(RightWing.org) – A former CNN political analyst who quit the network in early February plans to run for Congress as a Democrat. In a statement, John Avlon said he’s filed the papers to run for a New York seat. The move seems to be the next act in Avlon’s personal vendetta against former president Donald Trump.
John Avlon has been interested in politics for a long time. Starting out as a speechwriter for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in 1999, he moved into journalism in 2008 as one of the first reporters hired by liberal news site The Daily Beast. In just five years he rose to editor-in-chief, a post he held for ten years. In 2010 he also started working as a journalist for CNN. Then, in 2018, he announced he was moving to the network full-time as an anchor and senior political analyst. He announced he was leaving CNN on February 8.
On February 21, Avlon revealed his next move. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he announced he’s running for Congress and hopes to represent New York’s 1st Congressional District. He said, “Long Island families deserve someone who fights for their values, not Trump’s.”
Avlon has attacked the former president before. In November 2020, on CNN’s “Outfront,” he claimed Trump was “unwell” and “delusional.” He accused him of being divisive and lying about the 2020 presidential election. He also slammed the Republican National Committee for withdrawing from the Debate Commission last year.
With Trump polling strongly in this year’s White House race, it seems likely Avlon’s congressional bid is motivated by his dislike of the former president. He’ll be facing stiff competition in the Democrat primary, though; former state senator James Gaughran and ex-judge Craig Herskowitz have also filed to run for the seat, which is currently held by Nick LaLota (R-NY) and is for a district that consistently voted Republican since 2014.
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