Orlando Democrat Chris King filed papers Friday with the Florida Secretary of State to run for governor in 2018.

  • Chris King is founder, CEO of Elevation Financial Group
  • He lives in Orlando with wife and 3 children
  • King is 2nd to announce gubernatorial run this week

King will launch his campaign with an announcement in April, where he said he'll lay out a fresh vision for what Florida can and should be.

"I believe Florida can do so many things better if we have the courage to do things differently," King said. "We're going to run a campaign driven by a spirit of innovation and can-do optimism.

"We're going to give voice to millions of Floridians who are struggling to make it and haven't given up the hope that we can do better," he said.

According to a news release, King is a third-generation Central Floridian who graduated from Harvard University and earned his law degree from the University of Florida. He is the founder and CEO of Elevation Financial Group and leads a nonprofit that offers mentorship to low-income Florida students to pursue their college dreams.

King and his wife, Kristen, live in the Orlando area with their three children.

King is the second person this week who announced he'll run for governor. Democrat Andrew Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, became the first entrant in Florida's 2018 race for governor Wednesday.