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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Longtime Los Angeles radio talk show host Larry Elder announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination Thursday evening, seeking to put a focus on "the absolutely disgraceful lie Democrats put on everything that America is systematically racist" and the lack of fathers in the home.
"If I do nothing else in this race but focus people on those two issues, I will have performed a service to my country," Elder said on the Fox News Channel political talk show "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
In a statement on his campaign website, elderforpresident.com, Elder said, "America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable. It is a choice made by detached and cynical politicians.
"As a California resident, I've seen firsthand how decades of Democrat rule have turned the Golden State, for many, into an unaffordable dystopia. I won't let them do the same to America. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there. That's why I'm running for president."
Elder said his priorities as president would include:
-- securing the border with Mexico, including supporting "physical barriers," bolstering the resources available to border patrol agents and restoring "the rule of law to our border with Mexico";
-- reducing crime by telling all law enforcement officials and district attorneys to "hold criminals accountable for their acts, (and) allow law-abiding citizens to go about their lives in peace and safety";
-- containing China by "investing in our military's readiness while keeping the Pentagon focused on national defense, not left-wing social experimentation";
-- addressing the root causes of urban decay and "invest in law enforcement, shelter and treat the homeless, arrest and prosecute violent criminals and incentivize business development"; and
-- wholeheartedly supporting school choice, including charter schools, vouchers and tax-credit scholarships.
Elder will be making his second run for office. He topped the field of 46 candidates on the ballot seeking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2021 recall election with 48.4% of the vote, but voters rejected the attempt to recall Newsom by a 61.9%-38.1% margin.
Elder, who will turn 71 next Thursday, was born and raised in South Los Angeles. He graduated from Crenshaw High School in 1970, Brown University in 1974 and the University of Michigan Law School in 1977.
Elder initially worked for a Cleveland law firm, then opened a business which recruited experienced attorneys. He began his broadcasting career in the late 1980s hosting a show on WVIZ, Cleveland's Public Broadcasting Service station, then moved to WOIO, the Fox affiliate in Cleveland.
Elder joined KABC-AM (790) in 1994, remaining with the station until 2008. He rejoined the station in 2010 and was fired in December 2014. His nationally syndicated show has aired in the Los Angeles area on KRLA-AM (870) since 2015.