John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Today in Minneapolis on the mighty Mississippi River, with thousands of friends and supporters at my side, I announced that I’m running for President of the United States. As I said just a few moments ago, we must heal the heart of our democracy and renew our commitment to the common good.

I’m running because I believe we can be a nation governed not by chaos -- but from opportunity. The kind of opportunity my grandpa -- who worked 1,500 feet underground in the mines in Northern Minnesota -- gave my family when he saved money in a coffee can in the basement to send my dad to college. The kind of opportunity my mom, a schoolteacher and a proud union member, gave me when she taught me to live with purpose. The kind of opportunity my dad, a newspaperman, gave me to always look for life’s adventures and never shy away from adversity.

I’m running because we’re tired of d******e politics. We’re fed up with the shutdowns and the showdowns, the gridlock and the grandstanding. Today, we say enough is enough.

I’m running because we need to rise to the occasion and meet the challenges of our day. For too long, leaders in Washington have sat on the sidelines while others try to figure out what to do about our changing economy and its impact on our lives, what to do about the disruptive nature of new technologies, income ine******y, the political and geographic divides, the changing climate, the tumult in our world. Let’s stop seeing those obstacles as obstacles on our path. Let’s see those obstacles as our path.

I’m asking you to join us on this campaign. It’s a homegrown one. I don’t have a political machine. I don’t come from money. And I won’t take a single dollar from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists. But what I do have is this: I have grit, I have family, I have friends, and I have all of you.

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

At least for right now, we definitely have choices.