Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) was spotted in his hometown of Marblehead, Massachusetts, recording a presidential announcement that is expected by the end of April, according to Axios.
Axios reported that Moulton was also spotted recording in Vegas, where he held three meetings with veterans. He will also speak at the Politics & Eggs breakfast in New Hampshire next week, hosted by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.
Moulton, 40, is a Marine and Iraq War veteran who has served as a U.S. representative since 2015. He raised money and offered advice to Democrat candidates with a national security background in 2018.
He also led a failed insurgency against Nancy Pelosi’s bid for speaker after Democrats took back the House in November. He ended up voting for her, after no challenger stepped up, and after she agreed to limit her speakership to no more than four years.
Furthermore, he slammed fellow Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) after she tweeted that challenges to Pelosi’s speakership were coming from her “right” to force the Democrat Party to become more conservative.
Moulton told Boston Public Radio that Ocasio-Cortez’s characterization of Pelosi’s opposition was “offensive” not only to him, but to legislators such as Linda Sánchez (D-CA), who also called for a change in leadership among House Democrats, according to the Hill.
“It’s offensive because [Sánchez] is in the progressive caucus, she is not to the right of Nancy Pelosi, and it’s also offensive because she’s a woman,” he said.
Moulton has said for months he is considering a run. His key issues will be foreign policy, national security, and defense, according to Axios.
Moulton’s spokesman, Matt Corridoni, told the Boston Globe that Moulton planned to make a decision on a run for president by the end of April.
Moulton has said his newborn daughter is one motivation for running.
“I don’t want her growing up in this country the way that it is, with a commander in chief that we fundamentally can’t trust, where women are disrespected, where she doesn’t have the same opportunities that a little boy growing up at the same time would have,” he said, according to a March 31 article in the Hill.
“We have a lot of things to fix in this country. And if I can be a small part of doing that, then that’s a compelling reason,” he said.
Moulton would join a crowded Democrat 2020 field and be the fourth Democrat veteran to run, joining Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN). Former West Virginia State Sen. Richard Ojeda (D), a veteran, has already dropped out.
Moulton would be the second candidate from Massachusetts, joining Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).