Talk Elections

The massive digital ad buy through the Steyer-backed group NextGen America will target voters ages 18 to 35 in 11 states: California, Nevada, Arizona, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.
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The ads will run on most digital platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, Hulu and Spotify. But this buy will also include the first-ever political ads on Twitch, a video game streaming platform.

In the next week alone, scheduled arrivals include: U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former Vice President Joe Biden; celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti; Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California campaigned for congressional candidate Mary Geren last week in Anderson. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts recently sent a fundraising email on behalf of state Democrats, and one of her former press secretaries recently became the state party’s new communications director.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder is set to headline an NAACP gala in Charleston three days before the election.

The Associated Press reported Saturday that the California senator will make her first trip on Oct. 22-23 to the state with the nation's earliest presidential caucus.

“Right now I’m focused on Nov. 6, plain and simple,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

But the billionaire owner of Bloomberg News also said “we’ll see what happens down the road,” when asked about his plans after the midterms.

He argued that Democrats are “much more centrist than people understand. They want sensible laws. And what they want is some check and balance on the White House,” according to Concord Monitor reporter Paul Steinhauser, who tweeted a video of the exchange.

“Helping candidates who are on the 2018 ballot, so I am not going to make a decision about the future until after this election because all of our attention needs to be focused on 2018,” Castro said.

Later this evening Castro campaigned with J.D. Scholten, a Democrat running for congress in District Four against Republican Steve King.

On Thursday, King took to Twitter to jab at Castro and his brother saying, “The two took 'Spanish lessons to qualify as retroactive Hispanics.”

[Warren's] effort, which goes far beyond the fundraising and endorsement speeches in which prospective presidential candidates typically engage, has encompassed work in all 50 states and close coordination with more than 150 campaigns. The result is a wide-ranging network that includes those running for state treasurer in Nevada, state legislature in Iowa and congressional offices around the country.

It is unmistakably aimed at some of the early-primary states that Warren would need to contest in a presidential campaign. She has deployed staffers to all four early primary states — two to New Hampshire and one each to Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada — as well as to traditional powerhouses like Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin.
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Warren’s midterm operation is housed in a back office of her Senate reelection headquarters here. Every day, about a half dozen staffers report to work, picking at salads and pecking away on laptops, sending messages to the campaigns around the country to which they are assigned. Whiteboards on the wall list the various races they are tracking, a map shows the places Warren has visited or where staffers were currently based, and there’s a list of candidates Warren needs to follow up with personally.
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“We know every single district,” a Warren aide involved in the effort said. “We’ve researched every district. We’re granularly paying attention to every place on the map.”

“I am considering it,” he said, adding that he wanted to win his mid-term election first.

“I want to get through a full term and I’m going to think about the long-term,” he said. “But I think new energy, new ideas and a new confidence in America is needed, and that’s why I’m considering it.”

Hickenlooper said he's "pretty far down the road" on making a choice to run, but wanted to finish out his term as governor without losing focus on the state. He plans to make his decision no later than the end of February or early March. 

He formed a political action committee in September that he described as "like an exploratory account" for a presidential run. It allows him to solicit donations to tour the country and see if his message of collaboration resonates.

"It's not impossible for someone like me to win, in a year like this where there is so much negativity and so much antipathy, just real anger and nastiness out there," Hickenlooper said.

“I’m only running for the House, but I’m honored to be asked the question,” Schiff said.

Does that preclude a run in the future? “I would never say never to something,” Schiff said, again skirting the question. “It’s fun coming up here, and I enjoy the idea that I might cause certain heads at Fox News to explode [if I ran.]”

Katie Glueck: Are you considering a presidential run?

Seth Moulton: I’m not running for president.

KG: Not right at this moment?

SM: I’m not running for president, period.

KG: How Shermanesque do you want to be here?

SM: What does Shermanesque mean?

KG: ‘If nominated, I won’t do it,’ essentially [read more on this phrase here]. Are you ruling out running for president in 2020?

SM: I just want to serve the country the best way I can. Right now, that’s as the representative of the Sixth District of Massachusetts, and that’s by helping amazing candidates like Abby [Spanberger, running in Virginia] win important congressional races across the country.

KG: I have to write down that’s not a no.

SM: You guys can write down whatever you want. I think I’ve been pretty clear about running for president.

KG: Well, why not?

SM: I don’t think it’s the best way I can serve the country right now. [He coughs.] If that were to change, I would consider it, but I don’t think that’s the best way I can serve the country.

Biden has said he will make a decision about whether to run for president in 2020 by January. During the event, someone in the crowd shouted, "Run, Joe, Run!"

"No, no, no!" Biden said in the same cadence, which prompted laughter from the audience. "Thank you. It's very flattering."

Biden then grew emotional talking about his family's struggle since the death of his son Beau in 2015.

"A lot of you have been through a lot tougher times than I and you know when you lose a son or a daughter. It takes some time for the family to sort of be there. We're working through it," he said.

"I know Beau would want me to run, but honest answer is no man or woman should ask for your vote for president unless they with all your heart and soul can look you in the eye and say 'I promise you all my effort, all my attention, all, all my heart, all of my soul,'" he said. "And I'm not quite sure, I'm not sure quite sure I'm there yet."

When some shouted "Jill would be great!" referencing Biden's wife, he responded, "She would! She would! I'd vote for her!"

"Every voter is entitled to know exactly what kind of shape you're in. You owe it to them. It's a legitimate question and so I think age is relevant," he added.

A newly formed political action committee says it’s trying to “encourage” former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, to run for president.

The group called “Tenaciously Moving for American Change in 2020” announced its formation Tuesday. The group’s name is a play on McAuliffe’s “TMac” nickname.

Co-founder Shannon Kane said the group is looking to raise McAuliffe’s profile in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

McAuliffe issued a statement last week distancing himself from the group and saying he is focused on helping Democrats win this year’s elections.

Sen. Kamala Harris’ advisers are privately discussing a rough Democratic primary strategy that would focus heavily on Iowa, but with an eye toward high-value nominating contests coming later in Nevada, South Carolina and California — more diverse states where her candidacy might resonate with larger minority communities.
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Harris’ advisers believe she can compete in Iowa based in part on her success courting white progressives in California and on former President Barack Obama’s victory there in 2008. Harris campaigned for Obama in the state that year.

The next nominating contest, in New Hampshire, presents a far heavier lift. She has yet to appear there, and several potential East Coast contenders — including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick — are all considered to have an edge in the state based on their name recognition and familiarity.

But if Harris can win over black voters in South Carolina, the first Southern primary, her advisers believe she could then win a spate of early Southern primaries with high black turnout — in 2016, 10 states with black primary turnout exceeding 25 percent had already held their nominating contests by mid-March. And North Carolina, another state with relatively high black turnout, is moving its primary in 2020 to early March, as well.

Meanwhile, Harris would campaign aggressively in Nevada and neighboring California, likely relying on supportive labor unions and activists in her home state to cross state lines and campaign for her in Nevada, as they have for Democratic allies in previous elections.

"I don't think about the polling data. I think about whether or not I should run based on very private decisions relating to my family and the loss of my son and what I want to do with the rest of my life," Biden said. "But I don't think of it in terms of can I win, can I – will I lose. That's not part of the calculation."

“The answer is no,” he said during a town hall in McAllen, Texas on Thursday evening. “Our children are 11, they’re 10, and they’re 7 years old. We’ve told them we’re going to take these almost two years out of our life to run this race, and then we’re devoted and committed to being a family again.”

While her stop in the first-in-the-nation primary state generated speculation that the New York Democrat has her eyes on the 2020 election and a probable run for the White House, Gillibrand avoided answering questions about her possible presidential ambitions.

“I’m here because I want Molly Kelly to be the next governor of New Hampshire,” she said.
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Gillibrand had no timetable for a decision on a possible White House run.

“I’m focused on my own senate race,” she said.

When questioned if she had plans to return to New Hampshire after the midterms, Gillibrand joked, “thank you for asking.”

