Eternal Sunshine of the Democratic Mind

[BuckeyeNut]

Forget Harris/Murphy, Harris/Brown all the way!

[Kingpoleon]

Kamala Harris/John Bel Edwards!

[Edgeofnight]

I think Booker will remain in, and it will go to the floor of the convention.  At the very least I don't think Harris gets to nomination without superdelegates at her side.

[The Other Castro]

Cory

May 5th, 2020

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. He had felt true power at one point, and really believed that he was going to be the nominee. Then his house of cards came tumbling down, and everything he thought would happen didn’t. The three-person race had been keeping him alive, and Warren's exit had handed Harris the nomination. Maybe he could have won in a brokered convention if he had the most delegates out of three candidates, but that was now just a forgotten hypothetical. Damn the caucuses. Damn the delegate rule changes. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

May 2
 
Guam Democratic Caucuses
Kamala Harris: 8 (3+5) / 53.4%
Cory Booker: 3 / 46.6%
 
May 5
 
Indiana
Kamala Harris: 48 (39+9) / 55.8%
Cory Booker: 31 / 44.2%
 

Total Delegates:
Kamala Harris - 1520
Cory Booker - 1389
Uncommitted - 566
 
3475 delegates allocated, 2242/4483 needed for a majority.

Cory Booker closed his eyes, and visualized how the rest of the race would go. The remaining Western states wouldn’t be friendly. He still had New Jersey left, but she had California. Of the remaining contests, the Booker campaign only felt comfortable about winning two. The rest looked like they were uncertain or going to Harris. No matter what, his advisers said that he was going to finish at a significant deficit of as many as 300 delegates heading into the convention, and with little momentum from the final primaries. Cory sat there for a few more moments, and then at last came to the harsh realization that the numbers were not there. He was not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He was not going to be the next President of the United States.
 
Though he had fought with her and disagreed with many of her positions during the campaign, Cory Booker respected how Elizabeth Warren had put the Democratic Party above her own ambition. Now, it was time for him to do the same. He wasn’t going to waste his and the party’s time and energy in a brokered convention fight that he probably wouldn’t win anyway. Cory exhaled, stood up, and asked his campaign manager for a phone and the number for the Harris campaign. He could always run again in 2024 or 2028, and he was still a U.S. Senator after all. However, depending on how this call went, perhaps he could reach higher office sooner rather than later. The Vice Presidency certainly wasn't a bad stepping stone.

[MAINEiac4434]

An all black ticket taking on Trump? Interesting thought.

[The Other Castro]

This is flawlessly formatted.

Thank you! Beauty above all else.

[The Other Castro]

Al

May 22nd, 2020

Two weeks had passed since Cory Booker dropped out and Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, but the papers were already running stories on her VP selection. The Washington Post had a shortlist, CNN had a shortlist, and apparently Buzzfeed had a shortlist as well. Most of them had significant overlap, with the same faces of Governors and Senators showing up constantly. It wasn't until one of his staffers showed him one of the lists that Al found out he was among those faces.

Personally, Al wasn't very interested in the position, and had no reason to believe that he was seriously being considered. Perhaps it was just a result of the pundits rehashing the same talking points about how Harris needed to pick a man, and preferably somewhat white and from the Midwest. Al didn't know how true that was, but he did know that it would take more than just the right VP to win back the Obama/Trump states.
 

The convention wasn’t for another two months, but with the primaries having officially ended, the media had nothing else to talk about. Legislation had come to a complete standstill. Justice Thomas had officially retired, and Justice Kethledge had been sworn in following an acrimonious confirmation process. Trump’s daily Twitter chaos was increasingly shrugged off as Americans became more and more desensitized. Meanwhile, the investigation into Trump's potential obstruction of justice and collusion with Russia continued in the background, but a lack of public developments bored the media and they moved on to other topics like the Chipotle Hostage Crisis.

As it turned out, Al and other Democrats in Congress and leadership were fine with the shift from Russia to domestic policy, as it allowed for them to focus on their core message of jobs and healthcare. Al knew just as well as anyone the value of a hard fought campaign, and that Democrats were going to need to go all out if they wanted to defeat the behemoth that was Donald Trump.

[The Other Castro]

Kamala

June 9th, 2020

Presumptive nominee Kamala Harris. That was something she didn’t get tired of hearing. Though she had earned the moniker weeks ago, the Democratic primaries officially ended today with the votes of D.C. and North Dakota. Next month, she would achieve the title for real at the Democratic National Convention in Indianapolis. Her friends in the party leadership told her that the logistics of booking the convention center had been a nightmare, but that the scheduling conflict resolution with Gen Con had made things easier. Going into the race, she had never really expected the map to turn out like this.

