Crisostimo added, “David Cing is a very strong individual. I won’t count him out.”
First elected in 2003, Crisostimo narrowly won a second term last year, edging the GOP’s Andrew Salas by only 65 votes.
Crisostimo ran as an Independent candidate after the Democratic Party did not endorse him.
Under the CNMI Constitution, a lawmaker must resign from his post if he is seeking another public office.
Crisostimo believes he made the right choice when he decided to run for the U.S. Congress.
“The CNMI people need a Democratic delegate in a Congress that will be controlled by U.S. Democrats,” he said. “In this time of uncertainties we need a person who can really make things happen. We have to be realists.”
He added, “The people have to choose: Do they want a leader or a just a follower, waiting along the sidelines?”
Besides Crisostimo, the other individuals who have already declared their candidacies are Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio of the Republican Party, former Judge Juan T. Lizama, outgoing Election Commission Executive Director Gregorio C. Sablan and TV talk show host John DLR. Gonzales.
Lizama, a former Republican; Sablan, a former Democrat; and Gonzales, a former Covenant Party member, are running as Independent candidates.
