Harvard law prof drops out of the presidential race
Larry Lessig. File photo by Wayne Slezak.
Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination after failing to gain a spot in the debates.
Lessig was targeting the election and campaign finance system in his campaign and had raised $1 million through Kickstarter. But in a video posted at his campaign website, Lessig says the Democratic Party changed the rules for inclusion in the debate, and “under the new rule unless we can time travel there is no way that I will qualify.” The Washington Times and the Boston Globe have stories.
Before this week, Lessig understood the rule to be that he qualified for the debate if three polls showed he had the support of at least 1 percent of respondents in the six weeks prior to the debate. Now the rule requires at least 1 percent support in three polls at least six weeks before the debate. Lessig’s consultant, Steve Jarding, explains in this article for the Huffington Post.
Lessig says he would have qualified for the Nov. 14 debate under the old rule. A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee told Washington Times there was no rule change but rather a difference in interpretation of the rules.
One of the reforms supported by Lessig would give vouchers to every voter to fund congressional and presidential campaigns, and would provide matching funds for small-dollar contributions.
