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Jay Inslee: Washington governor to run on climate change

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee shakes hands with people in the crowd after speaking at a rally during the March for Science at Cal Anderson Park on April 22, 2017 in Seattle, Washington.Image copyright
Karen Ducey/Getty Images

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Governor Inslee after speaking at a rally during the March for Science on April 22, 2017 in Seattle, Washington

Washington State’s Democratic Governor Jay Inslee has announced his 2020 bid for the presidential nomination, joining a lengthy list of contenders.

Mr Inslee, 68, will make climate change his number one issue, calling it “the most urgent challenge of our time” in his first campaign video.

He is the first governor to throw his hat into the ring, joining 12 other Democrats, including six senators.

The two-term governor has been a fierce critic of President Donald Trump.

“I’m running for president because I am the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation’s number one priority,” Mr Inslee says in the video, released on Friday.

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Mr Inslee’s mid-term elections campaign ran on the platform of creating new energy jobs – his 2020 campaign video echoed the same, tying “defeating climate change” with transforming the economy.

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Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders are among other declared contenders for the Democratic primary in 2020, the first time more than one woman has competed.