Ms. Gillibrand, who touted a paid family leave proposal beside Molly Kelly, New Hampshire Democrats’ nominee for governor, in a Concord candy shop on Thursday, predicted multiple women would run against Mr. Trump in 2020. She said she had made no decisions about her future, but cast the political moment as one of women mobilizing against a “credibly accused sexual harasser and sexual assaulter” — Mr. Trump.
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“It will carry over to the presidential race,” Ms. Gillibrand said in an interview. “You’ll have many women running. It’s not going to be just one woman running.”

Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is considering running for president in 2020, a source with direct knowledge of her deliberations told POLITICO.

Rania Batrice, an advisor to the progressive congresswoman who served as deputy campaign manager on Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, has been putting out feelers for digital and speech-writing staff for Gabbard. One person approached about the positions say that 2020 wasn’t mentioned explicitly, but it was heavily implied.

Batrice denied that the staffers were being hired for a presidential campaign. She did not dispute, however, that Gabbard is considering joining what's expected to be a crowded field of Democratic presidential contenders.

"I think everybody is focused on 2018, but we will see what happens after that,” Batrice said in an interview. “Someone like Tulsi, with her experience, is an important voice in the party and the country.”

The second term governor and former Denver mayor sounded like a presidential candidate as he met with some 25 Democratic activists in downtown Des Moines Friday evening: He shared his personal narrative — which spans from biology to beer brewing. But he also called on Democrats to embrace pragmatic, business-friendly policies if they want to fix a broken Washington, D.C. 

Hickenlooper said he isn't ready to announce a bid for the White House — not yet, anyway.

"I think there's a pretty high probability that we're going to go ahead and do it," he said, after someone in the crowd asked the inevitable question. He said he continues to discuss the possibility of a presidential bid with his wife. 

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders, who is 77, told POLITICO. “Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and well being of the individual.”

The last time that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was on the ballot for re-election, she poured $8 million into a summer television-advertising spree en route to a landslide victory.

This year, she has invested zero dollars on television and has spent only a fraction of what she did in 2012. Ms. Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, has instead methodically conserved her campaign cash, building a $10.7 million federal treasury that is among the largest in the country; a war chest that she could use to jump-start a bid for the White House in 2020.
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Much of Ms. Gillibrand’s spending has been on the kind of list-building activities that are as likely to pay dividends in 2020 as this fall, investing heavily in digital advertising that cultivates new email addresses and donors. More than 40 percent of her spending in 2018 has been on Facebook advertising, according to an analysis of records from the Federal Election Commission and Pathmatics, an ad tracking firm.

“I want to be senator for the next six years,” she said.

Bernie Sanders says he speaks with Elizabeth Warren nearly every day — just not about 2020.

But with the two progressive behemoths on a collision course in the presidential primary — and with some progressive activists alarmed that they might split the vote, allowing a more moderate Democrat to win the nomination — Sanders suggested Friday that a pre-2020 discussion among like-minded candidates could be forthcoming.

Asked whether he and other progressive contenders should hold talks in an effort to ensure one of them prevails, Sanders told POLITICO, “I suspect that in the coming weeks and months, there will be discussions.”

But a pre-2020 agreement would not necessarily require any candidate to immediately step aside. Instead, candidates could discuss benchmarks — fundraising, polling, or early primary performance — and at what point progressive candidates would throw their support to a fellow progressive in the race.

"Well, first and foremost I'm having important conversations at home, but I'm mostly focused in the next sixteen days at making sure we have a Congress," Garcetti said in response to a question about his decision-making process by anchor Jake Tapper. "Because President Trump isn't on the ballot, but a Congress that enables him is, that seems to be either bullies, brown-nosers, or bunglers, folks who are either kissing up to the president, folks who are mirroring his bullying, or folks who are just ineffective at getting anything done.

"But I'll make a decision probably in the next couple months, and I do hope whether I do or not that mayors do look at this," Garcetti continued.

O'Rourke told Faris that he does not intend to run for president, partly in deference to his family.

"We can't be out on the road for another two years. Nor would I want [to]. Nor do I think that's right," he said, in reference to his wife and two young kids.

"We've seen the consequence of a junior senator who leaves the state to pursue the presidency -- leaves our priorities. our opportunities, our needs -- behind," O'Rourke said, in a veiled reference to the unsuccessful presidential campaign that Cruz -- Texas's junior senator -- ran in 2016.

"I want to make sure that I'm there -- every single day, for every single one of us."

The former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley is considering a run. He told the Guardian a key part of his decision would lie in figuring out if he will have the fundraising infrastructure “to run a more successful race” than he did in 2016.

"I am focused on Minnesota.  I'm going back there."

“All I’m thinking about is change on November 6th. We’ve got 16 days left to go,” he told reporters. “But I’ll look at it. There’s a lot of ways you can make a difference and down the road, you never know.”

Walking across the Fairfield Hills grounds at the March For Our Lives rally in Newtown in August, a woman stops Murphy to beg him to run in 2020.

“We have to get through the upcoming elections first,” Murphy says, referring to the midterms.

“Please run!” she says. “We need you!”

Later, he says, “I don’t think it’s in the cards for me. My focus is really on this election and re-election race and I think it would be pretty foolish to be thinking about anything other than that. I’ve been pretty clear but I’m sure people are going to continue asking me about running.”

In under a year, without realizing what it would become, Steyer and a small crew on the third floor of a small office building in the Financial District here built the biggest voter list in politics—bigger than the NRA, millions bigger than any group that is better known or has been around longer. And it’s not just the well over 6 million people who’ve signed his online petition to impeach Trump—500,000 new ones since July, on pace to be 300,000 in October alone, and growing by at least 3,000 per day, with spikes around big news such as Michael Cohen’s plea deal and the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. It’s email addresses and mailing addresses, now mined to connect with voter data and Need to Impeach’s own surveys and polls.

The other question that comes up at the town halls and with everyone in the political world: “Are you going to run for president?” Because that’s of course a good explanation for pumping all this cash into creating a political organization that only he has the keys to and that spends a lot of money putting his face all over TV.

Steyer likes banging on tables when he talks, and the most reliable way to get him banging is to remind him how many people think that this is all about laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign. He has a standard answer about deciding after November what he can do that would do the most good. That answer obviously isn’t no.

But a half dozen people involved with Patrick’s informal discussions were loath to prognosticate about what Patrick will ultimately decide, when the word from on high is to be patient. They said Patrick’s decision felt like a toss-up.
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Aides say that while he is working through ideas, taking meetings, and homing in on a message, Patrick still wants to be assured that a campaign consistent with his character can be successful in 2020. That would mean an idealistic campaign, with a national dialogue about the direction of the country. It would be focused on regular people at the bedrock of a large grassroots organization. “If you can get it right, you can move people,” said one top Patrick aide.
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Patrick has said repeatedly that he’ll make a decision on 2020 at the end of the year. And yet, part of him seems awed by the number of people who come up to him asking him to run. He knows people want hope, but not in some abstract way. They want him, and he takes them seriously. “He remembers what it has been like in his life to know that you’re smart enough and have something to offer but to not have been taken seriously,” said Brendan Ryan, a close Patrick friend who served as his driver in 2005 and also has been his chief of staff. “I don’t think he interprets people’s questions like that or their sentiments as necessarily [being] about him so much as they see somebody who is willing to speak and be a voice for hope and the possibility of it.”

LNP: You have said you are "likely" to run for president in 2020. What are the factors that will ultimately be part of your decision and when will you decide?

Castro: “I’m going to make the decision right after the Nov. 6 election. There are two things I need to do. I need to have a conversation with my wife at length... And secondly I want to see what happens on Nov. 6 because I’m convinced that these elections set a mood and they send a message from the American people about what folks are thinking.”

[Bloomberg] says he will probably wait a couple months after the election results to make a final decision on a presidential campaign, even though he is clearly doing work in the meantime to plan. The decision probably will hinge not just on the results in November, but on the reception he feels now that he has registered as a Democrat.

