WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s decision Thursday to nominate former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray for a full term as head of the government’s financial watchdog agency has ramifications for next year’s Ohio governor’s race.

If the U.S. Senate confirms Cordray, it would make it easier for Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald to become the Democratic gubernatorial challenger next year to Gov. John Kasich.

But if Senate Republicans filibuster to block Cordray’s appointment – as they did last year – he could return to Ohio and run for governor as a crusader who tried to regulate Wall Street. That would present a contrast against Kasich, a former executive at Lehman Brothers, whose collapse in 2008 precipitated the nation’s financial crisis.

“This is going to force the Republicans’ hand and give the president and his Wall Street-fighting platform a national stage,” said Greg Haas, chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party. “Cordray will come out of this either confirmed or with a lot of national notoriety that would help him run for governor and raise a lot of money.”

With the announcement, Obama set up a potential collision with Senate Republicans by nominating Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency charged with curbing deceptive transactions by financial institutions, such as selling consumers home mortgages they cannot pay for.

Cordray, 53, of Grove City, who also was state treasurer, has served as director of the agency for the past year. When Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and more than 40 other Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block the nomination last year, Obama relied on a recess appointment to install Cordray into the job. That appointment expires at the beginning of next year.

With Cordray standing to his right, Obama said “the American people need Richard to keep standing up for them. And there’s absolutely no excuse for the Senate to wait any longer to confirm him.

After Obama finished speaking, Cordray said “we understand that our mission is to stand on the side of consumers – our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters – and see that they’re treated fairly.’’

In addition to Cordray, Obama on Thursday nominated New York federal prosecutor Mary Jo White as the chairwoman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yet Senate Republicans and their allies in the financial industry are likely to be wary of confirming Cordray. Portman and other GOP lawmakers have objected to the fact that the agency is run by a sole director as opposed to a board of commissioners, such as the Federal Communications Commission, which is run by five commissioners.

In addition, Republicans want Congress to approve the bureau’s budget annually, instead of financing the agency through the Federal Reserve Board. They have demanded these changes before they will confirm any full-time director.

Portman said in a statement that he looks “forward to reviewing’’ the nomination, adding that Cordray “deserves a fair and thorough process before the banking committee. At the time of his controversial recess appointment, we discussed certain reforms to make the (the agency) more accountable to citizens and their elected representatives. I look forward to hearing what progress has been made in this regard.”

The nomination of Cordray, Haas said, essentially frees him from deciding whether to leave his current job this year and run for governor and places it in the hands of Senate Republicans. If they decide to block his nomination in the next few months, Cordray still will have time to launch a gubernatorial campaign, strengthened by enhanced notoriety as a reformer who stood up against “the Wall Street party,” Haas said.

FitzGerald said Thursday that he is inclined to run for governor, but has not made a final decision. On the heels of former Gov. Ted Strickland’s decision not to run, Obama’s nomination of Cordray will help “clarify” the Democratic race by lessening the chance of a contested primary in 2014, FitzGerald said.

“I’m leaning towards doing it, but I am taking the temperature of people across the state and it’s been pretty encouraging,” FitzGerald said about the governor’s race. “There is a strong desire among people across the state to identify the Democrat who’s going to be the candidate. Time is of the essence so I need to make a decision soon.”

Other Democrats said to be looking at running for governor include Youngstown-area U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles and former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Barberton, near Akron. Pat Lowry, a Ryan spokesman, said the congressman “is still considering’’ whether he would run for governor.

Cordray’s nomination was swiftly endorsed by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who said that “under his watch, the bureau has crafted rules that balance the needs of consumers and the business community,’’ calling on Senate Republicans to “end their unprecedented obstruction and confirm him quickly.”

Jessica Wehrman of the Washington bureau contributed to this story.