Richardson makes it official

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) stressed his experience and Hispanic roots yesterday in Los Angeles as he officially threw his hat in the ring to run for president.

Richardson has been campaigning through his exploratory committee since late January, but he formally announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination yesterday, repeating many of the themes that have marked his early campaigning.

{mosads}“There are a lot of candidates in this race with good ideas,” Richardson said, according to his prepared remarks. “But coming up with a good idea is only half the job. The other half is bringing people together to get it done. I’m proud of my record of getting things done. And I’ll put that record up against anyone’s.”

The governor’s campaign has since the beginning sought to draw a distinction between what it perceives to be a large gap in the amount of experience the other candidates have compared to Richardson.

The two-term governor has served in the House, as a United Nations ambassador and as secretary of energy.

The campaign got some good news this weekend, as a new poll showed the governor cracking double digits in Iowa for the first time.