The former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper has joined the Democratic race for the 2020 presidential nomination, citing an ability to bring people together in a time of “crisis”.

“It’s official,” he wrote in a Monday morning tweet. “I’m asking you to interview me for president. Our country is in crisis, and we need someone who knows how to bring people together and get things done. This is my record, but I’ve never done it alone. Join me.”

The 67-year-old’s campaign said he will formally launch his run with a rally in Denver on Thursday.

Hickenlooper is a moderate who served two terms as governor of Colorado as the once conservative-leaning western state moved increasingly to the left, presiding over liberal policies that included the legalization of marijuana in 2012.

He is the 14th candidate and second governor to join a historically diverse Democratic primary field. He joins more moderate Senators Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota) and Cory Booker (New Jersey). Senator Kamala Harris of California has made a strong start running to the left of center.

Leading lights further left include Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Governor Jay Inslee of Washington has announced a run based on environmental concerns. Montana’s governor, Steve Bullock, and former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe are also considering a run, as is the Colorado senator Michael Bennet.

In a video announcing his candidacy, entitled Stand Tall, which opens with a shot of the ex-governor striding through the Colorado snow, Hickenlooper says: “I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done.

Hickenlooper announces.

“I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver.”

He is running to repair “the damage done to our country”, he says, painting himself as unafraid to take on Donald Trump.

Over footage of the president, he says in a voiceover: “I’m running for president because we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.”

Hickenlooper was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia and moved to Colorado to take a job as a geologist for a petroleum company. After a layoff, he opened a brewpub in Denver that over time helped revitalize the city’s distressed downtown. Colorado has become known for its microbreweries and craft beers.

In 2003, Hickenlooper was elected mayor of Denver. He easily won re-election with 87% of the vote in 2007 as the city experienced sweeping economic expansion. Four years later, he was elected governor.

During his tenure, the state weathered the economic recession, a series of wildfires and floods and a mass shooting that left 12 people dead at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

“I think I’m really the one candidate out there that has a very strong record of bringing people together and getting things done,” Hickenlooper said in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday.

He added: “We got the oil and gas industry to work with the environment community to create methane regulations … we’re a purple state that got universal background checks passed.”