ST. PAUL — Republicans’ candidate for governor from 2014 is running again in 2018.

Jeff Johnson announced a bid for the open seat Wednesday. The Hennepin County Commissioner lost to Gov. Mark Dayton by roughly 5 percentage points in 2014.

But Dayton isn’t running for a third term, setting off a scramble to replace him in what is sure to be a close election. Johnson says in his campaign announcement video that he’ll give power back to Minnesotans, criticizing the “cronyism” of Democrats.

Johnson won a seat on the Hennepin County Commission in 2008 after serving three terms in the state House. He joins several Republicans and a broad field of Democrats who have already launched bids.