Write-in candidate joins crowded race to succeed Henry Waxman

A 27-year-old doctoral student plans to run as a write-in candidate in the crowded field to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills).

Theo Milonopoulos planned to announce his candidacy at the Museum of Tolerance at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Milonopoulos, on leave from a doctorate program at Columbia University, said he wants to fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, improve alternatives to four-year colleges and protect the environment, among other issues.

Milonopoulos, who is gay, said he decided to run after reading a news magazine profile of some of the other candidates.

A onetime research assistant to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as she worked on her memoirs, Milonopoulos said he was declaring “my independence from a political system that no longer works on behalf of the American people.”

There are 18 candidates on the June 3 primary ballot to succeed Waxman, although two have suspended their campaigns in the face of long odds.

Only six of those candidates are somewhat known to voters or have raised significant amounts of money to campaign across the sprawling 33rd Congressional District.

Under the state’s relatively new primary system, only the top two finishers in June, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the November ballot.