Doing away with the pomp of recent presidential race announcements, Jim Webb, former Virginia senator, launched his bid for the Democratic nomination with a 2,000-word email sent out to supporters Thursday.
Known for his strong opposition to the Iraq War, Webb, 69, states that "our country needs a fresh approach to solving the problems that confront us and too often unnecessarily divide us," adding that "our fellow Americans need proven, experienced leadership that can be trusted to move us forward from a new President's first days in office," POLITICO reported.
While Webb was the fifth Democrat to announce candidacy, he already laid the foundation of his campaign last November when he formed an exploratory committee for a potential presidential run. The announcement, however, took many political observers by surprise, noting the long-shot campaign for the presidency, the New York Times reported. Webb joins a roster of candidates dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who leads all contenders with a comfortable margin. The Quinnipiac poll released yesterday, for instance, show that Webb is favored by a mere 1 percent of Democratic voters in Iowa caucus participants, UPI reported. This places him behind other Democratic hopefuls such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and former Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee.
Webb himself recognizes the challenge of his campaign stressing, "I understand the odds, particularly in today's political climate where fair debate is so often drowned out by huge sums of money," in a statement posted in his website. He intends to address this with an appeal for financial support.
Webb is also a Vietnam veteran and was awarded two Purple Hearts. He was also a former Secretary of the Navy under the Ronald Reagan administration. He was elected to the Senate in 2006, and served until 2013.
