The “Who is running in 2020?” tea leaves thread, Part 2

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Bullock! Let's make this happen.

Yes please. Bullock is probably my favorite realistic Democratic candidate at this point.

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Sanders is going back to Iowa next week:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/373543-sanders-to-campaign-in-iowa-with-former-aide

McAuliffe dodges, but suggests he won’t announce any 2020 plans until 2019:

http://freebeacon.com/politics/mcauliffe-dodges-question-on-who-he-thinks-will-best-represent-dems-in-2020/

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I get the feeling he's running, but who knows.

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Sanders is going back to Iowa next week:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/373543-sanders-to-campaign-in-iowa-with-former-aide

McAuliffe dodges, but suggests he won’t announce any 2020 plans until 2019:

http://freebeacon.com/politics/mcauliffe-dodges-question-on-who-he-thinks-will-best-represent-dems-in-2020/

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I get the feeling he's running, but who knows.

Which one?  McAuliffe or Sanders?  (Or both?)

T-Mac.

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lol T-Mac is just another low-energy VA Dem. who care

Low energy or not, I think he's going to run.

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Duckworth doesn't sound like someone gearing up for a presidential run of her own.  If you're planning to run for president, and someone asks you who would be a good nominee, you either deflect or list about 10 names and say they're all good.  But Duckworth says she's (sort of) on Team Klobuchar, before also saying Sherrod Brown would be good:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/14/duckworth-i-cant-technically-take-maternity-leave-407279

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So Klobuchar's Midwestern identity politics campaign is working! 

That's kinda disappointing. I think Duckworth would be an extremely formidable candidate and her personal story would help her connect with voters in a way that some random Joe Establishment couldn't.

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Saw this in the Lipinski thread:

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The probability of him running is pretty close to 100% at this point, IMO.

In a way, I kinda wanna see him get the nomination and then lose to Trump just so I can make fun of the Bernie supporters who said he would've won in 2016.

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Saw this in the Lipinski thread:

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The probability of him running is pretty close to 100% at this point, IMO.

In a way, I kinda wanna see him get the nomination and then lose to Trump just so I can make fun of the Bernie supporters who said he would've won in 2016.

supporting an wannabe despot to own the bros

Who is a wannabe despot?

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Klobuchar and Moulton are both speaking at the AIPAC policy conference in DC next week:

http://www.policyconference.org/gallery/speakers2018.asp

The other Dems speaking there are people who are thought to not have 2020 presidential ambitions, like Bob Menendez and Ben Cardin.

Other 2020 Dems, like Biden, Booker, and Gillibrand, have spoken at this before.  Heck, Kamala Harris did so just last year.  They could probably do so again this year if they really wanted to, but my hunch is that the Democratic primary calculus with respect to Israel policy has now shifted enough that speaking to AIPAC isn’t going to be seen as an obvious electoral asset.

Hell no to crazy AIPAC hawks.

Being pro-Israel doesn't = being hawkish.

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It’s the 53rd anniversary of Bloody Sunday (Selma edition) this month, and Kamala Harris will be keynoting a commemorative breakfast in Selma on Sunday, and also participating in a commemorative march across the bridge:

https://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2018/02/23/plenty-of-events-on-tap-for-jubilee/

Meanwhile, Harris was asked by Tom Joyner if she’s going to run for president in 2020, and she changes the subject right away, simply saying that she’s “focused” on 2018:

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/02/28/senator-kamala-harris-is-laser-focused-on-2018/

She's running, and everyone knows it.

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Kasie Hunt presses Chris Murphy on whether he’ll run for prez in 2020 here:

https://twitter.com/KasieDC/status/970473274743427072

He initially gives a non-denial denial, then she presses again:

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Which again, is a dodge.  Saying you “have no plans” doesn’t mean that you’re not going to end up doing it.

He would be a terrible general election candidate. he's too "elitist" and way too anti-gun for the rust belt and Midwest.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

He’s running



Promoted tweet in a year he’s not running for re-election.

How does this tell us he's running though?

