SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California Attorney General Jerry Brown formally announced on Tuesday his run for governor of the economically troubled state, becoming the only high-profile Democrat facing a Republican field led by former eBay Inc CEO Meg Whitman.

Brown, 71, has made no secret of his intention to run again for the governor’s office, which he held for eight years starting in 1975, launching two of three unsuccessful bids for president while in office.

He faces no serious Democratic primary opposition and leads Whitman and her rival for the Republican nomination, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, according to a January poll, in a campaign that is certain to focus on saving and creating jobs.

The winner of the November election will inherit a state budget that has run short by tens of billions of dollars in recent years, double-digit unemployment and competition from other states eager to lure away business.

Incumbent Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, barred  by term limits from seeking re-election, has battled a sharply  divided state Legislature over how to close budget gaps and  make the state easier to govern, but he has had few  breakthrough successes on those fronts.