Sanders hasn’t decided about running, though it weighs heavily on him to make sure Trump loses. Part of the thinking behind his week-long cross-country tour campaigning for other candidates is testing how much his appeal has held up (so far, to over-packed overflow rooms). As Sanders decides whether to run again, advisers often cite the 45 percent of the primary vote he got in 2016, though the senator himself thinks less about getting deference from his performance two years ago than drawing on the strength he’s continued to build since.
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Warren is close to pulling the trigger on a run, and has spent the past two years putting together the pieces for a campaign, accelerating since the end of the summer. This included some deliberate overtures to Sanders’s world, like reaching out to Nina Turner, the former Ohio state senator who now runs the Sanders-inspired group Our Revolution, and to RoseAnn DeMoro, the former head of National Nurses United, which spent millions and went all out for Sanders in 2016.

The Warren analysis is that Sanders’s votes in 2016 had more to do with being the alternative to Hillary Clinton than he likes to admit. For all his strength then, he’s not leading in early public polls, which show him with support in the teens, not far ahead of Warren and behind Joe Biden. She’s a woman at a time when women are proving key to the party’s future. She has an appeal beyond just his supporters, drawing from many Clinton supporters, too.
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At a presentation to Sanders and his inner circle in January, Longabaugh identified Warren as the main obstacle to winning the nomination. Though others at that planning session disagreed with how big of a threat she posed, they were still hoping to avoid it. A rough idea emerged among them of how it would play out: At some point around now—right before or right after the midterms—the two senators would have a conversation. Sanders would tell her what he had decided to do. If he was a go for 2020, he’d expect her to support him, for the sake of the cause. If he decided not to run, it would essentially be permission for her to go ahead, though likely not with his endorsement right away.

Warren and her team, in recent months, started to realize this was the thinking they were coming up against. They always thought it was ridiculous, a one-sided benefit that brought her nothing for working with him or waiting.

"Just want to make this clear, you're saying that you will not get out of the race and you will not run for president? You will serve your six years?" the moderator asked.

"I will serve my six-year term," Gillibrand responded.

“Jeff and I were just talking about this the other day. I think when you look at the kind of candidate who can beat Trump, you’re probably looking at the battleground states,” he says, citing a recent poll in Florida. “Probably what you’re looking at in terms of beating Trump is what candidate could do well in those battleground states, and that is the ability to speak to working people — whether they’re black or white or Latino.”

“As I think about this thing, am I thinking about which candidate is the strongest in order to beat Trump? Yes, of course.” Is it the number one question? “I think it is, yes. And we’ve got some great candidates. I know all of them. And they’re really good. But I think the question that all of us are going to have to sit down and determine is—” Sanders pauses. “Trump is — he is a liar. He’s a tough candidate to take on. So we have to go with the best candidate.”

On the trip, watching Sanders, there are points at which you wonder whether he really wants to do this again. In Indiana, he leaves a meeting with laid-off workers, many of whom are in tears after sharing their stories with Sanders, only to be asked moments later in an interview about potential 2020 rivals like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. (“What the media likes is new new news,” he says. “Am I frustrated? No. I’m used to it.”) In South Carolina, where he lost the primary to Clinton by more than 47 points in a struggle to win over black voters, Sanders had to defend his decision to come to the state after some Democrats suggested that his presence only did damage to the state ticket. (“It’s funny,” he told a crowd of about 900 people. “I was told there were no progressives in South Carolina. I was told no one would show up to a gathering like this.”)

But there are far more moments where Sanders doesn’t look like a guy who’s slowing down anytime soon. On a perfect fall day in downtown Ames, he flashes a rare smile, grinning as he leads a parade down Main Street. At the University of Michigan, when the rally fills the school auditorium, he takes the stage and pauses to take in the crowd. And after meeting with a group of local voters Sunday, he can’t stop talking about how he met a woman who works full-time as a college professor but has to work nights at Target to make ends meet: “That is what media should be focusing on. That is the news.”

Prior to her Iowa trip, Politico reported that Harris transferred $25,000 to the state parties in the first four states holding presidential nomination contests in 2020: Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire.

When Booker was asked about his potential 2020 plans to run for president, he said he was focused on the mid-term elections coming up in about two weeks. 

"I haven’t set a timeline for me that this is when I have to make decisions," he said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. "If I have something to offer the conversation, to make sure that we’re doing what we can to make this the country that I believe in, well, that’s interesting and enticing. But for now, it’s probably about as far as it goes."

“I was optimistic until about two or three years ago,” Amash said this week, in an interview at his congressional office. “Things have really taken a turn for the worse, in terms of the growth of libertarianism in Congress. You have some bright spots here and there. But for the most part, the party’s become more nationalistic, more anti-trade.”

The ICE vote was a clear example of how the nationalist branch of libertarianism had won out: Conservatives and almost all of the libertarians who once viewed the Department of Homeland Security and its attendant parts as a dangerous government leviathan had learned to love it.

“It was all ‘owning the libs,’ as they say,” Amash said. “Republicans have been calling for abolishing DHS for a long time. I heard that as recently as the past few years. That was a mainstream, conservative viewpoint.”

His family has given him the green light but the residual effects of his son's death remain. He figures he has about 10 more good years, and does he want to spend them in the pressure cooker of campaigning and governing? As a two-time presidential candidate and after spending eight years as vice president, he knows it takes 100 percent.

He's not there yet. And three months is a short time to get there.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand said Friday she isn't prepared to make a decision now on whether to run for president.

“I definitely think about how I can help New Yorkers and how I can be successful in getting more things done in Washington," Gillibrand said. "But, aspiring to a higher office is a very big decision. That’s why I’m not prepared to make it right now.”

Because why?

“I can think about it later," Gillibrand said during a meeting Friday with editors and reporters at The Buffalo News.

But Gillibrand stopped short of saying she wouldn't run, despite a statement during a Thursday night debate that she would serve her six-year Senate term if elected.

“I’m really running for Senate," Gillibrand said Friday in Buffalo. "I’m focused on my Senate race, and it’s important to serve in the Senate for New York, and there’s a lot of work still to be done in the Senate."

“A big part of me would very much like to run again, and there’s pieces of it that I still have to figure out,” O’Malley said after spending about an hour chatting with folks and snacking on hors d'oeuvres. “And I know the clock’s ticking. And those of us who are unannounced certainly need to be in it pretty soon.”

Q: We’re going to talk about 2020 in a minute. Do you want to run again?

Clinton: No. No.

Q: That was a pause...

Clinton: Well I’d like to be president. I think, hopefully, when we have a Democrat in the Oval Office in January of 2021, there’s going to be so much work to be done. I mean we have confused everybody in the world, including ourselves. We have confused our friends and our enemies. They have no idea what the United States stands for, what we’re likely to do, what we think is important, so the work would be work that I feel very well prepared for having been at the Senate for eight years, having been a diplomat in the State department, and it’s just going to be a lot of heavy lifting.

Q: So are you going to be doing any of that lifting? Do you feel like ...

Clinton: Oh I have no idea, Kara, but I’m going to ... I’m not even going to even think about it til we get through this November 6 election about what’s going to happen after that, but I’m going to everything in my power to make sure we have a Democrat in the White House come January of 2021.

Two sources close to the Avenatti operation confirmed that John Robinson, who worked as a chief operating officer for Bernie Sanders‘ 2016 campaign and has worked with former presidential candidates John Edwards and Al Gore, has consulted with Avenatti for about two months. If Avenatti runs, he is likely to tap Robinson as his own operations chief, the sources said.

Also among those whom Avenatti regularly, but unofficially, seeks advice from is Jack Quinn, a former White House counsel under Bill Clinton. Quinn said he plays no formal role in any campaign but acknowledged he’s given Avenatti advice as he would to any potential 2020 candidate.

Quinn’s wife recently threw a private dinner for Avenatti at the couple’s home, bringing him in front of D.C. media, while Quinn took Avenatti to an economic summit event in D.C., according to an Avenatti aide.

