An Obscure Congressman Just Officially Started the 2020 Presidential Campaign

On Friday, Maryland representative John Delaney wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post announcing that he has decided to run for president and officially send us into the 2020 presidential campaign—whether we like it or not.

If you've never heard of Delaney, that's probably because he's relatively new to Washington and hasn't received that much national recognition, according to Politico. The former banker—who's worth around $90 million—won his seat in 2012 in an upset. Since then, the Maryland Democrat has been reportedly eyeing a run for governor, before switching gears and giving the White House a serious shot.

Delaney, who's one of the more moderate Democrats in the House, announced his bid in a wide-ranging editorial on Friday, citing the current administration as a key reason for throwing his hat into the ring this early.

"The victims of this leadership failure are the good people we are sworn to serve, and we are leaving our country ill-prepared for dramatic changes ahead," Delaney wrote. "The current administration is making us less prosperous and less secure."

From there he talks about his blue-collar roots, touts himself as one of the "most innovative and bipartisan members of Congress," and stresses the need to improve the country's infrastructure—something he's already worked across the aisle to do in the House. He also talks about the "positive" forces of "technological innovation, automation, and globalization," and calls for an "inclusive form of capitalism" that would promote the growth of start-ups and small businesses.

"To do this work with the commitment it deserves, I will not be running for reelection to the House of Representatives. No games, no cat-and-mouse, no backup plan at the 11th hour if a focus group goes badly," he writes.

By launching his bid about two years early—as most candidates announce in the spring the year prior to the election—Delaney has secured himself as the first (of likely many) Democrats who want a chance at taking back the White House in 2020. And if we learned anything in 2016, having little political experience and the funds to back a major campaign could just work out in his favor.