The former Daily Beast editor and CNN anchor John Avlon announced his candidacy for US Congress in New York as a Democrat, seeking to flip a seat on Long Island, where Republicans saw surprising gains in the 2022 midterm elections.
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In a video announcement on Wednesday, Avlon said he was running to help Democrats win back the House from Donald Trump’s “Maga minions”.
“Our democracy is in danger,” he said. “This election is not a drill. It’s up to all of us to step up and get off the sidelines.
“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.”
Avlon included the incumbent congressman in the first district, the Republican Nick LaLota, among those “minions”. He charged LaLota and other Republicans with “doing whatever Trump wants, including blocking a bipartisan border security deal” – referring to a successful effort by Senate Republicans to sink a border and immigration deal earlier this month, while their House counterparts refuse to pass a foreign aid bill that does not also include a border element.
LaLota is one of a number of New York Republicans who won in 2022 in districts where Joe Biden won in the presidential race two years earlier. Those districts have become particular targets for Democrats who are seeking to take back the narrowly divided House in November.
One was successfully flipped last week when a vacant seat in the third district previously represented by George Santos – the indicted fabulist who became only the sixth member ever expelled from the House – was won by a Democrat.
Avlon said: “This district needs real leadership, not more hyper-partisanship, and I am going to hit the ground running, talking to voters across Suffolk county about the issues we all care about.”
He aimed, he said, “rebuild the middle class, invest in infrastructure, protect women’s reproductive freedoms and combat climate change”.
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Avlon also said he wore “as a badge of honour” Trump’s decision in 2016 to “blacklist” and shut out media outlets including the Daily Beast, the website Avlon edited from 2013-18.
A former volunteer for Bill Clinton and chief speechwriter to the mayor of New York City, Avlon is also the author of books on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and contemporary US politics, including, in 2010, Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. He left CNN earlier this month.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