Another experienced Democratic hand, Adam Parkhomenko, a Hillary Clinton adviser who founded the Ready for Hillary super PAC, is acting as a liaison between Avenatti and Democratic National Committee members, superdelegates, and state party leaders.

“He’s absolutely the person I’m supporting in the 2020 primary, should he decide to run,” Parkhomenko told POLITICO. “I think he is 90 to 95 percent leaning toward doing it.”
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Those in and around Avenatti’s nascent political organization say the on-the-ground visits and personal outreach demonstrate how seriously invested he is in a potential presidential run, belying the notion that the attorney is floating the idea in a quest for publicity, as some critics believe.

“It’s not a publicity stunt, that’s absurd,” he said. “If I weren’t serious about this I wouldn’t go through all this effort to explore.”

Patrick is looking for a feeling. He’s trying to convince himself that the country and electorate he wants to believe in actually does exist, and that it’s going to be worth it for him to throw his life and his wife into what a presidential campaign would demand.

“I was feeling all kinds of pressure from the wise guys and gals that you’ve got to make a decision by X date, or so on” Patrick said. “I don’t care about any of that anymore. I’ll make a decision when I feel like I have a decision to make.”

For now, Patrick is keeping his day job—at Bain Capital, which the Obama re-election campaign invested millions in trashing because of the time Mitt Romney spent there, and which is the first thing that most smart Democrats bring up to explain why they can’t imagine how Patrick would be viable.

Hillary Clinton is not running for president again, longtime advisers and confidants said on Monday as they pushed back on reports that the 2016 Democratic nominee is weighing another White House run.

The allies acknowledge Clinton is wistful about what could have been had she won the presidential election against Donald Trump and wants to continue to help the Democratic Party. But they say her plans do not include another presidential bid.

“She’s more likely to win Powerball,” Philippe Reines, Clinton’s longtime adviser, told The Hill on Monday.

Another longtime confidant added, “She’s not running. I think it would be pretty damn clear if she was.”

Confidants say there isn’t anyone behind the scenes trying to sway her to enter what is expected to be a crowded 2020 field. Likewise, there aren’t any internal discussions about the presidential race and there isn’t a ramp up of staff either.

“Right now, my focus is on the year 2018, but if you’re asking me to make an absolute pledge as to whether I’ll be running for president or not, I’m not going to make that pledge,” Vermont's junior senator said. “The simple truth is I have not made that decision. But I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I may not run. I may. But on the other hand, I may not.”

Asked again whether he would commit to serving out a third term, Sanders said, “If I’m elected president of the United States? Mmm. Probably impossible to be a senator and a president at the same time. So the answer to that is probably no. But I haven’t made that decision as to whether I’ll run.”

He added, “If I run [for president] and win, the likelihood is I will not be Vermont’s senator.”

“I am focusing on Nov. 6 and then I've said, you know, a few months later I'll take a look at it and see,” Bloomberg said in an interview with CNN released Monday.

“I'm trying to go to as many places as I can in this country and talk to people and see what's on their mind and understand whether I think with my experience I could help them get where they want to go and then try to convince them that I'm the right person for it,” the former mayor continued.

"My father was Jewish. My mom was Episcopalian. I was pretty unreligious until I had kids and I started to go to church just to introduce them to the idea of the almighty. And the person who was the most affected by it was me. I feel very lucky to have God in my life. But I would never walk away from my Jewish identity. I view myself as a mutt and I think that’s very American."

At Root's Cafe in Hooksett, N.H., where the governor is campaigning for down-ballot Democrats, Hickenlooper said, "I'm the governor of Colorado and I'm gonna run for president." WMUR, a local New Hampshire TV station, reporter, Adam Sexton also reported that Hickenlooper said to a different person during the campaign stop, "I'm John Hickenlooper and I'm running for president. You're the first person in New Hampshire I've said that to."

Shortly after making the statement, however, Hickenlooper clarified he hadn't "made a final decision."

"If I say I'm absolutely doing it, then there are all kinds of legal ramifications," said the governor, "so I'll say I'm leaning strongly."

[Merkley's] spokeswoman tells Patch that while he's considering a run, right now he's focused on the midterms. That happens next week, so a decision could come sooner rather than later.

Brown: I don't like the idea of running for president. I don't really have any real interest in that.

Harwood: But I saw that you said to one of your home state newspapers you think about it from time to time, and you get people talking to you about it.

Brown: No news on this story, sorry. I don't aspire to be president of the United States. I know my name's mentioned because I win in a Trump state.

"I don’t want to run," she said. "I’m not trying to test any waters. Don’t want to go in those waters. I’m here today because of Stacey Abrams."

“I honestly spent 16 months cleaning up then two-year old baby vomit off the floor of a campaign bus, and the thought of doing that in 50 states instead of just 93 counties sounds absolutely terrible,” Sasse said. “So I think noxious weed control board of Dodge County, Nebraska, is the far more probable scenario for me.”

He also said he was intentionally not thinking about whether to run for the Senate again in two years.

“We said for the first four-and-a-half years of my six term, we would act like I’m never running for anything again, and we’re going to have a big family meeting — my wife and I will have an extended date in July-August of 2019 and think what future callings we think we have.” Sasse said of his family situation. “Right now, I have the two best callings, which is to raise three little kids on the road back and forth, and getting to serve the people of Nebraska.”

My favorite book at the moment is a brand new book that I wrote that will be coming out in a couple weeks called “Where We Go From Here” and this book talks about the work that I and other progressives have been doing over the last two years in opposition to Trump’s reactionary agenda and how we go forward in creating a government that works for all, and not just the wealthy few.

After a moment, Abercrombie says his conscience doesn't regret the choice. "It would have cost me if I didn't do it. Because I thought that was the right thing to do for Hawaii."

As for his own future, Booker admitted he doesn't know. “I haven’t even put my intellectual energy there because the moment we are in now is so urgent.”

The California Democrat shared his 2020 timetable in an interview Thursday at the home of Democratic state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, his first stop in a jam-packed swing through New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first primary in the race for the White House.

“I want to see how we do in the midterms, kind of take a pulse of the country. See where the country is,” the 37-year old three-term congressman said. “It’s a big decision. But I would expect that decision would happen right at the turn of the year.”
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Swalwell was in New Hampshire just days after his wife gave birth to their second child. “My wife and I just had a little girl last week, so we’re just climbing out of that,” he shared.

Harris, who is 54 and the only African-American woman currently in the Senate (and the second, ever), has in recent years — but especially now — quietly prioritized supporting a sprawling group of young people of color running for office. They’re often first-time candidates, and they’re often women. The effort has included joint appearances, but also hours of behind-the-scenes advice and political groundwork for a wide range of newcomers. It’s no unusual thing for an influential politician to help other candidates, but in Harris’s case it’s an especially long-running and personal practice that she doesn’t go out of her way to publicize. It’s something for which, she told me after her speech, “I do feel a responsibility. It’s about paying it forward: other people did it for me, and it’s kind of like, this is what you do. It’s not whimsical. It’s — literally, I feel — a duty.”

The result is a burgeoning coast-to-coast network of Harris endorsees who, in many cases, feel serious loyalty to the senator considering a run for nationwide office next year. One Democratic fundraiser who is fully supportive of a Harris 2020 campaign said he’d heard other fans speak of the group as an obvious political asset. But building this kind of network isn’t a strategy at all, Harris insists (“People are cynical,” she said, eyebrow arched). Those who have been close to her for years agree: one told me Harris has privately spoken about the importance of her mentoring and endorsing work at least since her early days as district attorney, almost 15 years ago. She’s the longtime mentor, for example, of London Breed, who is now San Francisco’s mayor. “There’s a saying in the community where I grew up: Each one, pull one,’” Harris said. “The idea being that — you know, it’s self-explanatory. Each one, pull one. You get there, and you pull others up with you.”

No one has done that more from a financial perspective than Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti through his Democratic Midterm Victory Fund. While presidential hopefuls typically set up leadership PACs to start collecting chits, Garcetti formed a group that is a hybrid between a super PAC and a more traditional PAC, meaning it can raise unlimited sums of money.

