Pataki makes 2016 bid official

Cooper Allen | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption George Pataki joins crowded GOP presidential Field Former New York Governor George Pataki says he will seek the Republican nomination for president. Video provided by Newsy

George Pataki made it official Thursday, stressing his three terms as New York governor in announcing he would seek the presidency.

"I am a candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States," Pataki said at an event in Exeter, N.H.

Pataki made clear he was joining the GOP field earlier in the morning with a video posted on his campaign website.

During his announcement speech, Pataki spoke of the need to rein in what he called an "oppressive government" and cited his record leading New York.

"After 12 years of my conservative policies, we replaced dependency with opportunity," he said.

Describing himself as a "solutions guy," the former New York governor proposed ending Obamacare and Common Core and ending taxes that "crush small business."

Pataki has his work cut out for him in a Republican field that will likely have more than a dozen candidates.

George Pataki enters 2016 presidential race Former New York Governor George Pataki released this video to announce his entry into the 2016 presidential race.

On paper, Pataki's credentials are impressive. He defeated liberal icon Mario Cuomo in 1994 to win the first of his three terms as governor of New York, one of the nation's largest, and bluest, states.

But his bid is unquestionably a long shot. He didn't register in a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday, and he's largely been off the national stage since exiting the governor's office at the end of 2006.

He's even taken to making self-deprecating cracks about his status within the Republican presidential field. At a town hall in New Hampshire earlier this year, an attendee suggested he was a "second-tier kind of candidate." According to The Daily Beast, Pataki deadpanned: "You are moving me up, then!"

During his announcement speech and in his campaign video, Pataki invoked his leadership of New York during 9/11, saying he would not forget its lessons. He emphasized the need for strengthening the U.S. military and combatting the Islamic State, saying the U.S. needed to destroy "radical Islam's ability to attack us over there, before they have the chance to attack us here."

"A strong America is a safe America," he said.

This is not the first time Pataki, 69, has considered a presidential run. He mulled but ultimately passed on White House bids in 2000, 2008 and 2012.

Pataki has touted his ability to win states where Republicans have not traditionally fared well, but his more moderate stances on issues such as abortion will be tough to overcome among more conservative GOP primary voters.

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