Iowa governor Tom Vilsack has declared he will run for president in 2008:
The Democratic governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, has announced he will run for the US presidency in 2008, promising to make the US "a beacon of hope".
He said he wanted "to replace the America of today with the hope of tomorrow and guarantee every American their birthright - opportunity".
The governor is regarded as a centrist and is little known outside his state.
Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama are among the other Democrats many expect will contend the party's nomination.
Mr Vilsack, 56, announced his plans to run for the presidency in Mount Pleasant, Iowa - the small town where he began his political career as mayor in 1987.
He went on to become a senator in the Iowa state senate before being elected as the state's governor in 1998.
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