Harvard University Professor To Launch Long-Shot Presidential Bid

Professor Lawrence Lessig

Campaign finance reform crusader Lawrence Lessig is set to announce his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Wednesday, just a few days after he reached the $1 million fundraising goal he set for himself to launch a bid.

A Lessig spokeswoman told CNN Sunday that he would announce his run in Claremont, New Hampshire. The news came just a few hours after he tweeted about reaching his funding benchmark.

"WE DID IT!!! ($1M in < 4 wks) Thank you all for your support. Now, let's go #fixdemocracyfirst #getmoneyout" Lessig tweeted Sunday morning.

Lessig, a Harvard professor and constitutional lawyer, announced last month that he was exploring a long-shot bid for the White House, but he has not spoken with Democratic National Committee officials about launching a formal bid.

He set an arbitrary deadline of raising $1 million by Labor Day through a Kickstarter fund.

The system in Washington, he told ABC's "This Week" Sunday, has been corrupted by unfettered political donations.

"I'm running to get people to acknowledge the elephant in the room," he said. "We have to recognize we have a government that does not work. This stalemate, partisan platform of American politics in Washington right now doesn't work. And we have to find a way to elevate the debate to focus on the changes that would actually get us a government that could work again, that is not captured by the tiniest fraction of the 1% who fund campaigns."

Lessig's campaign will focus on one issue: The Citizen Equality Act, a proposal that couples campaign finance reform with other laws to curb gerrymandering and expand voting access.

And the professor picked Claremont as a launching pad to highlight his commitment to campaign finance reform. About 20 years ago, it was in the New Hampshire town that then-President Bill Clinton and then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich shook hands in support of tackling the issue.

"The meeting's most amicable moment came at the beginning, when an audience member asked whether the two leaders could agree on naming a blue-ribbon commission for lobbying and campaign reform. Gingrich said he liked the idea," reported The Chicago Tribune on June 12, 2005. "'In a heartbeat, I accept,' Clinton responded ... 'Let's shake hands on that,' the speaker responded."

Lessig said that he realized his plan was unusual, but after giving the plan a lot of thought, he decided this was the best way to get his message out.

"The system is rigged," Lessig told CNN last month. "Unless we fix this issue, we can't do anything else. You want climate change legislation? You want to take on Wall Street? How are you going to take on Wall Street when the biggest contributions come from Wall Street?"

Here is what makes Lessig's plan even more "out of the norm": If he wins the presidency (and that is a big if), the professor will focus solely on passing his Citizen Equality Act. Once the law is passed, Lessig will step down from the presidency and elevate his vice president.

Lessig has also tried to address campaign finance before. The professor founded Mayday PAC in 2014, which backs candidates who endorsed robust campaign finance reform. The plan didn't go well: The PAC lost a substantial majority of all its 2014 races.