Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) told Buzzfeed News Monday that he’s considering running for president in 2020.
"I’m not definitely running,” Moulton said. “But I’m going to take a very hard look at it. A very serious look at it. Because I believe it’s time for a new generation of leadership, and we gotta send Donald Trump packing.”
This “new generation” of leaders is something that Moulton was banking on since last year. In the past, he took that stance to go after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He called for new faces to take over Pelosi’s role; people who he thought could better represent the values of progressive identity-politics.
“We need to make room for a new generation of leaders," Moulton told Boston Public Radioon Nov 30, 2018. "This election was a call for change from the American people, and we have an extraordinary freshman class that includes a lot of young people, LGBT candidates and an extraordinary number of women and veterans."
Moulton received 17 signatures in a letter he posted to Twitter on Nov. 14 of that year. But the representative faced plenty of backlash from Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused him of trying to bring conservative ideals to the party.
“Hard pass,” she tweeted. “So long as Leader Pelosi remains the most progressive candidate for Speaker, she can count on my support.”
Activists protested at a town hall meeting in Massachusetts on Nov. 20 against Moulton’s actions, calling him sexist and ageist.
Moulton went on to vote for Pelosi as speaker, after she announced that she would step down in 2022.
“We got a lot of things that wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t willing to stand up and say we’re not just going to rubber-stamp the establishment,” Moulton said. “So I think it was the right thing to do. I also think Speaker Pelosi is doing a great job right now.”
While Moulton has yet to announce what issues he specifically wants to target if he decides to run for election, his website lists his stance on issues over his career. He believes that healthcare is a “human right,” wants to ban the sale of “weapons of war” to citizens, supported Former President Barack Obama’s Clean Climate Agenda, and desires immigration reform that protects DREAMers.
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