RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is entering the Democratic race for North Carolina governor.

Etheridge released a statement Thursday announcing he was running for the job, just hours after former University of North Carolina system president Erskine Bowles decided against it.

Etheridge served in Congress for 14 years and eight years before that as state schools superintendent. He said in a statement that improving the state's public education system has been his life's work and that the election is about leadership.

The Harnett County Democrat joins Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and state Rep. Bill Faison in the party's primary. Three others are considering whether to get in the race.

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