ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Weeks after hinting at a bid to become the first Georgia Democrat elected governor this century, Michael Thurmond made it official on Wednesday.

Thurmond, who as the former state labor commissioner was the last member of his party elected to a statewide constitutional office, joins a crowded field of metro Atlanta Democrats who want to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp in the nation’s most watched gubernatorial campaign.

He pitches himself as someone who can bridge racial and political divides to become the first Democrat to win the state’s top office in 28 years.

“I’m running for governor to fight for working families, protect and expand access to healthcare and build an education system that creates multiple pathways to success,” Thurmond said in a Facebook post announcing his campaign. “Let’s put our boots on Georgia ground to get the job done.”

Thurmond joins state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and businessman/pastor Olu Brown.

Thurmond is the only Democrat in the field who has run a successful statewide campaign, first being elected Labor commissioner in 1999 and then being reelected twice more, eventually serving three four-year terms.

During a brief July appearance at the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia’s Annual Congress of Christian Education in Albany, Thurmond condemned President Donald Trump’s policies of stripping federal benefits from social programs.

Then, he said, “I’m not going to talk long today because they only gave me four minutes. I ain’t going to stay long, but y’all invite me next year, when I’m running for governor, I’m going to be up here for a while.”

Two Republicans so far are running to succeed Kemp: Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Attorney General Chris Carr.

Thurmond recently concluded his second and final term as CEO of DeKalb County. He also served as the interim superintendent of the DeKalb County School District which, in 2012, was about to lose its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Under Thurmond’s 2013-2015 stewardship, the system was upgraded from “probation” to “accredited warned.” The system was reinstated to full accreditation in 2017.

Thurmond’s political career began in 1986 when he became Clarke County’s first African American elected to the state legislature since Reconstruction. He is also a former head of the state Division of Family and Children’s Services.

In 2010, Thurmond ran as a Democrat in an unsuccessful bid against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.

Thurmond is also the author of the book “James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia: A Founder’s Journey from Slave Trader to Abolitionist.”

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