Garcetti’s group contributed $100,000 apiece to the Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina Democratic parties, an amount that turned heads among Democratic activists and leaders. It also donated another $20,000 to candidates and groups in those states.

Speaking to MSNBC reporters on Tuesday morning and shortly after voting in Wilmington, Del., Biden said he would make the decision after Jan. 1 with his family. He wouldn't announce publicly until later, though he wouldn't say when exactly that would be.

"Oh, I don't know. It would depend on the circumstances," Biden said when asked when he would make the announcement. "And a whole lot of things."

He added that a January announcement would be too early for the next election cycle. "I wouldn't announce if I were going to run that early. It would be too early to start it," he said.

“When you’re one of the only Democrats in the country who can win in a red state, it’s natural to think about it at some point, and after the dust settles from the election, I’m sure that time will come,” said a Democrat close to Brown’s political team.

But, he cautioned, “It’s nothing that’s top of mind at the moment.”

Brown is “in no way focused on 2020,” said the Democrat, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the senator. Instead, he’s focused on setting a path for his party by “making sure that Democrats are talking about their work and the country in a way that is productive and can lead to electoral success in 2020.”

O'Rourke huddled with senior campaign aides Wednesday in El Paso, but offered them no indication of future political plans -- saying he first planned to spend time at home with his family after nearly two years on the road and process the election's results before weighing what comes next, one person present for the conversations said.

Another source described having "very initial discussions" with O'Rourke in recent weeks about the prospect of a 2020 bid and what it would take to scale a Senate campaign that operated largely on the candidate's own gut, without pollsters or a massive team of consultants, up to the national level. But the source said it's too early for O'Rourke to have made any decisions.

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell plans to run for president in 2020, according to a person close to the California congressman who is familiar with his plans.

“He’s definitely running,” the source said.

Former Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz is putting together an elite public relations team as he prepares to release a civic-minded new book and considers running for president in 2020.

A key player in Schultz's growing team is Steve Schmidt, a former vice chairman at public relations powerhouse Edelman who managed Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008.
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In October, Schultz hired Cheryl Cook, a longtime executive vice president at Edelman, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. She will be representing Schultz up until and throughout his book tour, which is expected to start in February in New York City, these people said. Cook worked at the PR firm for more than a decade and got to know Schultz directly when Starbucks was one of her clients.

During his weekly appearance on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show,” the mayor was asked if he is planning to run in 2020 too.

“I am mayor of New York City, it’s one of the best public service jobs anywhere in the world, and obviously, we’re getting a lot done here in the city, which I’m proud of, that’s what I’m focused on,” de Blasio said when asked by Lehrer if he is planning to run for president. “I’ve got three years and two months more, and that’s what I’m doing”

When pressed by Lehrer to give a more definitive answer on whether he plans to run, the mayor said he intends to “continue in elected office if there is an opportunity to do so.”

“I’ve not ruled it out. I’ve not ruled it in. Just, somebody needs to run on the Republican side,” Flake said on Friday in a lengthy conversation with POLITICO and The Hill on Friday. Flake said both outgoing Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse could give Trump a credible challenge.
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“I hope somebody does [run], just to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative and what it means to be decent. We’ve got to bring that back,” Flake said. “You can whip up the base for a cycle or two but it wears thin. Anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.”

Ms. Harris, the senator from California, is seen by allies as likely to announce a campaign early in next year, after the release of a book due out in January. Her sister, Maya Harris, a former top adviser to Mrs. Clinton, has already been quietly gauging the intentions of some influential Democrats in order to have an early roster of supporters ready.

The Harris camp has also been reaching out to potential campaign staff members who could manage fund-raising operations and a strategy for amassing convention delegates over a long primary while the senator herself has been courting Democrats in the states that begin the nominating process, such as Mr. Vilsack and former Gov. James Hodge of South Carolina.

Allies of Mr. Booker, the senator from New Jersey, spent this week highlighting his efforts to help candidates in states crucial to the presidential nominating process, while he began considering staffing decisions.

Multiple Democrats said that Addisu Demissie, who just ran the campaign of Gavin Newsom, the governor-elect of California, could potentially serve as a top official in either Mr. Booker’s campaign or a super PAC that allies of the senator may launch.

Ms. Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, is moving just as swiftly. Among scores of congratulatory phone calls she placed this week, Ms. Warren spoke with a list of influential Democrats in early presidential primary states. They included Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne, two newly elected members of Congress from Iowa, as well as Molly Kelly, the Democrat who lost a race for governor of New Hampshire.
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And in a sign that Ms. Warren’s deliberations have proceeded to an advanced stage, one of her closest and longest-serving aides, Dan Geldon, has left his position as her chief of staff in the Senate to manage the operation that is planning her likely campaign, which may get underway as soon as next month.

"It's less than 48 hours. I said I would take a hard look and and I will. Too early," said Warren, who won her second term with 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday. Asked if she had a timeline for making a decision, Warren said, "I don't have a timeline for this."

"It is going to be a very important call for the Democratic Party. And who they pick, and how and why is a very important conversation," Cuomo told John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York.

"I don’t believe in rhetorical, theoretical leadership. It’s either experienced and accomplished or it’s not. And this nation shouldn’t just take a chance that maybe a person will grow into the role.

"But I’m focused on the governorship. I’m a one-thing-at-a-time kind of guy," he added. "And I love doing what I'm doing, and I have a full agenda. I'm going to stay focused on where I am and what I am."

[Inslee] said he’ll decide on whether to pursue a 2020 presidential run in the coming months.

“We will give some thought to that in the near future,” Inslee said, providing no specific timeline. “I have not ruled that out, as you know.”

While he has not started hiring staff for a presidential run or exploratory bid, Inslee said, “We have talked to some people in general” about potential roles in a national race, pointing to aides who work for his gubernatorial campaign.

Gabbard, a Democrat, who addressed the gathering, however neither confirmed or denied that she is running for president in 2020.

A decision on this could be taken before Christmas, which might not necessarily result in a formal announcement as that could be delayed till the next year, people familiar with her thinking process told PTI.

However, it is said that she and her team has quietly been reaching out to prospective donors, including a large number of Indian Americans, and volunteers to build an impressive campaign for her 2020 run.

Brown, a Democrat who won his election Tuesday by about 6 percentage points, said he’s hearing “sort of a crescendo” of interest in him seeking the White House, be it through his wife Connie Schultz’s Facebook page, or through calls or emails. “We’re hearing it increase, so we’re thinking about it as a result,” he said, adding, “we’re not close to saying yes.”
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He said that while some suggested he run for president during the campaign, he could only focus then on his re-election. But since his win, he said, “it’s been pretty overwhelming.”

“My first mission is to encourage people to start talking about (American workers) more, reaching out to people in the industrial Midwest,” he said. “We’ll see later on about the presidential race. But we are thinking about it for the first time seriously.”

Sen. Cory Booker is personally calling political pros in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire to staff a 2020 campaign. Gov. John Hickenlooper is in touch with D.C. operatives about his search for a communications expert. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was interviewing campaign advisers even before Tuesday’s midterms.
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That explains why, with the midterm elections not even a week in the history books, Democratic hopefuls have been scrambling to fill out their 2020 teams. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ aides, for instance, were reaching out to operatives coming off of successful midterm campaigns.

“They’re having phone calls on the staff level to gauge interest,” said a source within the Sanders camp.

Sen. Kamala Harris' aides have been in talks with Angelique Cannon about joining her finance team ahead of a likely 2020 run, a source familiar with the discussions said. Cannon worked for Senate Majority PAC during the 2018 cycle and for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.

Booker himself called staff prospects in three early states, including field organizers and senior officials involved in some of the state's marquee midterm campaigns, four people with knowledge of the calls told POLITICO. While Booker isn’t making offers yet, “he’s building a bridge” to potential aides, said one person with knowledge of the conversations.