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Elizabeth Warren will join Bernie Sanders for an online town hall on income inequality on March 19th:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-economic-inequality-town-hall_us_5aa0cb2fe4b0d4f5b66d608e

Also participating in the event: filmmaker Michael Moore and Prof. Darrick Hamilton of The New School in NYC.

Why.

Why not?

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While I doubt he'll take the plunge, David Jolly wrote on Twitter that Pennsylvania shows he that he shouldn't run for office again this year and that he wants to be "a part of that primary" that he wants against Trump in 2020.

https://twitter.com/DavidJollyFL/status/973744450727006208

I'd support him over Trump.

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Hickenlooper is apparently visiting Iowa on April 3rd:

https://governor.iowa.gov/2018/01/gov-reynolds-announces-2018-future-ready-iowa-summit-registration-to-open-this-week

….and “holding meetings with veteran political players” about a presidential run:

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_31728789/behind-scenes-colorado-gov-john-hickenlooper-inches-toward

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On first reading, I missed one of the weirdest angles in this story....that Michael Bennet and Ken Salazar might also be considering presidential runs(!):

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SAVE US MICHAEL BENNET! I've urged Senator Bennet to run on social media a few times; if he runs I'll immediately endorse him and join his campaign.

I can't imagine a person less suited to run for President in the current political environment than Michael Bennet.

Why exactly?

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More from Bill Kristol:

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/974389415484297218

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If Bill Kristol told me the sky was blue I'd no longer believe the sky is blue.

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Steyer plans to spend $2 million in the midterms on Nevada alone:

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/22/california-billionaire-plans-spend-least-2-million-oust-heller-foil-laxalt/450424002/

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He continues to defer on talking about 2020:

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Meanwhile, the Biden Institute puts forth a new manifesto:

https://www.sppa.udel.edu/bideninstitute/research-policy/biden-institute-blog/A-plan-to-put-work-and-workers-first

Steyer would be a terrible candidate, I hope he doesn't run.
also, I think Biden's probably running in spite of his age.

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Kristol responds to 2020 questions that have arisen from his early primary state visits:

http://www.insidesources.com/kristol-iowa-2020/

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Bill Kristol... running for President... what?

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Roy Cooper says he expects to “get some calls” from people urging him to run for prez, simply because he’s a swing state governor.  However, it doesn’t sound like he’s up for answering those calls:

http://www.wxii12.com/article/will-gov-cooper-run-for-president/19634395

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Cooper won't run, and he shouldn't either. nothing stands out about him other than him being from a swing state that Democrats want to target.

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Kasich says he's "not thinking about" running as an Independent:

http://whbl.com/news/articles/2018/apr/04/ohios-kasich-says-unlikely-to-challenge-trump-as-independent-in-2020-cnn/

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That's hardly a denial. that said, I don't think he would do that.

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Kander responds to the 2020 question:

http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/382386-2020-dems-boost-down-ballot-contenders-in-key-states

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I really think he's too inexperienced. Being SoS of Missouri for one term is not adequate political experience for me.

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Harris will be the keynote speaker at the DNC's annual Women's Leadership Forum on May 18. Gillibrand and Kander (who is notably not a woman) will also be there, along with Hillary Clinton who will speak at the opening reception.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/hillary-clinton-dnc-fundraiser?utm_term=.fkPYMVV0l#.nmZX9pplG

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Hmm...Maybe Hillary's going to run after all... I doubt she would be doing this if the thought hadn't at least crossed her mind.

If she did run, she would have zero chance of winning the primary. almost nobody is going to vote for the candidate who's already a proven loser when so much is on the line.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Another Harris non-denial:

http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/23/kamala-harris-president-2020-donations-breakfast-club-interview/

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Harris is running, no doubt.

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Buttigieg speaking to Badger Dems in June.

Have we ever had anyone go straight from being Mayor to being President before? I don't think so.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Buttigieg speaking to Badger Dems in June.

Have we ever had anyone go straight from being Mayor to being President before? I don't think so.

nope. I think buttigieg would also be the youngest and first openly gay president. (hypothetically)

I still wonder how him being openly gay will play in the general, I think there's still much more homophobia in this country than many realize.