You’re an elitist liberal snob from California, the pundits claimed. There’s no way you can compete in the Midwest or Northeast against people like Booker or Warren, let alone Trump in November. They were wrong the first time, and now Kamala had to prove them wrong once more. Kamala knew what she was up against in Donald Trump, and was preparing for the toughest and nastiest battle of her lifetime. To be in the best possible position for the coming war, she wanted a running mate that could sell her ideas to the public, and someone that could ruthlessly attack Trump as a failed president. The recommendations she received from the party, her staff, and individual Democrats like Elizabeth Warren had helped to narrow her private shortlist down to six.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH)
Gov. John Bel Edwards (LA)
Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO)
Sen. Chris Murphy (CT)
Gov. Ralph Northam (VA)
Sen. Cory Booker (NJ)

Her campaign had publicly floated some names like Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand, but they always knew that they were going to pick a man in the end. Of the three Senators and three Governors remaining, Kamala was having a hard time picking her guy. Each had their own set of positives and negatives, and her closest advisers were torn between several of the options.

Brown would be great as a progressive from the Midwest, but Governor Husted would fill his critical Senate seat with a Republican. Edwards would bring some political and regional balance, but it was unclear how much he would help in the South where not many states were in play. Hickenlooper was a respected two-term Governor from a light blue state, though her advisers wanted someone from a state not as close to California. Murphy had liberal credentials and Warren’s blessing, though a ticket with him could seem too young and not very experienced overall. Northam hadn’t been Governor of Virginia for very long and his voting record could be an issue, but his actions in the statehouse so far had won over many skeptical liberals. And lastly, Booker would go a long way in unifying the party and help her boost minority turnout, but she didn’t personally think he would he play the part well as her attack dog and second in command. At least she had some time before the convention to decide.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

It'll be one of the senators. Hey, how did the GOP Primaries go? Trump do anything crazy? Great tl!!

[Kingpoleon]

I could see myself supporting Harris if she picked any of the three Governors. Has Northam kept up his Wyden-like policies?(That is, being very socially liberal, pro-free trade, and fiscally moderate.)

[The Other Castro]

It'll be one of the senators. Hey, how did the GOP Primaries go? Trump do anything crazy? Great tl!!

The GOP primaries were relatively boring. Since the midterms, Trump has grown increasingly secluded and has even limited his tweeting. Most of the campaign events have been run and attended by members of his staff, though he has come out for the occasional rally. His public schedule has been more often than not limited to a few public events a week. After Amash dropped out with little real support behind his candidacy, the party has largely re-coalesced around Trump in preparation for the convention.

I could see myself supporting Harris if she picked any of the three Governors. Has Northam kept up his Wyden-like policies?(That is, being very socially liberal, pro-free trade, and fiscally moderate.)

Since being elected in 2017, Northam has taken advantage of the dysfunction of the Trump administration to fight against the policies that many Virginians disapprove of strongly. He routinely appears on morning shows to come out against the White House and push his contrasting policies, especially in healthcare, mental health, treatment for substance abuse, and voting rights. While he has governed as more of a moderate in terms of Virginia's budget, he has also maintained an emphasis on funding for childcare, veteran employment, and making public colleges more affordable.

[The Other Castro]

John Bel

June 25th, 2020

"Thank you Kamala, and it’s an honor just to have been under consideration."

John Bel Edwards had never really expected to be the VP pick anyway, so he was not disappointed by the rejection. In fact, he was very surprised the first time he found out that he was on Senator Harris' shortlist. He agreed with her that a ticket of the two of them could make for a nicely balanced team, but in the end their differences in policy and vision for the campaign were just too far apart. He did, however, wish her the best of luck in making a decision among her remaining options. Harris had asked him for his thoughts between her three finalists in Booker, Murphy, and Hickenlooper, and he had responded frankly that he liked the idea of a governor on the ticket.

John Bel did believe that governors would make for better presidents than senators, but he had little doubt in the ability of Kamala Harris to serve as president. After all, considering the man they had in office currently, he couldn't imagine that she would be a worse leader. As the Democratic Governor of Louisiana, he had even considered running at one point. However, he liked the job he had, and running for office immediately after winning reelection wouldn't have been fair to his constituents.

He wasn't the only governor to turn down a run, albeit for different reasons. Governor Steve Bullock of Montana had almost entered the crowded field as well, but in the end he announced that he would run against Senator Steve Daines during the 2020 Senate elections. That had been one of the first of many key developments in the non-presidential races that year.

