Kinky Friedman, the author-musician who railed against the two-party system as an independent candidate for governor three years ago, joined that system Monday when he declared he will seek the Democratic nomination for the state's top job next year.

He's sure to face considerable challenges along the way. He must convince Democratic voters not only that he is a serious Democrat, but that he's a Democrat at all. He may also face trouble retaining some of the support he had in 2006, when he finished fourth with 12 percent of the vote.

He attributed his poor finish in that race to the fact that he ran as an independent.

"I've seen the light," he said in an interview Monday. "I'm running as a Democrat because I believe the Democratic Party at its base is populism."

Friedman, who ran for a Hill Country justice of the peace post as a Republican more than 20 years ago, added, "My heroes have always been Democrats."

Friedman's unorthodox candidacy three years ago — one of his slogans was "How hard could it be?" — gained national attention. But he fleshed out few policy ideas, gave a subpar performance in the televised debate and ran into the reality that straight-ticket voting makes it almost impossible for an independent to win.

His latest book, "Heroes of a Texas Childhood," will go on sale soon. It looks at the lives of several late Democratic politicians, including former Gov. Ann Richards and former U.S. House Speaker Sam Rayburn, as well as nonpoliticians such as author J. Frank Dobie.

Asked whether he was using his candidacy to promote his book, Friedman said, "This is just fortuitous. It's what I do. I'm an author."

He said he'd like to make the book mandatory reading in Texas schools. He'd also like to end the death penalty and toll roads, legalize casino gambling, enact term limits and give every teacher a $3,000 raise.

"I don't have all the answers for education," he said. "I just know that we have the money, and if we had the leadership and the management, we could move past Mississippi and Louisiana."

Friedman joins a field of Democratic candidates that includes Fort Worth lawyer Tom Schieffer, whom former President George W. Bush appointed ambassador to Australia and Japan, as well as previous statewide candidates Mark Thompson and Hank Gilbert and educator Felix Alvarado.

Friedman said he has called about a third of the state's Democratic county chairs and that many have said they would help him. He declined to give their names, saying he did not want to break their confidence.

What remains to be seen is whether his message will catch on with Democratic voters.

"I honestly don't believe Kinky Friedman will ever do anything in the course of his candidacy to lead a critical mass of Democratic voters to believe he's serious," Democratic consultant Harold Cook said. "But if I'm wrong about that, he will be facing questions about his qualifications as a Democrat. He only decided to run as a Democrat when all his other options failed."

Friedman may also struggle to again excite voters who liked the idea of an irreverent candidate shunning the traditional political system.

Laura Stromberg, who was Friedman's press secretary in 2006, said the conditions that provided an ideal scenario for his candidacy in that race — a fractured electorate, the novelty of an independent candidate — don't exist anymore.

"If he didn't win in 2006, he can't possibly pull it off in 2010," Stromberg said.