Jim Webb Announces 2016 Presidential Run

Webb joins Clinton, US Sen.

Webb also noted his Vietnam-era military service, during which he earned two Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Hearts, and his role shepherding a GI bill for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans through Congress.

Hillary Clinton, widely seen as a frontrunner if she decides to run, is no stranger to Virginia, with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe both a personal friend who has helped run and finance campaigns for the Clintons.

According to Webb, huge sums of money regularly drown out fair debate and noted that more than one candidate intends to raise at least one billion dollars. “Let’s clean out the manure-filled stables of a political system that has become characterized by greed”, he writes.

Analysts say Webb will try to build his campaign off his vast military experience. In his statement, he emphasized his opposition to armed entanglements in Libya and Iraq. He promised not to allow Chinese territorial expansion and cyber attacks.

“I welcome Jim Webb’s bid to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2016”, said DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. They have six children. That puts him more than 60 percentage points behind Clinton.

Just over a week ago, Webb staked out ground expressing some support of the Confederate battle flag in the wake of the killing of nine people at an African-American church in Charleston, S.C., in which a white man has been charged.

He refused to go into any detail into whether he supported the Trans-Atlantic Partnership trade deal or the Iranian nuclear agreement during a recent appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball. He was critical of the Affordable Care Act, though he voted for it. He advocates for gun rights and against coal plant regulations. His family hails from the rural southern part of the state.

The incident also underscored the racial gambit of his campaign. A spokesman defended the payments as legitimate.

Would Jim Webb be a formidable Democratic opponent?

Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic strategist, said the comments single-handedly killed whatever slim shot Webb had at the nomination.

Republican Senator Rand Paul announced his candidacy on April 7. Bernie Sanders and ex- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in running for the democratic ticket in 2016.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-VA, meets with the governor of Okinawa in 2012.

Carly Fiorina, ex- Hewlett-Packard chief executive.

Mike Huckabee, ex- Arkansas governor.

The reaction to Webb’s comments from Democrats in Washington and New York was swift and brutal.

The ex- senator, author, decorated Marine combat veteran and Navy secretary is a true maverick.

Republican real estate mogul Donald Trump threw his hat into the presidential ring on Jun. 16, saying he’d be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created”.