Delaney Campaign Press Release - John Delaney: I'm Running for President

WASHINGTON – Congressman John K. Delaney announced today that he is running for President, the first Democrat to formally enter the race. The son of a union electrician, an entrepreneur and Congressman with a record of innovative thinking, Delaney will speak about this announcement Saturday in a Facebook Live broadcast in New Jersey in the working-class neighborhood where he grew up.

"The current Administration is making us less prosperous and less secure, the healthcare debacle being the most recent example of their brand of destructive partisanship," Delaney said. "I'm running to bring a new approach to governing and economic policy that addresses our nation's opportunities and challenges and builds a future where the middle class can grow and succeed. My candidacy is about putting our future first, which involves responding to the rapid changes occurring in the world, strengthening our economy, and building a new social contract that widens the doors of opportunity, makes people more secure, and ensures no one is left behind."

Delaney brings to the campaign a unique, progressive perspective that combines a belief in the power of the free market economy and the necessary role for government to set the rules of the road and help those left behind. "In the end, we won't win by just attacking Trump, we'll win as a party – and as a nation – when we focus on the facts and take on the tough issues that confront us, beginning with mastering the challenge of continued and accelerated innovation," Delaney said. "If we fail to put partisanship aside and address the significant economic opportunities and challenges we face, we will lose a generation to market forces and change, just like we did when our leaders failed to respond to the dislocation caused by globalization." Delaney continued, "Building a secure future means taking on these challenges, which are bigger than any one party, and delivering on the core American promise – building an economy where success is not a birthright, but something open to all, with a helping hand and a shared commitment to help those in danger of being left behind."

Delaney continued: "Our government is hamstrung by excessive partisanship and the politics of small thinking. There's no better proof of that than the dysfunction over health care – a cynical, political, deeply flawed and cruel approach to policymaking that we as a nation can no longer afford. We are letting critical opportunities to improve the country pass us by. And we are not even talking about the most important thing: the future. The victims of this leadership failure are the good people we are sworn to serve, and we are leaving our country ill-prepared for dramatic changes ahead."

Delaney grew up in a blue-collar union household and his parents did not attend college. Before the age of 40, he founded and led two publicly-traded companies. Since 2013, Delaney has represented Maryland's Sixth District in the House of Representatives, a competitive battleground district, and he has received national recognition for his breakthrough bipartisan infrastructure bill, which uses revenues from international tax reform to rebuild America's roads and bridges. Delaney was named one of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune earlier this year. Delaney will be in Iowa this August and will build out his campaign team and national infrastructure over the next year. "This is the beginning of a long process of traveling the country, sharing my thoughts on moving the country forward, hearing from folks and building a campaign built on new ideas and problem solving, from the grass roots up," Delaney said. "It didn't feel right to run for re-election and then run for President. That's standard politics, but I don't intend to offer a standard campaign," Delaney concluded. "I'm in for the long haul, one voter at a time. I'm excited to listen, learn and make my case for a future that works for everyone, a future that delivers on the promise of the American Dream."