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Jim Webb to announce US presidential bid

Author
AAP,
Publish Date
Fri, 21 Nov 2014, 9:41AM
(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)

Jim Webb to announce US presidential bid

Author
AAP,
Publish Date
Fri, 21 Nov 2014, 9:41AM

The dust has barely settled on midterm elections, but ex-senator Jim Webb has become the first candidate in America's upcoming presidential race.

"I have decided to launch an exploratory committee to examine whether I should run for president in 2016," Webb said in a YouTube video posted late on Wednesday.

Creating such a panel permits a person to start legally raising funds, and traditionally signals the first official step in a presidential campaign process.

"We're starting with very little funding and hardly any staff, but I've been here before," the 68-year-old Webb said, referring to his 2006 underdog Senate victory.

"The 2016 election is two years away but serious campaigning will begin very soon. The first primaries are about a year away," he added.

"Your early support will be crucial as I evaluate whether we might overcome what many commentators see as nearly impossible odds."

The allusion was clearly about his former Senate colleague Hillary Clinton, widely seen as the 2016 frontrunner.

She has not announced her candidacy, but there is already an extensive infrastructure in place and close allies have raised millions of dollars for her probable run.

Several candidates, including Clinton, have signalled they will announce their intentions about the race early next year.

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