[11] In February 2008, a Facebook group formed by law professor John Palfrey encouraged him to run for Congress from California's 12th congressional district, the seat vacated by the death of U.S. Representative Tom Lantos.

[13] To this end, he worked with political consultant Joe Trippi to launch a web based project called "Change Congress".

[16] He called for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution[17] both in a September 24–25, 2011, conference co-chaired by the Tea Party Patriots' national coordinator,[18] and at an October 2011 Occupy protest in Washington, DC.

"[citation needed] The walk was to continue the work of NH Native Doris "Granny D" Haddock, and in honor of deceased activist Aaron Swartz.

[26] In May 2014, Lessig launched a crowd-funded political action committee which he termed Mayday PAC with the purpose of electing candidates to Congress who would pass campaign finance reform.

The candidate makes a single two-part pledge: if elected, she will (1) hold the government hostage until Congress enacts a program to remove the fundamental corruption that is our government, and (2) once that program is enacted, she will resign.In a June 5, 2015 article titled, "Frodo Baggins for President," Lessig elaborated on this idea, suggesting Colin Powell, Bill Bradley, David Walker, Bill Gates, Christine Todd Whitman, Jerry Brown, Joe Scarborough, and Robert Reich as candidates who could run this way, implementing his idea of "the presidency as referendum.

"[34] Just days later, however, activist journalist Cenk Uygur argued in the Huffington Post that Lessig should implement his own strategy as a "Citizen President.

"[35] On August 11, 2015, Lessig announced the formation of an exploratory committee in preparation for a possible bid for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States in 2016.

Lessig's criticism was centered on the fact that he was excluded from most polls because the Democratic National Committee (DNC) did not officially welcome him to the campaign as it had done for all five other candidates.

Lessig explained that he would now outline his positions on every issue, just like any other campaign, planning to serve a full term as president after fixing democracy first.

He also argued that enacting the Citizen Equality Act is essential to make addressing climate change possible because fossil fuel interests used their political influence to block it.

[49] His active interest in defending the Internet stems from his 1997 participation in a major lawsuit against Microsoft for trying to use its Windows monopoly to take over web standards.

Although he voiced strong support, he also believed that legislation should be passed that adds a public option to the insurance mandate and repeals the ban on the government negotiating for lower drug prices.

He criticized the Supreme Court for giving broad deference to police departments and argued in favor of criminal justice reform.

Some of his proposals include: comprehensive reform of the mandatory minimum system, prosecution of white collar crimes that focus on people instead of corporations, banning practices that make guilty verdicts positive, ending felon disenfranchisement, and rooting out corruption in the government.

Lessig did not support the commitment of ground troops to Syria but instead suggested working with allies to create safe zones for refugees.

[55] Lessig supported passage of the DREAM Act and the ending of inhumane detention centers, as well as comprehensive immigration reform including a "speedy" path to citizenship.

If elected, he pledged to convene an impartial Creative Rights Commission to create new copyright laws that allow more open access of information.

[59] Note: Lessig suspended his campaign on November 2, 2015[7][60] Internet, radio and television personalities Individuals Leaders in Business Celebrities