Michael Avenatti rules out 2020 run

Michael Avenatti says he will not be mounting a 2020 presidential run. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times

WASHINGTON — Michael Avenatti says he will not be mounting a 2020 presidential run.

Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal Trump critic, says in a tweeted statement that he made the decision at the urging of his family and if not for their concerns he would run.

Avenatti had been laying the groundwork for a possible run with visits to early voting states. But he’s had a difficult few weeks, including his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The Los Angeles district attorney declined to prosecute him.

He expressed concern that the Democratic Party will nominate someone “who might make an exceptional President but has no chance of actually beating Donald Trump.”

He says, “We will not prevail in 2020 without a fighter” and hopes “the party finds one.”

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