Harvard Law Professor To Join The Race For Democratic Nomination For President

Harvard law professor and campaign finance reform advocate Lawrence Lessig is set to announce his bid  for the Democratic nomination for president.

Lessig appeared  Sunday on ABC's "This Week" to confirm he would be pursuing a presidential run. He will formally announce on Wednesday in Claremont, New Hampshire, according to CNN . 

“I think I'm running to get people to acknowledge the elephant in the room,” Lessig told ABC. "We have to recognize -- we have a government that does not work. The stalemate, partisan platform of American politics in Washington right now doesn't work.”

Last month, Lessig announced his formation of an exploratory committee, saying he would make a decision about whether he would run by Labor Day based on contributions to a crowdfunding campaign he set up. Hours before his ABC appearance on Sunday, the professor tweeted that he had reached his fundraising goal of $1 million.

In a blog post last month for The Huffington Post, Lessig explained  his intent to run, detailing his unconventional plans for the presidency.

"I want to run to build a mandate for the fundamental change that our democracy desperately needs," Lessig wrote. "Once that is passed, I would resign, and the elected Vice President would become President."

He continued:

We've lived through "change you can believe in." What we need now is a reason to believe in change.

 

A referendum can be that reason. And the campaign for a referendum president could unite America behind a principle that would make democracy possible again.

 

That principle is a demand for equality. Not the equality of wealth, though I share Sanders' view about the harm wealth inequality has done. And not an equality of speech. The First Amendment must mean at least this. But an equality of citizens. The right that all of us have in a representative democracy to be represented equally.