Former CNN anchor John Avlon announces bid for Congress
Former CNN anchor John Avlon announced a bid Wednesday for New York’s first congressional district, claiming "democracy is in danger."
In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Avlon said he was running to help preserve democracy and build a broad coalition against former President Trump, the current GOP presidential front-runner.
“I believe the United States is the greatest democracy the world has ever known. But right now, our democracy is in danger," the former news anchor said in the video. "This election is not a drill. It's up to all of us to step up and get off the sidelines. And that's why I'm running for Congress, in New York's first district. There's just too much at stake for the country and the community that I love.”
“We need to build the broadest possible coalition to defeat Donald Trump, defend our democracy and win back the House from his MAGA minions who don't even seem interested in solving problems anymore,” he added.
Avlon also vowed to focus on rebuilding the middle class, investing in infrastructure, protecting women’s reproductive rights and combatting climate change.
His announcement comes just two weeks after departing CNN, which he joined in 2010 and became a full-time employee in 2018. He is also the former editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and a founding leader of the “No Labels” movement.
At the time of his departure from CNN, Avlon wrote in a piece, “Democracies depend on citizens engaging in political debates in good faith. They depend on elevating facts over fiction. They depend on citizens getting in the arena, rather than retreating from it, especially during hard times.”
Avlon joins an already-crowded field of Democrats looking to unseat freshman Rep. Nick LaLota (R), who was elected as part of a wave of New York Republicans — who proved instrumental in flipping the House to GOP control — in the 2022 midterm elections.
The Empire State's first district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI) of R+6.
Avlon will be running against former state Sen. James Gaughran and former New York City administrative law judge Craig Herskowitz, who also worked for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration.
Organic chemist Nancy Goroff is also running in the primary after losing to former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) in 2020 by 11 points.