Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign

Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska, began his 2020 presidential campaign on March 19, 2019, with the formation of an exploratory committee. On April 2, his campaign filed with the Federal Elections Commission to officially run for the presidency. Gravel's initial intention was not to win the nomination, but rather to inject his platform into the conversation so that his ideas become part of the mainstream, though he announced that he was "running to win" on April 29, potentially after realizing that a candidacy focused on sending a message rather than putting him in the presidency might disqualify him from the primary debates.

The campaign was also notable for its young leadership; manager David Oks and chief of staff Henry Williams were only 18 years old. The pair, and other young staffers, developed an online identity and fanbase as the "Gravel Teens."

The campaign reached 65,000 donors on July 12, 2019, officially qualifying him for the second Democratic presidential primary debate. However, he was left out of the debate as he only qualified via donations (which are given less weight than polling). Gravel indicated in July (as well as early August) that the campaign would come to a close soon, with Gravel's campaign staff stating on Twitter on August 5, 2019, that they will be "dropping out very soon".

Gravel officially dropped out on August 6, 2019. He endorsed Bernie Sanders the same day, while simultaneously endorsing Tulsi Gabbard to be Sanders's running mate. Had Gravel won the 2020 election, he would have become the oldest president in American history, being 90 years old at the time of the inauguration in January 2021.