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Former Va. Gov. Jim Gilmore makes 2016 GOP presidential bid

By Amy R. Connolly
Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore speaks during the GOP presidential candidates debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on May 3, 2007. Wednesday Gilmore filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission, officially marking his entrance into the 2016 presidential race. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore speaks during the GOP presidential candidates debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on May 3, 2007. Wednesday Gilmore filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission, officially marking his entrance into the 2016 presidential race. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, July 30 (UPI) -- Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore officially became the 17th prominent GOP candidate to seek the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday.

Gilmore, 65, filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission and plans a formal announcement in early August.

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Gilmore served as Virginia's governor from 1998 to 2002 and was the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He made a brief bid for for president in 2008.

Gilmore said his military experience makes him stand out from the crowded field of Republican candidates. A former U.S. Army intelligence officer, Gilmore was governor when the Pentagon was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001 and later headed the Gilmore Commission, a congressional panel that advised Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on domestic terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.

"I don't think we're addressing the threat to the country," Gilmore said. "I bring to the table experience that others don't have."

Gilmore's push for the White House is bound to prove challenging with the wide pool of candidates.

Among the Republican nomination hopefuls are former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, businessman Donald Trump, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki, Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

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Among the candidates for the Democratic nomination are former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

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