Deval Patrick tells allies he's running for president [View all]

[brooklynite]

CNN

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is telling friends and allies in phone calls on Wednesday that he has made a decision to run for president, two people familiar with the matter say.

Plans for the timing of his formal announcement are still in flux, with attention on impeachment, but Patrick is likely to reveal his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination by video or social media message on Thursday, with a formal appearance in New Hampshire on Friday to file his papers for the primary there with the secretary of state's office, one person familiar with the plan says.
The odds could be incredibly steep for a late entrant like Patrick, who is not well known nationally and does not have personal wealth to finance a campaign. Patrick has missed the deadline to appear on the primary ballot in Alabama and Arkansas. The deadline to file in New Hampshire is Friday.

Patrick could seize upon potential advantages in early-voting states: He is from Massachusetts, which is next door to New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation primary. And being one of the country's first African American governors could be politically beneficial in South Carolina, where a majority of Democratic primary voters are black.

CNN reported on Monday that Patrick was seriously weighing whether he could make a credible last-minute entry into the Democratic Party's crowded primary contest after previously ruling out a bid late last year.