Julián Castro convened a group of supporters in San Antonio Monday in preparation for a 2020 presidential campaign, sources familiar with the gathering told POLITICO.

Castro and his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, brought together about 20 of their loyal donors and bundlers in San Antonio to begin to sketch out a national bid, according to one person present and another with direct knowledge of the meeting.

The session lasted several hours and invited the potential donors to ask questions about a potential presidential campaign. The 44-year-old brothers even left the room for a bit to give their allies a chance to talk freely, according to Scott Atlas, a prominent Houston attorney and the finance chair for Democrat Bill White’s 2010 challenge to then-Governor Rick Perry.

“I’ll consider that,” Booker said of the coming presidential race. “I’m focused right now on my reelection, but is it something I’ll consider? Absolutely. Now is not the time to do that, we’ve got elections in the field, I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ve just come off an election. I will do my best over the coming months.”

Serwer pressed Booker on when exactly he will make a decision on a potential White House bid.

“My decision’s made right now. I’m running for reelection, but will I take some time over the coming months to consider it? I absolutely will.”

Booker went on to say he finds the presidential speculation “bothersome” and believes it is “too early” to focus on the next White House race.

“Honestly, right now, … this is those wonderful moments in Washington where we should be able to come together and get good work done before we start balkanizing ourselves for presidential ambitions,” Booker said.

“I think January, February would be about as late as you can do it and as early as you can gather enough information,” Bloomberg told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.
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“Thanksgiving, Christmas and then maybe a few weeks into January — that’s when you really gotta sit down, talk to your advisers and say, ‘Look, do I have a chance?’ I think I know why I would want to run. I think I know what I think this country should do and what I would do. But I just don’t know whether it’s possible,” Bloomberg told the AP.

He added, “If people don’t seem to be warming to you, there’s plenty of other ways that I can make a difference in life and say thank you to this country for what it’s given my kids and me.”

On Wednesday, an adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti confirmed to The Associated Press that South Carolina strategist Phil Chambers had been hired by a political action committee aligned with the mayor, Democratic Victory Fund. Chambers served as an adviser on Smith’s gubernatorial campaign, as well as chief of staff to the South Carolina Democratic Party.

Attendees don’t typically write checks at a friend-raiser, as they would for traditional fundraisers.

But they trade ideas, business cards and promises to stay in touch, if and when a presidential campaign is launched.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper are among the Democratic politicians who have met with donors at the gatherings, according to multiple sources.
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The friend-raiser is typically a lunch or a breakfast, with no more than 30 people invited. It is typically hosted by someone close to or at least friendly with a would-be candidate and includes as participants people capable of pulling together tens of millions of dollars.

A Democratic strategist dubbed it a “kicking the tires exercise.”

“Well I’m still exploring the question of whether to get into the presidential primaries, and I just haven’t made a decision on it yet,” he said.

Sen. Merkley said he’ll continue to explore the potential run over the holidays and make a decision early next year.

It was Election Night 2018 on Twitter, and the national pundit class was suddenly very interested in Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s margins of victory in rural Minnesota.

Josh Barro, a centrist columnist for New York Magazine, tweeted out a map of Minnesota displaying the votes garnered by Klobuchar versus her Republican opponent, Jim Newberger: not only did the map show Klobuchar’s overall 26-point, 400,000-vote lead (she would ultimately win by 600,000 votes) it also showed her turning blue what are normally deep-red counties in rural parts of the state — 43 counties, to be exact, that Donald Trump won in 2016.

Barro presented the map with a brief bit of commentary dripping in subtext: “I have a tip for Democrats who would like to not just beat Trump in 2020,” he said, “but bury him.”

That Klobuchar easily secured a third term in the U.S. Senate in last Tuesday’s midterm was no surprise. Also no surprise: that her victory would add to growing buzz about the Minnesota Democrat as a viable candidate for president in 2020.

Indeed, plenty of pundits from the Beltway to the Midwest touted Klobuchar’s performance on Tuesday night, arguing that her strong showing in urban, suburban, and rural areas — and in a deeply divided heartland state, no less — were an advantage that few other 2020 Democratic hopefuls could boast in making the case against a second term of Donald Trump.
That the blue map Barro tweeted out — a tantalizing image to a party still coming to grips with the loss of working-class white voters in the Midwest in 2016 — came on the heels of a breakout moment for Klobuchar in the high-profile hearings over Brett Kavanaugh and sexual assault only added lighter fuel to an already-burning fire of White House speculation around the senator.

To date, Klobuchar has remained predictably coy about any ambitions — rumored for years — beyond serving as Minnesota’s senior U.S. Senator. But for her and for several other possible 2020 candidates, last week’s midterm was the last fig leaf left to obscure an answer to the “are you running?” question. The next election on the calendar is now the all-important presidential one, and it appears that more people than ever are interested in Klobuchar’s answer to the big question.

Chasing Amy
Standing before an adoring crowd at the DFL Party’s election night celebration last week, Klobuchar declared in her victory speech that the Midwest was “left behind” in 2016.

“In 2018, Minnesota is roaring back to say, we are ‘One Minnesota,’” she said, invoking the campaign slogan of Gov.-elect Tim Walz that turned into a rallying cry for Minnesota Democrats in 2018. “It appears Minnesotans voted our dreams and not our fears. We voted for common sense and not blistering words. We voted for getting things done and not gamesmanship. And we voted for substance instead of subtweets… We voted for the way politics can be, should be, and with your help, will be.”

Political observers often parse the tea leaves of speeches like these, looking for notes of foreshadowing for an imminent presidential bid. Klobuchar’s speech, for its mention of “subtweets” — a term for veiled criticism on social media — was itself a veiled criticism of Trump, clear to those who were listening for it. At the same time, the senator’s speech was an amplification of her brand of pragmatic politics, which figures to be an emphatic part of any bid she makes for higher office — and possibly an impediment to her winning support in the party’s progressive base.

More than anything Klobuchar actually said, though, her strong performance on Tuesday night was the main thing stoking more 2020 speculation. She defeated Newberger, a state representative who failed to raise the money and support necessary to really compete, by 24 points, earning over 60 percent of the vote. That margin of victory was almost exactly the same as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose home state of Massachusetts leans much more to the left than Minnesota.
Klobuchar ran up the score in the metro-area counties, but she also had formidable margins in hotbeds of Trump support: in Beltrami County, a northern Minnesota county that Trump carried by 10 points, Klobuchar defeated Newberger by 12. She eked out a victory in western Minnesota’s Wilkin County, which went for Trump by almost 40 points in 2016. (There were some signs of post-Trump partisan hardening in rural Minnesota, though: in her 2012 reelection bid, Klobuchar carried Wilkin by 25 points. That year, she won all but two of Minnesota’s 87 counties.)

Some in the media, who had already been buzzing about Klobuchar as a dark horse candidate, went all-in after her decisive win. Columns began appearing, laying out the “case for Klobuchar.” In the Philadelphia Inquirer, for example, columnist Will Bunch wrote that “Klobuchar feels like the fulfillment of what many of us have been saying since November 9, 2016 — that the Democrat who can beat Trump in 2020 was out there hiding in plain sight amid the baggage-carrying, way-too-familiar front runners.”

CNN’s Chris Cillizza and Harry Enten, who maintain a “power rankings” list of possible presidential candidates, ranked Klobuchar as the number four Democrat, only trailing Warren, former vice president Joe Biden, and California Sen. Kamala Harris.
“Democrats are desperate to win back the Midwest,” they wrote. “If they are, then doesn’t it make sense to nominate someone who just won reelection to the Senate from a key Midwestern state by 24 points. It was by far the biggest win for any Democratic Midwestern senator. We’re reminded of another Midwestern senator who won his last election before running for president by a wide margin.”

Iowa trips and Colbert hits
Before CNN was comparing her favorably to Barack Obama, Klobuchar was doing things that invited 2020 speculation.

