Add Illinois congressman Luis Gutierrez to the ever-growing list of People Who May Run for President in 2016 ... or Someday.
The Chicago Democrat, who serves Cook County's fourth congressional district, which has a heavy Latino population, tells Crain's Chicago Business: "I have not ruled out the possibility of running. ... I think there's going to be broad disillusionment (with lack of action on immigration reform) and a questioning of why we support the Democratic Party so overwhelmingly."
Gutierrez is urging Obama to deliver on his big, delayed promises to use an executive order to push past a stalled Congress and enact sweeping changes on the issue before the New Year. (The president, meanwhile, is "nearing a final decision" on such a decision, according to his press secretary.)
"It's been six years since you were elected president, and you made a promise," says Gutierrez. "If the Democratic Party does not act, and its titular leader, the president, does not act, there needs to be a recognition in the nomination of a new president."
Last month, Gutierrez supporters began pitching the idea to "draft" the politician to make a play for the White House amid immigration deadlock. The efforts prompted him to remark: "I'm not running for president."
Isn't that what everyone says before they enter the fray?
