Radio host Larry Elder announces 2024 GOP bid for president
Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who sought to replace the California governor in a failed 2021 recall effort, announced Thursday he is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Elder, 70, made the announcement on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and followed up with a tweet.
“America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there. That’s why I’m running for President,” he wrote.
The long-shot candidate joins a Republican field that includes former President Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. President Biden, a Democrat, is expected to announce his intention to seek reelection as soon as next week.
In the 2021 recall election, Elder, in his first bid for public office, received the most votes out of 46 people who were hoping to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom. An overwhelming majority voted to keep Newsom in office, making the balloting for a replacement irrelevant.
Some Democrats say Elder’s role as a foil to Newsom helped the Democratic governor inspire voters in liberal California to turn out and reject the recall attempt. Newsom attacked Elder for his support of Trump and his conservative positions, such as opposing abortion rights and public safety restrictions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including mask mandates.
President Biden is expected to formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week.
But Elder said the experience of running for office and the millions of votes he received showed he had a message that resonated. A lawyer who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, Elder attended an Ivy League college and then law school. He has a following among conservatives through his radio programs and has been a frequent guest on Fox News and other right-wing media.
Elder, who is Black, has criticized what he called Democrats’ “woke” agenda, Black Lives Matter and the notion of systemic racism, positions that put him at odds with the vast majority of Black voters.
During the recall campaign, a former fiancee said Elder showed her a gun during a 2015 argument. Elder denied the allegations.
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