John Glenn president would help unite the country. Glenn believed his experience as a senator from Ohio was ideal, due to the state's diversity. Glenn thought that Teddy Kennedy could win the election, but after Kennedy's announcement in late 1982 that he would not seek the presidency, Glenn thought he had a much better chance of winning. He hired a media consultant to help him with his speaking style. Glenn announced his candidacy for president on April 21, 1983 in the John Glenn High School gymnasium. He started out the campaign out-raising the front-runner, Mondale. He also polled the highest of any
John Glenn election, beginning a Senate career which would continue until 1999. In the 1976 presidential election, Jimmy Carter was the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Glenn was reported to be in consideration for the vice-presidential nomination because he was a senator in a pivotal state and for his fame and straightforwardness. Some thought he was too much like Carter, partially because they both had military backgrounds, and that he did not have enough experience to become president. Barbara Jordan was the first keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Her speech electrified the crowd, and was filled with applause and standing