| Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Campaign | 2020 United States presidential election (Democratic primaries) |
| Candidate | Mike Gravel U.S. Senator from Alaska (1969–1981) Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives (1965–1967) Member of the Alaska House of Representatives (1963–1967) |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| EC formed | March 19, 2019 |
| Announced | April 8, 2019 |
| Suspended | August 6, 2019 |
| Headquarters | Ardsley, New York |
| Key people | David Oks (campaign manager) Henry Williams (chief of staff) Henry Magowan (treasurer)[1] |
| Receipts | US$120,798.51[2] (2019-09-30) |
| Slogan | No More Wars |
| Website | |
| www.mikegravel.org | |
The 2020 presidential campaign of Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator from Alaska, began on March 19, 2019 with the formation of an exploratory committee,[3] followed on April 2, 2019 with his campaign filing with the Federal Elections Commission to officially run for the presidency.[4][5] Gravel's initial intention was not to win the nomination, but rather to inject his platform into the conversation so that his ideas become part of the mainstream,[6] though he announced that he was "running to win" on April 29,[7] potentially after realizing that a candidacy focused on sending a message rather than putting him in the presidency might disqualify him from the primary debates.[8]
The campaign was also notable for its young leadership; manager David Oks and chief of staff Henry Williams were only 18 years old.[9] The pair, and other young staffers, developed an online identity and fanbase as the "Gravel Teens."[9]
The campaign reached 65,000 donors on July 12, 2019, officially qualifying him for the second Democratic presidential primary debate.[10] However, he was left out of the debate as he only qualified via donations (which are given less weight than polling).[11] Gravel indicated in July[12] (as well as early August)[13] that the campaign would come to a close soon, with Gravel's campaign staff stating on Twitter on August 5, 2019, that they will be "dropping out very soon".[14]
Gravel officially dropped out on August 6, 2019. He endorsed Bernie Sanders the same day, while simultaneously endorsing Tulsi Gabbard to be Sanders's running mate.[15][16] Had Gravel won the 2020 election, he would have become the oldest president in American history, being 90 years old at the time of the inauguration in January 2021.
- ^ "Form 1 for Committee for Peace, Justice, and Mike Gravel". Federal Election Commission. FEC. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ^ "Form 3P for COMMITTEE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND MIKE GRAVEL". docquery.fec.gov.
- ^ "Mike Gravel for President Exploratory Committee" (PDF). FEC.gov. March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ Gravel, Mike [@MikeGravel] (April 2, 2019). "It. Is. On. Sen. Mike Gravel has officially filed to run for president. Our only aim is pushing the field left by appearing in the Democratic debates. Donate as little as you like, but help us get to the necessary 65k donors! Official launch is April 8" (Tweet). Retrieved April 3, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Statement of Candidacy" (PDF). docquery.fec.gov. 2019.
- ^ Axelrod, Tal (April 4, 2019). "Mike Gravel announces run for president to get into debates, not to win". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ "Mike Gravel: "I'm Running to Win"". April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ "A Farewell to Mike Gravel, 2020's Weirdest Presidential Candidate". August 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Keiles, Jamie Lauren (June 6, 2019). "Are These Teenagers Really Running a Presidential Campaign? Yes. (Maybe.)". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Gravel, Mike [@MikeGravel] (July 12, 2019). "we made it" (Tweet). Retrieved July 12, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Taylor, Jessica (July 17, 2019). "Second Democratic Primary Debate: See Which Candidates Made The Cut". NPR. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- ^ Caroline Linton (July 5, 2019). "Mike Gravel tweets his campaign is "nearing its conclusion"". CBS News.
- ^ Sruthi Palaniappan; Cheyenne Haslett (August 1, 2019). "Mike Gravel's 2020 campaign is closing up shop". ABC News.
- ^ "Replying to @ODonnell4NH I mean we're dropping out very soon, so it's not that inaccurate". Twitter. August 5, 2019.
- ^ Shen-Berro, Julian (August 6, 2019). "Ex-Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel Ends Unorthodox 2020 Campaign, Endorses Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard". HuffPost. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ Palaniappan, Sruthi (August 11, 2019). "Mike Gravel: Everything you need to know about the 2020 presidential candidate". ABC News. Retrieved September 4, 2019.