The weekend before the election, for example, Klobuchar was in Iowa, campaigning on behalf of a Democratic congressional candidate, Cindy Axne, in the suburbs of Des Moines. According to the web site Iowa Starting Line, which tracks visits of political notables to the Hawkeye State, it was the third time in the last two years that Klobuchar has popped down to the state that hosts the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus. (Last spring, she headlined a fundraising dinner for Democrats in Polk County, the state’s most populous.)

A pre-election visit to Iowa is, typically, about as conspicuous as it gets for an ambitious politician — a blatant giveaway they’re seriously considering a White House bid. While Klobuchar’s visit certainly raised eyebrows, the senator is better-positioned to credibly make a low-key visit to Iowa than almost anyone else, according to Steffen Schmidt, a professor at Iowa State University who has been following the caucuses since the 1970s.

When people like Warren or Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey visit, Schmidt says, “we know it’s not because the weather is nice.” (That may explain why contenders like Booker and Harris have only gone to Iowa once each this year.) “That’s not the case with [Klobuchar],” he said, noting that she has been quietly visiting for years. “When she comes to Iowa, it is not to run for president. It may be she has that in the back of her mind, but it never surfaces. That’s a big advantage.”

“She’s really well known. We used to say the candidates who did well sometimes were ones who were neighbors,” he said. “While nationally, she’s probably not that well-known, she is really well-known among the people who count, for the caucuses, at least. They know who she is.”

In the past few months, many more people — in Iowa and elsewhere — have come to know who Klobuchar is. That’s thanks to her role in the contentious hearings in September investigating the allegations of sexual assault levied against Brett Kavanaugh, then a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Unlike some hopefuls such as Booker, who was accused by Republicans of grandstanding during the Kavanaugh confirmation, Klobuchar’s big moment came up more organically, when she asked Kavanaugh if he had ever blacked out while drinking — a key line of questioning for Democrats concerned with the credibility of his testimony — and the judge responded by asking, “I don’t know, have you?”

The senator kept the focus on the question, and her toned-down handling of the situation won her widespread acclaim. “Her name recognition went way up with the Kavanaugh hearings,” Schmidt says. “That was a huge moment, that gave her massive national visibility and respect from a lot of people, Democrats and probably also independents, too.”

“The moment made Klobuchar a star, if not yet a superstar,” the Inquirer’s Bunch wrote.

Since then, Klobuchar has been appearing more often on cable news and nightly talk shows. On the eve of the election, she was on Stephen Colbert’s show in New York City, giving what she framed was Democrats’ “closing argument” in the midterms. She outlined what Democrats need to do to beat Trump in the Midwest: respect others, find common ground, and be willing to stand with people you don’t always agree with.

“The obvious question,” Colbert asked, “is, you’re running for re-election tomorrow. Why are you here?”

“First, I heard a rumor you have a pretty big audience,” Klobuchar said, “if you want remind everyone in the country to vote.”

After defeating a GOP reelection challenger by more than 12 percentage points last week in a state that President Donald Trump won in 2016, Casey raised eyebrows by telling NBC News Thursday that "we'll see" about a presidential bid.

But asked later by POLITICO, Casey clarified that he isn't actively looking at the White House race.

"Obviously, when you have a huge, consequential year like 2020 coming up, there's a lot to consider in terms of a range of candidates and possibilities," Casey said. "So I want to be open to all possibilities."

Kasich hasn't ruled out running against President Donald Trump in 2020, telling WMUR that "all options are on the table." He has hinted that he might decide to run as a conservative independent.

"If I determine that I can (run for president) and it would heal, then I'm likely to do it. If I look at it and think, 'Well, the cards aren't in it,' then I won't," Kasich said.

But he said he's not interested in jumping into a race that won't yield a positive outcome.

“I don't want to come here and waste people's time, burn the energy of people who support me because that diminishes what I think is a voice that's more powerful,” Kasich said.

Governor Jay Inslee’s still considering a possible presidential run in 2020.

“In the next couple months we’ll be listening to people and giving some thought to that,” Inslee said Thursday.

Attorney Michael Avenatti says despite his run-in with the law Wednesday evening over an alleged domestic violence incident, he is still debating a bid for the White House. 

"I'm still considering it," Avenatti told USA TODAY in a text message. 

For months, Avenatti has been flirting with a 2020 presidential bid and in recent weeks has started building out a possible campaign and strategy if he does run. He did not answer questions about the incident but said his "first priority right now is clearing my name."

"I will not be intimidated," Avenatti said in a text message. "The measure of a person is how they get up when they are knocked down."
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"I have never struck a woman. I will never strike a woman," Avenatti told reporters, adding that he is and would continue to be an "advocate" for women's rights.

Q: Have you given any thought to that? [a run for president]

O’Rourke: No, I just can’t.  It’s been a little more than a week since we lost this election, and ran this race, and I’m still trying to figure out just where I am, and where my family is, and so, we haven’t really been able to talk—

Q: So it sounds like you might be open to it, possibly?

O’Rourke: I haven’t made any decisions about anything, is probably the best way for me to put it.  Everything’s still too fresh for me.

The force behind Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke's record-breaking online fundraising efforts is moving into Sen. Kamala Harris' orbit ahead of her potential 2020 presidential run.

Democratic digital consultant Shelby Cole is joining Authentic Campaigns, the firm founded and led by Mike Nellis, who is Harris' longtime top digital consultant. The move positions Cole to play a major role if the California Democrat runs for president.

Nellis confirmed Cole's hire.

"Shelby did tremendous work for Beto O'Rourke and was a big part of the reason that he raised so much money and engaged with so many people in Texas and across the country," he said. "She's an amazing digital strategist and I'm really excited to be working with her again."

Those who know Brown well say he was never interested in a White House bid.

One source, however, said the senator was “slightly disappointed” he wasn’t selected by Hillary Clinton as her running mate in 2016.

“He thought he could have added something to the ticket,” the source said. “I think he was right.” 
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More recently, particularly after the controversies surrounding the Trump presidency, Brown began to give a White House run more thought, associates say. 

“His focus was always on winning re-election but he was definitely giving it a lot of thought at the same time and why not?” said one Democrat who discussed the topic with the senator. “I think he saw how Trump won and that’s his constituency. He gets them and they get him.”

The senator, who has said he's mulling a bid, told NBC's Chuck Todd that he needs to discuss the matter with his family before coming to a decision.

“I’ve said all along that somebody needs to run on the Republican side, if nothing else to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative, what being a conservative really means, and what it means to be decent as well,” Flake said.

“I think the future of the party is with people with an optimistic vision moving ahead. I don’t think that will be me. I think there are better candidates out there.”

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett, a relatively new name to the 2020 discussion, has been in contact with some influential Iowa Democrats, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who won re-election to a third term this month, has contacted Des Moines-area Democrats.

MSNBC's "Politics Nation" host Al Shaprton asked the 77-year-old senator if he was going to run again after losing out on the Democratic nomination in 2016.

"Twenty-twenty, everyone is talking about this candidate or that candidate. A central question is, will Bernie Sanders run again?" Sharpton asked.

"And the answer is, Al, I will make that decision at the appropriate time. I will be honest with you, you're a friend, you know, we're looking at it. But it is … a decision that impacts your family. And I want to make sure that when I make that decision, if I decide to run, that I have concluded, in fact, that I am the strongest candidate who can defeat Donald Trump," Sanders said. "And I've got to make that decision based on my background, based on my past, based on my ideas that, in fact, I am the candidate that can defeat Trump."

"You're not ruling it out; you're saying you're seriously considering it?" Sharpton asked.

"That is correct," Sanders answered.

“I don’t really want to judge other candidates, what they’re doing, what they’re saying,” Brown told BuzzFeed News after a Monday rally with organized laborers and auto workers from a General Motors factory outside Youngstown, Ohio. “But I’m concerned. ... I think the most important political decision in my lifetime will be replacing Donald Trump in 2020.”

