Former Maryland congressman John Delaney is running for president as a middle-aged, white man in a Democratic Party that prizes its ethnic diversity and appeal to women and young people. He told Bold TV he doesn’t think that his demographic profile harms his chances of winning the nod to challenge President Trump next year.
“No I don’t believe that’s a problem. What I do think has happened which I think is actually positive in the Democratic Party is that we now represent the country,” Delaney said. “So if you look at our field it is diverse, it is a mix of men and women, we’ve got some younger candidates, we’ve got some candidates who are a little older, and so it’s fairly reflective of the American people. And I think the Democratic primary voters are going to pick the best leader. I don’t think they’re actually going to make their choices — some people may — but I don’t think a lot of people will make their choices at the end of the day based on identity. And I think that’s the way it should be.”
Delaney said his gender and race would have benefited him if he’d ran a generation ago, but that’s not the case now.
“So, I’m 55 years old. If I was running for president as a white man at 55-years-old thirty years ago, I would probably have a significant advantage relative to my competitors who are women and people of color,” Delaney said. “I don’t have that today, and that’s exactly the way it should be. So that’s kind of how I think about it.”
Carrie Sheffield is the founder of Bold. She is passionate about storytelling to empower and connect others. A founding POLITICO reporter, Carrie contributed on political economy at Forbes and wrote editorials for The Washington Times. After earning a master’s in public policy from Harvard University, she managed credit risk at Goldman Sachs and researched for American Enterprise Institute scholar Edward Conard. She earned a B.A. in communications at Brigham Young University and completed a Fulbright fellowship in Berlin.
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