Allies of Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are launching an effort to lay groundwork for him to run for president, the leaders of a new draft committee told NBC News.
\n\nFormer Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and progressive strategist Nomiki Konst are co-chairs of the group — “Run Ro” — which can raise money from donors and begin building support for a Khanna candidacy while he continues to weigh a 2028 bid.
\n\nThe move comes in the immediate aftermath of a midterm election in which voters swept Democrats into power in the House and the Senate, with some high-profile progressives among the big winners. It also comes as the party’s left wing looks for a new champion who can run in the progressive lane that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., occupied in the 2016 and 2020 presidential nominating contests.
\n\n“By launching now, we are trying to ensure that the presidential primary debate is framed from a progressive populist perspective,” Konst said.
\n\nThe challenges facing a possible Khanna candidacy are immense. Only one person was ever elected to the presidency directly from the House: James Garfield, R-Ohio, in 1880.
\n\nKhanna, a fifth-term lawmaker, has made headlines with bipartisan efforts to force the release of…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health