Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), the 40-year-old veteran who is in his third term in Congress, is running for president.
“Whether it’s appointing a Cabinet member, negotiating a treaty, or signing an executive order, I will always uphold America’s values,” Moulton said in his announcement video. “I’m running because we have to beat Donald Trump, and I want us to beat Donald Trump because I love this country. We’ve never been a country that gets everything right. But we’re a country that, at our best, thinks that we might. I’d be honored if you’d join me in this mission.”
After spending time in early-voting states over the past few months, he announced his candidacy on Good Morning America, officially becoming the 20th candidate to compete for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
ADVERTISEMENT
His campaign will emphasize organizing young people and veterans on the ground and aides to Moulton say they’ve heard positive receptions to a younger candidate who can focus on issues of national security, defense, and foreign policy in contrast to President Trump.
Moulton has recently spent time in early-voting states and his Serve America PAC contributed more than $4 million to candidates in the 2018 cycle, with staff on the ground working to flip almost two dozen House seats.
In the run-up to his announcement, Moulton has given a speech on foreign policy, including arms control and re-examining NATO, called for the creation of a Federal Green Jobs Corps and an electoral reform plan and said both the Electoral College and the Senate filibuster should be abolished.
Moulton was heavily criticized for his efforts to keep House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from leading the party after Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives last year, protestations that included angry constituents at a town-hall meeting and potential primary challengers. Moulton eventually backed her speakership after coming to a deal that included term limits for the leadership positions of the House’s top Democrats. More recently, Moulton has said Pelosi has done a good job in her role.
One of his other competitors in the 2020 race, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), also led the charge for new leadership and previously challenged Pelosi for the position of minority leader in 2016. When that vote was taken, another 2020 contender, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) supported Ryan.
Following the formal launch of his campaign, Moulton will participate in an aggressive media tour, including an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, a must-stop for Democratic presidential aspirants as of late. And throughout the rest of the week, he’ll be heading back to early-voting states for campaign events.
The number of candidates is not expected to remain at 20 for long, as former Vice President Joe Biden is poised to enter the race this week as well.
