Congressman Seth Moulton ’97 announced his bid for the 2020 presidential election on Monday, April 22.
According to The New York Times, Moulton is the nineteenth candidate to join the Democratic primary field. He has served in the United States House of Representatives for the Massachusetts sixth congressional district for three terms.
At Andover, Moulton was Captain of the Boys Crew team and recipient of the 1997 William H. Brown Trophy, which is given to a rower who displays both team spirit and sportsmanship. Moulton was also a Sports Editor on The Phillipian and played the organ in Cochran Chapel.
Linda Carter Griffith, Assistant Head of School for Equity and Inclusion, taught Moulton in English his Lower year.
“Seth is one of those students who leaves an indelible mark on your heart and in your mind. He was conscientious, thoughtful, kind and respectful. He would be the first one to class or the last one to leave and always took time to greet me and get to know me. He was outstanding in my memory for his warmth of character, his integrity and his ability to connect well with his teachers,” Griffith wrote in an email to The Phillipian.
As stated on his congressional campaign website, after graduating from Andover, Moulton continued his education at Harvard University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Physics. He joined the Marine Corps in 2001, serving overseas in Baghdad, until 2008. He also earned a joint degree in Business and Public Policy at Harvard and then proceeded to work in the private sector in Texas.
During his time in Congress, Moulton has passed several bills, including the Faster Care for Veterans Act in 2016 and the Modernizing Government Travel Act in 2017. In November, he garnered attention when he challenged Representative Nancy Pelosi’s role as House Minority Leader along with other Democrats.
Currently, Moulton sits on the Budget Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
During his campaign, Moulton is advocating for improvements in foreign policy and national security, jobs, healthcare, climate change, and leadership, as written on his campaign website.
In ABC’s Good Morning America, Moulton said, “I’m running because I’m a patriot, because I believe in this country and because I’ve never wanted to sit on the sidelines when it comes to serving it.”
Moulton also hopes to invest in better technology to improve national security and employ better military strategy, according to his presidential campaign website, sethmoulton.com.
“Over the last couple years, this administration has turned its back on our friends and cozied up to our adversaries. Donald Trump’s erratic foreign policy has weakened the country, left our allies in the lurch, and emboldened our adversaries across the globe. That needs to change in 2020,” the website stated.
Moulton has divided his stance on jobs into three main categories: infrastructure, education, and growing the middle class.
Moulton also firmly believes that healthcare is a right that all Americans are deserving of. He is pitching the idea of creating a public option of healthcare. Doing so would create more competition in the market and thus lower prices, making healthcare more affordable for all.
Additionally, Moulton sees great importance in the correlation between the changing economy and climate change, which is why he is a supporter of the Green New Deal.
His presidential campaign website stated, “The Green New Deal needs to be built around green jobs and clean energy, decarbonization and breakthrough technologies, and access to green energy for the developing world—and America should lead the way in winning this moral and economic opportunity. We can lead the world in green tech and green jobs, and we should set the standards for other countries to follow.”
Lastly, he aims to bring accountability and integrity as a leader. He has presented the idea of taking measures to ensure that the votes of citizens are represented fairly.
“That means a new voting rights act to enact automatic voter registration, put a stop to gerrymandering, and confront voter suppression across America. It means giving all Americans representation by granting statehood to Puerto Rico and DC. And it means getting rid of the electoral college and the filibuster, so no matter where you live or who you vote for, your vote matters,” stated the presidential campaign website.
