TULSA, Okla. (AP) – The widower of the first woman to serve as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation said he’s now running for chief, joining at least four other candidates who are vying for the tribe’s top job.

Charlie Soap, who was married to the late Wilma Mankiller, told The Associated Press Friday that he’s counting on support from voters who know about his relationship with Mankiller and his history of working with Cherokee citizens in rural Oklahoma.

The 69-year-old Stilwell resident enters a field that already includes former chief Chad Smith, who served for 12 years, and current chief Bill John Baker, the former Cherokee councilman who beat Smith in 2011. Cara Cowan-Watts, who has served on the tribal council since 2003, and Will Fourkiller, who is currently serving in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, presently round out the field of declared candidates. The filing period for candidates is March 2-5 and the election is June 27.

“Even Wilma used to say, ‘Charlie you should run for office,”’ Soap said. “I described it like being a ballplayer – you’re practicing, you’re practicing and you finally feel good enough.

“I’ve had enough practice and I feel like I’m ready,” he said.

Soap wants to tap into some of the voting bloc that helped Mankiller into office. She was one of the most influential American Indian leaders in recent history and is credited with growing tribal enrollment, creating jobs and building new health centers during her 10 years as principal chief.

In 1998, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian honor in the country – from then-President Bill Clinton.

Mankiller died in 2010 after a bout with pancreatic cancer. She was 64.

Smith, who worked with Soap for four years while he was chief, supported Soap’s decision to run, even though he’s a competitor now.

“I respect Charlie tremendously,” Smith said Friday.

A spokesman for the Baker campaign declined Friday to comment on the specific candidates until the filing period was over. Baker said recently that he wasn’t worried about the other candidates and said voters would recognize the accomplishments of his administration.

The principal chief, similar to an American president, oversees a $750 million budget, 9,000 employees, casino operations across the state and the country’s largest tribal health care system.