Brian Schweitzer - Senate 2020 - Montana - Should Dems court him to run?

[Shadows]

Very popular governor with a high approval rating, he ran well ahead ahead of Gore in 2000 for Senate & he only lost narrowly because Gore did very poorly.

Governed Montana but advocated Single Payer (criticized Obamacare as Romney type plan in the later years), tried his best for alternative energy a decade ago. Strong in elections, decently progressive for his state.

He has too much baggage with some stupid comments to be a Presidential contender, supported O Malley in 2016. I think he will very likely take the Montana Senate seat if he runs in 2020!

[Free Bird]

His chance was 2014 and he didn't take it.

[MT Treasurer]

Yeah, I don't see him running. And even if he did, I doubt he would do better than Bullock.

[Shadows]

Other positions -

Opposed the Iraq War severely
Criticized Surveillance as illegal
Asked for clemency for Snowden
Pro-choice, Vetoed bill criminalizing abortion
Vetoed repeal of legalization of medical marijuana
Came out in 2013 for same sex marriage
Opposed Obamacare as a gift for pharma & insurance, Wanted Single Payer universal healthcare

Not so positive progressive positions -

A rating by NRA
Big time supported of coal, supporter of Keystone (but acknowledges Climate Change & renewable energy)

[Shadows]

Yeah, I don't see him running. And even if he did, I doubt he would do better than Bullock.

Why? When Al Gore got 33% in MT, he lost by 47.2-50.6% massively out-performing Gore. In a Bush re-election year when Kerry got 38-39% odd, he won 50.4-46%. He won his re-election in 2008 with a strong victory of 65.4-32.6% when Obama got 47%.

He routinely outperforms Dem presidential candidates by a huge margin. He routinely got above 60% approval & had one of the highest approval ratings. He did well for veterans & the college enrollment growth was massive during his term compared to other states & the national average.

He looks like a winnable candidate. And he is a fiery & a good speaker with the way he connects with ordinary people!

[Pandaguineapig]

If he didn't run for an open seat in 2014 why would he run against an incumbent when he will have been out of office for eight years?

[Xing]

Everyone always talks about him coming back, but he never does, so I doubt it.

[Miles]

His chance was 2014 and he didn't take it.

[Figueira]

He should run, but he probably won't.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If he didn't run for an open seat in 2014 why would he run against an incumbent when he will have been out of office for eight years?

It worked for John Kasich (with 10 years).

[brucejoel99]

Idk, I find it doubtful he's much interested since he took a pass on an easy Senate run in 2014. He's now making $$$$ as a mining executive & it's not often that politicians cash their chips out & leave the casino, & then return later & cash them back in to play some more; however, the exceptions are the cases in which there's little work to do, & this might qualify. Him running might clear the field, give him the nomination, & clear out any A-listers from running on the GOP side before he runs a 5 month campaign against whatever hapless yokel the GOP puts forth. That'd enable Democrats to take the seat for the 1st time in 24 years. 

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

He has my endorsement if he runs.

[Heisenberg]

Idk, I find it doubtful he's much interested since he took a pass on an easy Senate run in 2014. He's now making $$$$ as a mining executive & it's not often that politicians cash their chips out & leave the casino, & then return later & cash them back in to play some more; however, the exceptions are the cases in which there's little work to do, & this might qualify. Him running might clear the field, give him the nomination, & clear out any A-listers from running on the GOP side before he runs a 5 month campaign against whatever hapless yokel the GOP puts forth. That'd enable Democrats to take the seat for the 1st time in 24 years. 

Huh? The incumbent Republican, Steve Daines, will likely still run. And, first time in 24 years? What? Daines is literally the first Republican Class 2 Senator from Montana since the direct election of Senators.

[KingSweden]

His chance was 2014 and he didn't take it.

