Rep. Moulton says he may run for president

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who emerged a leader of the Democrats challenging Nancy Pelosi’s path to the Speakership last fall, is considering a presidential bid, joining a steadily growing field of Democrats mulling whether to jump into an already crowded 2020 race.

“I’m thinking about running for president,” Moulton told BuzzFeed News. “I’m not definitely running, 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.”

Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who is in his third term in Congress, emerged as one of the leaders of the effort to draft a challenger to then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as Speaker following last November’s midterm elections.

{mosads}Moulton ended up voting for Pelosi as Speaker after no challenger emerged, and after Pelosi agreed to limit her new Speakership to a maximum of four more years. 

The congressman came under some criticism from both sides of the Pelosi debate in the months following the midterm elections, but told BuzzFeed he doesn’t regret how the Speaker race played out.

“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.”

Moulton stoked 2020 speculation when he traveled to New Hampshire earlier this month to speak at the Bedford Democratic Committee.

A host of Democrats have already entered the 2020 field, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Kamala Harris (Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.).

Others, including former Vice President Joe Biden, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), are expected to make their decisions on potential campaigns in the coming weeks.