Iowa Governor first into 2008 White House race

[Ron Burgundy]

AFP - Iowa's Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack launched an underdog bid for the presidency, becoming the first serious candidate to officially set out on the long road to the 2008 election.

Vilsack, 56, hopes to emulate Democrat former governors Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton by rising from national obscurity to the White House.

"I've always been an underdog and a longshot. I've always been inspired by the stories of ordinary citizens who worked hard, overcame adversity and succeeded," Vilsack said, at a campaign kick-off rally in his home state.

"I announce my candidacy to be the next president of the United States," he said, vowing to cut US addiction to foreign oil and demanding troops be taken from harm's way in Iraq.

In terms of profile and fundraising ability, Vilsack appears to be at a huge disadvantage to possible rivals for the Democratic nomination like Senator Hillary Clinton and rising political star Senator Barack Obama.

But he will hope to be among favourites for the Iowa caucus, one of the earliest nominating contests in 2008 for the Democratic and Republican tickets.

Vilsack, nearing the end of a second four-year term as governer of the midwestern ethanol-producing state, planned a first campaign swing through other early voting states, including New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

Though he is little known outside Iowa, he has a compelling story, orphaned at birth before rising to become mayor of the city of Mount Pleasant and then taking the mansion of the governor, the top executive official in each US state.

On the Republican side, potential candidates include veteran Arizona Senator John McCain, former New York major Rudolph Giuliani and outgoing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Some candidates have taken the first formal steps towards a campaign, and are expected to join Vilsack by formally declaring their bids for the White House in early 2007.