2020 Senate Elections

2020 Gubernatorial Elections

To earn some majorities, Democrats needed to pick up 12 House seats and 2-3 Senate seats, depending on who won the presidential election. Their gubernatorial gains in 2018 had brought control of the statehouses to a 25-24-1 split, and the Democrats wouldn't mind having a majority again for the first time in 10 years. These weren't impossible tasks, and they had recruited some decent candidates to run.

In addition to Bullock, they had Jared Polis and Anthony Foxx running for Senate in Colorado and North Carolina. There was also an open special election scheduled in Arizona, as John McCain had sadly succumbed to his brain cancer late last year. The gubernatorial map was smaller with just 11 states holding elections, and only about five of them were competitive. Republicans were eager to take back North Carolina, while Democrats were feeling better about Montana after Brian Schweitzer made a surprise return. With so many crucial races being held this year, the stakes could not have been higher.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

I'm pumped!

[RC (a la Frémont)]

Can't wait to see what's next! Would love to see either Murphy or Hickenlooper as VP.

[Da2017]

I,m looking forward to see how the General plays out.

[mjwatts1983]

I think you mentioned this earlier but the convention sites

Democrats: Indianapolis
Republicans: Las Vegas

I'm curious about the third party candidates. Who did they nominate? Did the Greens realize that Jill Stein is a grifter and have gone with someone who could possibly get 2% of the national popular vote?

Did Gary Johnson improve his foreign policy credentials so that he at least knows where countries are on a map?

How many debates are there (I assume 3 and a VP), where are they, moderators, and formats? I'd like to see some perspectives from debate moderators, pundits, and certainly the Obamas, Clintons, and other Ds. Maybe a few Rs and Trump on what they think about the 2020 general campaign.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I think you mentioned this earlier but the convention sites

Democrats: Indianapolis
Republicans: Las Vegas

I'm curious about the third party candidates. Who did they nominate? Did the Greens realize that Jill Stein is a grifter and have gone with someone who could possibly get 2% of the national popular vote?

Did Gary Johnson improve his foreign policy credentials so that he at least knows where countries are on a map?

How many debates are there (I assume 3 and a VP), where are they, moderators, and formats? I'd like to see some perspectives from debate moderators, pundits, and certainly the Obamas, Clintons, and other Ds. Maybe a few Rs and Trump on what they think about the 2020 general campaign.

Who do the Constitution Party endorse?

[The Other Castro]

Third parties in general have suffered somewhat of a decline since the 2016 elections. Gary Johnson decided not to run again, and the Libertarian Party instead nominated Adam Kokesh. Meanwhile, Jill Stein ran for a third time, and it appears that she will easily win the nomination for the Green Party. The Constitution Party nominated Scott Copeland of Texas for president. It is still unclear whether Gary Johnson knows where or what Aleppo is.

The debates are scheduled for the following days:
First Presidential Debate: September 30 at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Vice Presidential Debate: October 8 at The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Second Presidential Debate: October 13 at Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Third Presidential Debate: October 19 at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL

The format overall remains unchanged from the previous cycle. However, the moderators have not yet been chosen for any of the debates at this time.

[The Other Castro]

Kamala

July 10th, 2020

The time had come for Kamala to pick a running mate. It had been an exhaustive process, but the extra time to consider her options had made her confident that she was making the right decision. This was someone that she needed to go into battle with and someone she could trust to have her back every step of the way for the rest of the campaign, and then hopefully four to eight years after that. Yes, she could have picked someone from a red state or a Midwestern state, but Kamala didn’t really buy the whole home state boost factor. That’s not to say that her advisers hadn’t been obsessed with the electoral map since they wrapped up the nomination.

They were going to learn from the successes and mistakes of previous presidential campaigns, and make sure that they left no stone unturned. They would see her in the high school gymnasiums, the automobile manufacturing plants, the cheese steak joints, and every last convention center they could find. If it took flying to Alaska and sleeping three hours a night, then that’s what she would do. No opportunity would be squandered in their fight to win this race. But first, she had to pick her partner for this adventure.

“Are we all agreed?” Kamala checked one final time with her senior staff members Nathan Barankin, Lily Kelly, and Sergio Gonzales.

“Yes.”

“Absolutely.”

“100%.”

“Okay then, let’s get him on the phone.”

Her campaign manager handed her a cell phone with a number entered into it. It rang two times before a voice answered. Kamala enthusiastically replied.

“Congratulations, Vice President John Hickenlooper.”

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

HELL YEAH!!!!

[BuckeyeNut]

Ugh

[Kamala]

Hickenloser

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

yuuuuuck

[The Other Castro]

Hey I didn't pick him, Kamala did.

[Senator-elect Spark]

Murphy would have been the better pick to solidify the Bernie wing of the party, but be it as it may. It's Kamala's choice.