As Ohio Democrats go to the polls in the primary election for governor, they face a critical choice about the direction of our party and our state.

For the last 15 months, most Americans have watched in horror as President Trump has trampled on one norm after another, has lurched from crisis to crisis, has completely disregarded basic principles of respect and decency, and has sown discord and conflict.

In picking their next governor, Ohioans need a strong bulwark against the chaos we see in Washington and an experienced fighter to take on the special interests that have a chokehold on the Statehouse.

For me, the choice couldn’t be clearer: Rich Cordray should be our next governor.

Rich has shown himself to be an top-notch public servant. In each role he’s held, Rich has brought a tenacity and creativity to the job that has allowed him to deliver real, tangible results for working Ohioans.

As Ohio’s treasurer, Rich diligently managed the state’s investments and successfully spearheaded efforts to support small businesses and create good-paying jobs. As attorney general, Rich was the first to sue a mortgage lender for improper foreclosures, and he went toe-to-toe with the Wall Street banks who wrecked our economy. He brought back $2 billion to Ohioans who had been wronged in the Great Recession.

While Rich is never one to tout his successes, his accomplishments for the people of Ohio speak volumes They caught the eye of President Obama as he searched for someone to lead the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, part of the Wall Street reform legislation. As the first director of that agency, Rich was responsible for protecting families from predatory mortgage lenders, bank scams, and other shady financial institutions like for-profit colleges and payday lenders.

Rich went into that job with a mission of standing up for families, no matter how wealthy and influential the special interests he was up against — and he delivered. He took on some of the most powerful interests in our country, from the payday lending lobby, to student loan schemes, and big financial institutions. Despite everything stacked against him, Rich won for ordinary people, and he put $12 billion back in the pockets of Americans who had been scammed.

While Rich will serve Ohio well as a strong and steady leader, his chief opponent in the primary, Dennis Kucinich, mirrors many of the worst qualities that we see in Washington.

Not unlike the current occupant of the White House, Mr. Kucinich has mastered the use of conflict as a political tool, and has taken up one self-righteous crusade after another, pitting himself against some powerful enemy — real or imaginary. Instead of bringing people together to find solutions and get results, Dennis is quick to seize the limelight, disappearing as soon as the hard work of governing starts.

After all the press conferences and table thumping, what does he have to show for his 50 years in political life? A profitable perch as a paid pundit on Fox News and associations with morally questionable organizations like the Ron Paul Institute and a pro-Assad group.

As mayor of Cleveland, Dennis created endless chaos with his erratic leadership style before being ousted by his voters in a landslide. As a member of Congress, Dennis ran for president twice and introduced countless bills that would grab headlines, but passed no meaningful legislation and delivered little for his constituents.

While Dennis has always portrayed himself as a progressive champion, his career took a disturbing turn after he was unseated in 2012. As a paid Fox News contributor, he was as quick to criticize President Obama and other Democrats as he was to heap praise on President Trump and indulge Republican conspiracy theories about the “deep state.”

And, as a self-proclaimed diplomat, Dennis made an unforgivable decision to defend and provide political cover to Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad — a butcher who recently gassed his own citizens yet again.

We’ve now learned that Mr. Kucinich was rewarded handsomely for his praise of this dictator, collecting $20,000 in speaking fees from a pro-Assad group — that he tried to conceal. Mr. Kucinich’s support for Assad, his unwillingness to condemn his atrocities, and his attempt to hide from voters the money he was paid, speaks volumes about his character, and his unfitness for public office.

To me, and to countless other Democrats, the contrast between these two candidates couldn’t be clearer. Rich Cordray will bring steady, thoughtful leadership to the governor’s office and will take on the special interests who have come to dominate state government.

Dennis Kucinich as our nominee would be an electoral disaster for Democrats in November. What he offers as governor, is more of the same sort of grandstanding, chaos, and divisiveness that we see in Washington and the White House. Ohio doesn’t need that; it needs Rich Cordray — that’s why I’ll be voting for him on May 8.

Ted Strickland is the former governer of Ohio.

First Published April 28, 2018, 8:45 p.m.