Talk radio host and failed gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, 70, announces he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination
Conservative radio host Larry Elder, who failed to replace California’s governor, has announced that he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Elder, 70, made the announcement on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Fox News.
“My announcement, Tucker, is that I am announcing that I am running for President of the United States on your program,” Elder told the Fox News host.
He said he has a “moral, religious and patriotic duty” to run for president, citing his family’s past experience in the armed forces.
Elder added that policing and crime are the two issues of most concern to him ahead of the next election, claiming that the Democrats have failed, saying he was concerned about fatherless families and the environment in minority communities.
His campaign unveiled an Elder for President website immediately after the interview.
Larry Elder announced on Thursday night during Tucker Carlson’s show that he was throwing his hat in the ring for 2024
Republican conservative radio host Larry Elder has announced that he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination
“As a resident of California, I’ve seen firsthand how decades of Democratic rule have made the Golden State a priceless dystopia for many,” the website reads.
“I will not let them do the same with America. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can take us there. That’s why I’m running for president.
“I’m Larry Elder and we have a country to save.”
After the announcement on Thursday, he tweeted a similar message.
America is going backwards, but that decline is not inevitable. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can take us there. That’s why I’m running for president.”
The longshot candidate joins a Republican field that includes former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, ex-Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden is expected to confirm his reelection in the coming weeks.
Elder made his first bid for public office in 2021, when he received the most votes of 46 people hoping to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom in a recall.
Elder’s team was ready with a campaign website, live right after his interview
Donald Trump is by far the frontrunner at this early stage to become a Republican nominee
Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas (left), is also in the running – as is Nikki Haley (right)
A majority of voters ultimately voted against removing Newsom, making counting the votes in the replacement contest irrelevant.
Newsom attacked his rival for his support for Donald Trump and his conservative positions, such as opposition to abortion rights and restrictions imposed to slow the spread of Covid-19, such as mask mandates.
But Elder said the experience of running showed he had a message that resonated with voters.
A lawyer who grew up in Los Angeles’ gritty South Central neighborhood and attended an Ivy League college and law school, has a following among conservatives through his radio shows and is a frequent guest on Fox News and other right-wing media outlets.
Elder has criticized the Democrats’ “awakened” agenda, Black Lives Matter, and the notion of systemic racism — positions that have put him at odds with many other black people.