The conservative Columbus Dispatch has endorsed Richard Cordray, the Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio.

Our choice is in some ways a departure from past practice, and in some ways it is not. True, it is rare for this newspaper to favor a Democrat over a Republican for the governor’s office. Since 1962, the Dispatch recommended a Democrat just once in that 56-year span: Ted Strickland won the Dispatch endorsement in 2006 and went on to defeat Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell for the seat previously held by Bob Taft. After careful consideration of the two major-party contenders and their impressive public-service records, The Dispatch endorses Democrat Richard Cordray over Republican Mike DeWine.

The Dispatch said it was endorsing Cordray, a former state attorney general and treasurer who was appointed in 2012 by President Obama as the first director of the federal government’s new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, because he, “offers a more forward-looking vision for clean energy, protecting Lake Erie, supporting the ability of local governments to provide services to their communities and working with JobsOhio to improve workforce development and help grow small and mid-sized businesses.”

The paper points out that for those who fear Cordray is too liberal, he’ll have an overwhelmingly Republican legislature to deal with.

President Trump was also part of the papers consideration:

“How the next governor relates to President Donald Trump is not a major issue, but we fear DeWine would not call out bad behavior and ill-advised policy decisions as Cordray has done.”

The Columbus Dispatch serves central Ohio, an area of this battleground state most important in statewide elections.

A recent poll by NBC/Marist College shows the race between Cordray and Mike DeWine tied, with 47 percent each.

Ohio’s gubernatorial race is more competitive than the Senate race, where Sen. Sherrod Brown holds a double-digit lead over Republican Rep. Jim Renacci.