Democratic business exec enters 2020 Indiana governor's race

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A longtime health care business executive hopes to turn his corporate experience into an asset as he seeks to unseat Republican Eric Holcomb from the Indiana governor's office next year.

Woody Myers announced his campaign Wednesday, becoming the first Democratic candidate to formally enter the 2020 gubernatorial race.

Myers, a doctor who was Indiana's state health commissioner in the 1980s, said he plans to focus his campaign on boosting education funding, improving the state's health care system and job creation.

"For too long as a state we've been satisfied with good enough," Myers said. "Well, in Indiana today, good enough is no longer good enough. As a state, we need to stop falling behind so our children can get ahead."

Holcomb hasn't yet announced his re-election plans, but he has collected more than $6 million for the race in the Republican-dominated state and has a campaign announcement set for Saturday in Knightstown. His campaign touts what it calls record job commitment and infrastructure investments since he became governor in 2017.

Myers spent nearly $1.8 million of his own money on an unsuccessful 2008 Democratic primary bid for an Indianapolis congressional seat, when he finished second to current U.S. Rep. Andre Carson. But Myers said Wednesday that he wouldn't be self-funding his campaign for governor, which could include two other Democrats.

"This campaign is going to cost a lot. So I'm going to have to convince a lot of our friends to dig deep and help us to make sure that we get the message out the way we need to," he said.

Myers gained prominence as state health commissioner by advocating for teenage AIDS patient Ryan White's right to attend a public school that sought to keep him out due to his illness.

Myers later became...