18th Democrat Joins the Race

California Rep. Eric Swalwell is officially in the running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Swalwell made the announcement during a taping Monday of CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the AP reports. The congressman says, "I see a country in quicksand, unable to solve threats from abroad, unable to make life better for people here at home." He says, "None of that is going to change until we get a leader who is willing to go big on the issues we take on, be bold in the solutions we offer and do good in the way that we govern." He adds: "I'm ready to solve these problems. I'm running for president of the United States."

The 38-year-old Iowa native was elected in 2012 to represent California's 15th Congressional District. He is the 18th Democratic candidate to join the 2020 White House race, according to NPR. Gun control is high on Swalwell's agenda, and he plans to hold a "Town Hall to End Gun Violence" in Coral Springs, Fla., on Tuesday, ABC reports. It will be attended by survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland. The National Rifle Association put Swalwell on the cover of its Jan. 2019 magazine after the congressman called for a ban on assault weapons. (More Election 2020 stories.)