U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., announced Monday his intent to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Moulton announced the move in a video message.
“We need to restore our moral authority in everything we do,” Moulton said in the video. “Whether it’s appointing a Cabinet member, negotiating a treaty or signing an executive order, I will always uphold America’s values.”
Here are some things to know about the U.S. representative and presidential hopeful:
- Moulton was born Oct. 24, 1978, in Salem, Massachusetts.
- Moulton was 22 years old when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. months before the 9/11 terror attacks. He said he was inspired by the Rev. Peter Gomes, the minister at his college church at Harvard University, who told him, "It's not enough to just support those who serve." In 2003, Moulton was an infantry platoon commander in the first company of Marines to enter Baghdad. He was tasked with helping to establish a free media system in the area and he told The Harvard Crimson in 2007 that the work made him and his team "minor celebrities." "I'd get fan mail and sign autographs, and people would refuse our money at local businesses," he said. "(The) way I looked at it was that if you are an American who really believes in a democratic free Iraq, then you've got to believe in what we're doing. … You should be interested in battling the insurgent propaganda, not by controlling the media, but by getting the truth out."
- Moulton returned to serve a total of four tours in Iraq.
- After returning to the U.S., Moulton went to business school on funding from the G.I. Bill. He earned joint degrees in business and public policy at Harvard University in 2011.
- Moulton was viewed as a political underdog when he decided in 2014 to run for Congress. He beat out a nine-term incumbent, Democratic Rep. John Tierney, to face off against Republican Richard Tisei. His military service featured prominently in his campaign. "It was the greatest honor of my life to serve my country in the Marines," he said while claiming victory in 2014, according to WFXT. "Now I return to public service, in a different venue but with that same commitment to serve you and to serve our great country."
- Moulton lives with his wife, Liz, and daughter, Emmy, in Salem.
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