[brucejoel99]

Idk, I find it doubtful he's much interested since he took a pass on an easy Senate run in 2014. He's now making $$$$ as a mining executive & it's not often that politicians cash their chips out & leave the casino, & then return later & cash them back in to play some more; however, the exceptions are the cases in which there's little work to do, & this might qualify. Him running might clear the field, give him the nomination, & clear out any A-listers from running on the GOP side before he runs a 5 month campaign against whatever hapless yokel the GOP puts forth. That'd enable Democrats to take the seat for the 1st time in 24 years. 

Huh? The incumbent Republican, Steve Daines, will likely still run. And, first time in 24 years? What? Daines is literally the first Republican Class 2 Senator from Montana since the direct election of Senators.

Jesus Christ, I was thinking about the MT House seat lol. You'd think I would've seen the title too. I'm embarrased now lol

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The Senate map is favorable for control for Dems back in 2020. If the Senate is 54-46 R, after 2018, losing IN, and ND and picking up NV and /or losing MO, Dems can win the senate back in 2020 with taking out Daines and or Sullivan and defeating Ernst, Gardner and Tillis.

[Shadows]

Schweitzer was considering a Presidential run but then declined (probably due to massive controversies concerning his terrible comments)! People have long said that he didn't want to run for Senate because it had a Democratic incumbent in 2014 (Max Baucus) & he didn't want a divisive primary (publicly said running/not running in 2014 was a difficult decision)!

Should Democrats actively court him to run in 2020? (He is a 2 time governor & too big to run for a Congressional race)

Schweitzer's comments on Feinstein & spying -

"She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees, and now she says, 'I'm a nun,' when it comes to this spying!" he says. Then, he adds, quickly, "I mean, maybe that's the wrong metaphor—but she was all in!"

Last week, I called him on the night Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in his GOP primary. "Don't hold this against me, but I'm going to blurt it out. How do I say this ... men in the South, they are a little effeminate," he offered when I mentioned the stunning news. When I asked him what he meant, he added, "They just have effeminate mannerisms. If you were just a regular person, you turned on the TV, and you saw Eric Cantor talking, I would say—and I'm fine with gay people, that's all right—but my gaydar is 60-70 percent. But he's not, I think, so I don't know. Again, I couldn't care less. I'm accepting."

[Kamala]

Going into 2014, the Democrats were overextended in that Senate class. Going into 2020, the position is reversed, as many the Republicans won many seats they would've lost in a neutral year (Alaska, North Carolina, and Colorado come to mind.)

So right now, I would say Dems are bound to pick up at least 2 seats (Colorado and one of NC or Alaska)
But if they can get star recruits like Schweitzer to run in Montana and similar people in other states, in conjunction with a 2006/2008 style wave, they could possibly pick up
NC, CO, Alaska, Georgia, Maine (IF collins retires/runs for Gov), Montana, Iowa, and the great white whale Texas, for a total of up to 8 pickups, with the only vulnerable candidates for them being Shaheen, although I doubt she'd lose.

Regardless of how 2018 goes, if the democrats pick up all those (with the exception of Texas) I can see them gaining control of the Senate.

[Hindsight was 2020]

Bullock is the guy rumored to run if anything have Brian run in 2018 against the WWE champion

[JMT]

I'd rather have Steve Bullock run here. I really hope he runs for Senate instead of President, because Dems will have plenty of Presidential candidates to choose from, but Bullock is likely the only Dem who could beat Steve Daines in Montana.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Schweizer or Bullock will beat Daines

[MT Treasurer]

Schweizer or Bullock will beat Daines

Lol@Schweitzer running.

I have no doubt that a Bullock vs. Daines race will be competitive. Democrats will be in a dire position in the Senate after 2018 (IMO), which is why I think they will go on the offensive everywhere in 2020, especially in states like MT and AK. Daines is definitely not a very strong incumbent (I get Roy Blunt vibes from him, tbh), but he won't be beaten easily either if the level of polarization and partisanship remains as high as it is right now.

My early prediction for 2020 is that Daines wins reelection by 3-5 points and that Cooney wins the gubernatorial race by 2-3.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

I'm willing to accept that he's not willing to run, but does anyone know why? He seemed really interested in running for President before that brief set of scandals, but that doesn't really prevent him from running for anything else...