Story highlights John Delaney is a Democratic congressman from Maryland with no national profile

In Congress, his positions put him at odds with many Democratic primary voters

Washington (CNN) Maryland Rep. John Delaney on Friday became the first Democrat to announce he would run for president in 2020.

The 54-year-old three-term congressman revealed his plans in a Washington Post op-ed . He won't run for re-election and is bypassing a run for Maryland governor in 2018.

He enters the race an extreme longshot -- with no national profile among Democrats and a moderate record that appears out of sync with the party's progressive primary electorate.

Delaney is a self-made businessman who has launched two companies and could pour millions of dollars of his own money into the campaign.

In Congress, his positions have put him at odds with many Democratic primary voters, including his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. He previously pushed minimum wage hikes, but for amounts short of the $15 an hour that progressives have sought (and Delaney now says he backs). He has proposed allowing businesses to repatriate money earned overseas without paying taxes in exchange for buying infrastructure bonds.

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