Washington, May 29 (IANS): George Pataki, the former Republican governor who led the state of New York during the September 11, 2001 attacks, announced on Thursday that he was running for the 2016 presidential race.

"It's time! Join me in the fight to build a stronger America!" Pataki tweeted shortly before the announcement gathering in the New Hampshire town of Exeter, which claims to be the birthplace of the Republican Party.

"To preserve and protect that freedom that this morning I announce that I am a candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States," Pataki said during a speech in Exeter. He also promised to "repeal oppressive laws like the ObamaCare", according to Xinhua.

He stressed the importance of unifying the country, recalling how Americans worked together to overcome the trauma of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Pataki first announced his White House bid in a campaign video released on Thursday morning. The Republican, who won the governorship three times in a heavily Democratic New York, served as governor from 1995 to 2006.

It marks the first White House bid for Pataki, the 69-years-old who supports conservation, same-sex marriage and gun control.

Pataki becomes the eighth to jump into the crowded ring of Republicans running for the White House, a day after former US senator, Rick Santorum, announced his presidential bid.