Lessig raises $1M for 2016 campaign

Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig announced on Monday that he has raised $1 million toward his 2016 Democratic presidential campaign in just less than a month.

{mosads}“Larry Lessig has tapped into a deep vein of discontent among voters who know the current crop of insider political candidates are handcuffed by the status quo,” Steve Jarding, a senior advisor to Lessig’s campaign, said in a statement, adding that Lessig “has a unique strength matched by no one else on the Democratic side.”

“As a complete outsider who has never been elected to public office, he is the only candidate who doesn’t owe anyone favors,” Jarding said. “Voters are tired of shallow promises and cheap talk, and Larry is offering the truth about our broken political system.”

“His No. 1 priority is to get big special interest money out of politics first, or nothing else Democrats care about — education, jobs, a clean environment, healthcare — will get fixed,” he added.

Lessig’s campaign said on Monday that 10,000 small donors have contributed since its launch on Sept. 6, adding that online donors gave most of the contributions. 

“That message matters to millions of voters, as Larry’s record-breaking fundraising success has illustrated,” Jarding said.

Lessig’s campaign plans on filing its first financial report with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) later this month.

An exploratory committee raised an additional $1 million before Lessig’s campaign announcement.

Lessig’s bid is considered a long-shot attempt at the Democratic presidential nomination next election cycle.

He currently polls at less than 1 percent in multiple national polls and would not qualify for next week’s first televised Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas.

“I understand there needs to be a line, but the idea that I’m close to the line [and won’t be included in the debate] just seems a little bit crazy,” he told The Hill in an interview published on Saturday.