Brown made the comment while discussing factors that will guide his thinking as he and his wife, journalist Connie Schultz, weigh a White House bid. After outlining the personal considerations of how a campaign would change the lives of their children and grandchildren, Brown referred to his Senate reelection victory speech this month — a victory he pointedly offered as a “blueprint” for 2020.

“Is there somebody else that can carry this message?” Brown would ask himself, he said, as he decides whether to run. “My election night speech was really about the message, whether I run or not, that I’m hopeful that ... honoring and respecting the dignity of work will become part of the narrative in other races. If that’s done and done well, I would be less likely to run.”

He then declined to “judge” or say if any other Democrat was capable of running well with that message.
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Brown said Monday that he has no deadline for deciding about 2020. He acknowledged that he might soon visit the states that hold the first nominating contests, but has no plans yet.

“If I travel to Iowa or New Hampshire,” he said, “that would be a first step, but not necessarily a final step [that means] I’m doing it.”

“I don’t know where that story comes from. There is no truth to it. It’s a conspiracy theory. I’m going to stick with ‘It’s a dark conspiracy theory,’ someone trying to undermine. But there is no truth to it,” he told The Post while handing out turkeys at the Bay Eden Senior Center in the Bronx.

But one longtime Cuomo supporter said the governor was so disgusted with President Trump that he would jump at the chance to run against him.

“Do I think the governor is interested in running for president? I think he is. He thinks Trump is so bad,” the backer said.

NBC10 Boston traveled to Cleveland to see Patrick in action and to ask him where he is on his 2020 decision.

"I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet," Patrick said. "Thank you for asking."

And will Patrick make his decision by the end of the year, as he has said?

"You know what, I'm going to make a decision in good time," he replied.

Patrick says he loves his current job at Bain Capital and that taking the presidential leap is a family decision that can drag down a lot of loved ones along the way. He is referring, in large part, to his wife, Diane, an attorney who spent the bulk of her career, until recently, as a partner at the law firm Ropes and Gray.

Mark Meier—the D.C.-based communications professional and the man behind the @MayorPete4Prez Twitter handle boosting a Pete Buttigieg presidential run—has filed papers to create PETE PAC (Progressives for Equality, Truth and Ethics PAC). Meier, who is not a member of Buttigieg’s inner circle, describes his group as “Americans seeking to encourage Mayor Pete to pursue higher office and lead our country through the challenges of the 21st century, reclaiming our leadership role by emphasizing the values that bind us together, rejecting the politics of divide and conquer.”

Meier began soliciting donations last Thursday.

Buttigieg already has his own PAC—Hitting Home—that backed candidates across the country in November. At present, his committee has about $71,401 cash on hand, per FEC filings. Watch for Buttigieg to make an announcement on whether he’ll pursue re-election as South Bend’s mayor after Thanksgiving. That announcement could be a tea leaf for a presidential campaign. While he could ostensibly pursue both re-election and a 2020 bid, I’m told by people close to Buttigieg that’s an unlikely gambit.

Johnathan Tilove reports for the Austin American-Statesman and says O’Rourke hasn’t yet given any indication that he’s planning to run for president in 2020. However, there are rumors that O’Rourke is not planning to run again for Senate, so Tilove says it makes the most sense that if he were to stay in politics, he would most likely do so through a bid for the presidency. He says there may have been some hints about his future plans in some of his recent social media posts.

“Every message he’s posted since has been invested with meaning, even if it’s just about taking a run in the snow in D.C. and happening by the Lincoln Memorial – and Lincoln being a member of the House who ran and lost for the Senate in two years, ran and was elected president,” Tilove says. It may be over-reading but … I think that part of what would tug him to run for president is to maintain this thing he has.”

That “thing” is his relationship with his supporters, which Tilove says could whither if O’Rourke doesn’t run again for something soon.

On Monday evening, a long-time friend and political ally of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti sent an email to 150 potential supporters and donors announcing a new campaign to convince Garcetti, a Democrat, to enter the 2020 presidential race.

“Similar to Barack Obama in 2007 Eric has all the credentials and has demonstrated that he has the bandwidth to lead,” writes Nathalie Rayes, a former aide to ex-L.A. Mayor Jim Hahn who now works for the Mexican conglomerate Grupo Salinas. “But like Barack back then Eric Garcetti isn’t a household name. That’s where this project comes into play.”

The “ready for Garcetti” email blast is one of the first steps toward potentially launching a 2020 campaign and positioning Garcetti within what will be a crowded field of Democratic candidates, which, as of this writing, includes “likelys” such as West Virginia Democrat Richard Ojeda, billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer and former HUD secretary Julián Castro.

Rayes tells Rolling Stone that her “ready for Garcetti” effort is independent from Garcetti himself. “I hope he runs,” she says. “I think that the country is ready for him, and he’s ready for it.” 

Sen. Bob Casey is considering a run for the presidency in 2020, he said in a statement to The Daily Item on Wednesday.

“I am not ruling anything out, but my top priority is currently my third term in the United States Senate and working for the people of Pennsylvania,” Casey said.

When asked several times in recent weeks if he would consider a 2020 run, including once in Pittsburgh last week, Casey did not rule out a challenge for the Democratic nomination.

“I do think Pennsylvania is a crucial state for the next President to win,” he said, “and Democrats should nominate someone who can win our Commonwealth without a doubt. I’ve won the state by an average of 13 points over three Senate elections. So we’ll see.”

The Colorado Sun asked Bennet about his political travels across the country in October after hearing increasing suggestions that he is interested in a 2020 bid, but the senator brushed aside the question.

Bennet said he hadn’t traveled to Iowa, but did make stops supporting Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, including Indiana for incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly. (Donnelly was ousted on Nov. 6.)

Aides to all five prospects, speaking on condition of anonymity to share internal discussions, conceded that presidential runs were possible, if not likely.

Sanders, 77, is considering a 2020 bid, a senior aide said. He is expected to make a final decision before Christmas, though an announcement is not expected until after New Year's.

Sanders' team has been in regular contact with former staff and its broad base of supporters in New Hampshire and elsewhere, in addition to reaching out to some former Clinton backers. Should he run, the team sees Sanders with the biggest head start in New Hampshire of any candidate.

Warren did not visit New Hampshire ahead of the midterms, but she quietly dispatched staff to help Democrats there while hosting at least one private fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party in Boston. She made close to 150 calls to top Democratic candidates in recent days, both midterm winners and losers, including several in New Hampshire.

Like other 2020 prospects in the Senate, Warren, 69, is unlikely to make any announcements before Congress passes a new spending bill to avoid a government shutdown in early December. And while she hasn't made any formal staffing moves yet, former chief of staff Dan Geldon and former Massachusetts state director Roger Lau, who is well-versed in New Hampshire, are expected to be part of her presidential team should she run.
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Two former Patrick aides have independently launched the "Reason to Believe" political action committee and begun courting prospective staff in early voting states.

Two-term Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, whose district borders New Hampshire, is also seriously contemplating a run. While he may lack the renown of some of his rivals, the 40-year-old former Marine captain has shown little deference to his political elders, emerging as a leading critic of top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

Closing out the list, Kerry has repeatedly refused to rule out a second bid when asked publicly. He is wrapping up a national book tour, but there is no sign he is taking steps to lay the groundwork for a serious run.

Casey says he has no timetable for making up his mind and doing so could take “some time.”

On Wednesday, an adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti confirmed to The Associated Press that South Carolina strategist Phil Chambers had been hired by a political action committee aligned with the mayor, Democratic Victory Fund. Chambers served as an adviser on Smith’s gubernatorial campaign, as well as chief of staff to the South Carolina Democratic Party.

Klobuchar has not talked publicly of an interest in running for president and did not grant an interview for this story. A longtime political adviser, Justin Buoen, provided this comment in an e-mail: “Many people have approached Amy about running for president but right now she is still thanking people who helped her lead a major winning ticket in Minnesota. Her support in rural counties and ability to get things done are the reasons most often mentioned to me,” he wrote.

When he urged her to run for president, Mondale said, “She just listened. She’s I think trying to make up her mind and I don’t blame her.”