Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said Monday his visit to Iowa over the weekend had “emboldened” him to announce whether he would launch a 2020 bid for the White House.
“Very well received there. They want new energy, new ideas, and a new confidence, and that really emboldened me to make a decision soon,” Swalwell said during an interview with CNN’s “The Situation Room” after he became the first Democrat to travel to Iowa following the 2018 midterm elections.
[Read more: It’s on! 2020 Democrats turn to toppling Trump]
.@wolfblitzer: “I know you were in Iowa this weekend. You’re running for president?”
Rep. Eric Swalwell: “Very well received there. They want new energy, new ideas and a new confidence and that really emboldened me to make a decision soon.” pic.twitter.com/XPSSVFuNX7
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) November 12, 2018
Swalwell has made several trips to Iowa, the first state to caucus over presidential hopefuls. The House Intelligence Committee member and cable news fixture also appeared in New Hampshire, the first state to hold primaries, just before the Nov. 6 elections to stump for local Democratic congressional candidates.
The 37-year-old attended River Music Experience’s “Win Congress, Change America” event last Saturday in Davenport, Iowa, to thank residents for sending their first women representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne. He also met with the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines and Iowa Democratic Party chairs in Dubuque, according to Politico.
“I was born in the western part of the state, and I believe that winning the majority (in the House) had to go through Iowa,” Swalwell told the crowd, the Quad-City Times reported.
Swalwell’s comments follow a Politico report last week that quoted a source saying he was “definitely running.”
