray mulls his departure, his agency last week lit a new fire in Congress, releasing a rule that would make it easier for consumers to bring class-action lawsuits against banks, credit card issuers and other financial institutions. The rule eats away at mandatory arbitration agreements commonly included in customer contracts.

On Thursday, Hensarling and other lawmakers are expected to file a resolution to overturn the rule under the Congressional Review Act. The looming fight over the resolution will be as much a political referendum on the agency itself as a battle over the substance of the regulation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is contemplating legal action against the rule and plans a massive grassroots campaign to rally votes in favor of the CRA.

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“This is not the first time we’ve seen them go out on a limb,” said Kate Larson, director of the Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness. “It is the first time, however, that they’ve gone so far out and been this rogue agency.”

Under law, President Donald Trump can’t replace Cordray without firing him for cause, an act that carries its own political risk given the bureau’s popularity with the public — including among Trump voters. And Congress can’t rein in the agency with spending cuts because it’s funded through the Federal Reserve and not subject to appropriations.

“It’s a pretty sad day where an esoteric Congressional Review Act is the only way we can push back on this agency,” Larson said.

O'Neill said a Cordray campaign launch probably isn’t "imminent" but preparations are under way.

Speculation about Cordray’s political future has dogged him and the agency since last year, even as other Democrats piled into the race to replace retiring Republican Gov. John Kasich.

Former state Rep. Connie Pillich, former state Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, one-time Rep. Betty Sutton and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley are running in the Democratic primary.

But Cordray, who served a term as Ohio attorney general before Obama tapped him to lead the CFPB, is the only person in the field with a national profile and a statewide win under his belt.

"Rich is in a unique position to be able to raise money nationally when he comes into the race, and that piece is going to come together faster than it would [for] other candidates," said Greg Haas, former chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party in Ohio. Haas said Ohio Democratic donors have said they want to wait to see if Cordray jumps into the race.

"A lot of them are waiting on Rich because he's such a great candidate,” Haas said. “That's not a negative reflection on some of the other people running for governor. He's just in a much better position."

Still, no matter who their nominee, Democrats could face an uphill climb in Ohio, which Trump won by eight points in 2016. The Republican primary is crowded with experienced candidates.

Three of them — Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted — currently hold state office. A fourth, Rep. Jim Renacci, is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and has waged two successful battleground-district campaigns for Congress.