DAYTON, Ohio — Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley announced Monday she's running for Ohio governor as a Democratic candidate, taking aim at Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and said she's "ready to do something."

"I’m running for governor because I’m ready to do something. I’m ready to do something to take on gun violence. To fix a broken economy. To fight corruption and criminality in Columbus. To make Ohio a place we can all be proud of," Whaley wrote on Twitter. 

Whaley is the first Democrat to officially join the race. She is currently serving her second four-year term as Dayton mayor. This will be the second time she's running for governor. She launched a campaign in 2017, but then dropped out and endorsed Richard Cordray. He then lost to DeWine.

Whaley, 45, has helped the city through a mass shooting in the city's Oregon District in 2019, a Ku Klux Klan rally that racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in security and a tornado, which devastated the city's neighborhoods.

In her campaign announcement video, she said Dayton can teach Ohio about strength.

"When you've been through what Dayton has — factories out, opioids in, Mother Nature running wild, a gunman changing everything in 32 seconds — it molds you. Puts a little steel in your spine. Makes you strong enough to stand up to the biggest bullies and fight for your own. The only way I got through it all is to be as tough as the people of Dayton and the people who raised me," Whaley said in the video. 

She also said Ohio's leaders are "too weak to do something" when it comes to cases of corruption, referring to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who's at the center of the House Bill 6 nuclear bailout scandal. 

While DeWine hasn't formally announced a re-run on the Republican side, it's likely he'll be a competitor, and Whaley and DeWine have a history. 

Following the mass shooting on Aug. 4, 2019, when nine people died and several others were wounded, DeWine and Whaley worked on a gun control measure that failed in the Ohio General Assembly. The measure, called the STRONG Ohio bill, was composed of what DeWine called "common sense" gun reform legislation. It would have improved the state's background check system, raise penalties for violent offenders with guns and would have expanded courts' right to confiscate firearms. 

Then in January, DeWine signed Senate Bill 175, otherwise known as the controversial "stand your ground" bill after hinting he would veto it earlier last year. The bill eliminates the state's "duty to retreat," meaning legal gun owners don't need to walk away before hurting or killing someone in self-defense. 

"Gov. DeWine came to our city and stood on stage for a vigil for our murdered friends and neighbors and then told us he stood with our community in our fight against gun violence," Whaley said after DeWine signed the measure. "Now it seems he does not. Gov. DeWine has made clear he opposes this dangerous policy, but he once again folded to the extreme elements of his own party."

On the Democratic side, it's possible Whaley could go up against Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, who is considering a run for the seat. If Whaley is elected, she'd be the first female Ohio governor.

Some state representatives are voicing their support for Whaley. Rep. Allison Russo said she's "proud to support my friend" on Twitter, but others aren't so excited about the news. 

"Ohioans deserve leaders who serve to better our communities, not build their own political resumes," said Bob Paduchik, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.