Harvard law professor Larry Lessig says he's running for president

Associated Press in Washington
Sunday 6 September 2015 19.09 BST

The Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig said on Sunday his presidential exploratory committee had reached the $1m benchmark he said would trigger a formal White House bid.

The Democrat announced his fundraising total in an interview on ABC’s This Week.

Lessig said he was running to address campaign finance reform, voting rights issues and “political gerrymandering”.

Should he achieve his agenda as president, the 54-year-old South Dakota native promises to resign and let his vice-president take over. He declined to name potential vice-presidential picks when asked during the interview.

Lessig previously said he would resign his position at Harvard and focus on the nomination race if he raised at least $1m by Labor Day.

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