(GREENSBORO) -- Former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory officially kicked off his campaign for governor on Tuesday in Greensboro. The Republican said education and the economy would be a priority for his as governor.

"We have over 450,000 people out of work in North Carolina.  That's more than the populations of Asheville, Gastonia, Burlington, Chapel Hill, Greenville, and Wilmington combined," said McCrory.

One of the ways he vowed to create jobs is through offshore and inland energy exploration.  He said education is the other key to jobs. "If we educate our kids the right way, we're going to get them jobs and that's my number one goal."

McCrory narrowly lost to Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue in 2008.  So far, the only Democrats who have officially announced they will seek their party's nomination for governor are Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and Rep. Bill Faison.