Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, doesn’t know what would stop her launching a race for the White House in 2020.
“I’m seriously considering it,” the 37-year-old told MSNBC Wednesday when asked directly about her presidential ambitions. “I’m concerned about the direction of our country.”
Gabbard, who is among 30 to 40 Democrats weighing whether to campaign for the party’s nomination in 2020, didn’t say whether there were any obvious impediments to her candidacy.
“I don’t know,” the Congressional Progressive Caucus member told host Chris Matthews when pressed for an answer.
Gabbard’s comments Wednesday are more pointed than remarks she made to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser earlier in December during a trip to New Hampshire.
“I’m seriously thinking of how I can best be of service to our country,” the Hawaii Democrat said, who has also visited Iowa, another early-voting state.
Her MSNBC interview follows a Daily Beast report Tuesday regarding efforts her advisers have made to reach out to 2016 staff of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., based in New Hampshire. Gabbard stood down as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee in 2016 to endorse Sanders over Hillary Clinton.
Gabbard, who served in Iraq and Kuwait as a member of the Hawaii National Guard, became the first Samoan-American and Hindu elected to Congress in 2012.
