The “Who is running in 2020?” tea leaves thread, Part 4

[Mr. Morden]

On Wednesday, Sanford said he'd decide within two weeks:

https://www.wltx.com/article/news/politics/mark-sanford-to-decide-in-two-weeks-if-hell-challenge-president-trump/101-f4d49b66-67b2-479a-a5bb-586800710576

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/coloradopols/status/1157344666691334144

[Mr. Morden]

Sanford keeps giving slightly different versions of his decision timeline.  Yesterday, he said “a couple weeks” and “end of summer”:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/2/mark-sanford-aims-make-decision-primary-challenge-/

“To state the obvious, it’s a daunting — I mean, gargantuan, huge task that’s difficult to get your arms around,” Mr. Sanford said on MSNBC. “So I’m talking to a lot of folks about the nuts and bolts of how you would do that, and I’ve got a couple weeks still to go.”

As for a timeline on the decision, Mr. Sanford said: “Not end of September, [because] you’re kind of running out of time at that point, but certainly end of summer.”

Also yesterday, Sanford attended a GOP party event in South Carolina:

https://www.wistv.com/2019/08/03/silver-elephant-gala-draws-prominent-republicans-capital-city/

Also among the attendees at the gala was former South Carolina Congressman and Governor Mark Sanford, who is reportedly considering a primary challenge to President Trump. When asked if he was in fact running for President, or had made a decision, he smiled and said “not tonight.”

So far, it seems like Sanford’s presidential exploration is limited to his own state plus national media interviews.  I don’t think he’s gone on the road to New Hampshire, or anything like that.

[PaperKooper]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/03/michael-avenatti-is-mulling-a-2020-run-for-president-again.html

Michael Avenatti might run after all...

[Mr. Morden]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/03/michael-avenatti-is-mulling-a-2020-run-for-president-again.html

Michael Avenatti might run after all...

Btw, from that link, he's saying that the odds of him running are "50/50", and that he'll make his decision "in a few months".

[brucejoel99]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/03/michael-avenatti-is-mulling-a-2020-run-for-president-again.html

Michael Avenatti might run after all...

Grifters gonna grift.

[Mr. Morden]

Apparently Wikipedia lists Joe Walsh as a possible GOP candidate, but the only reference they have on that is this:

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/07/ex-congressman-joe-walsh-considers-primarying-trump-his-entire-life-is-a-lie/

“Joe, why don’t you run as a Republican challenger to him? You have pure conservative ideals, you would get the support of the never Trumpers, and I’d love to see you debate him,” Jeff Fulton said.

In response, Walsh said a challenge was necessary.

“Thank you my friend. Trump should be challenged in the primary,” Walsh replied. “And it should be an honest, decent, principled conservative challenge.”

That seems like a slight reach.  I guess it's a non-denial on Walsh's part, but unlike, say, Mark Sanford, Walsh hasn't actually said that he's thinking about it.  Just that he agrees that a "principled conservative" should run against Trump in the primary.

[Former Crackhead Mike Lindell]

Remember when Joe Walsh assumed Clinton would win, so he announced his 2020 candidacy back in 2015?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq_0YR4Yuzk

[Mr. Morden]

Sanford will be on The Daily Show next Thursday:

https://interbridge.com/lineups.html#DS

[Mr. Morden]

https://twitter.com/SNPonMSNBC/status/1160353889499197440

Also in that clip: Deutsch suggested that Sanford run 3rd party rather than / in addition to challenging Trump in the primary, and Sanford said "well, we'll see".

[Mr. Morden]

Sanford headed to NH tomorrow.  He also says that he's already had conversations with people in IA, NH, and CA:

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-s-mark-sanford-heading-to-new-hampshire-to-further/article_1cdc06c4-bd11-11e9-bbf2-77f7ea78078d.html

Mark Sanford, still mulling a possible 2020 presidential bid, will travel to New Hampshire on Tuesday as he nears a final decision on launching a serious run against Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Post and Courier, the former South Carolina congressman and governor said his trip to the key early presidential primary state will not include public events.

Instead, he will be “quietly having meetings” with individuals he trusts to give him honest feedback on the best political path forward.
.
.
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On Monday, Sanford said he is still on track to meet his four-week timeline but refused to say which direction he was leaning.

“That’s still the $94 question. I don’t know,” Sanford said, after confirming he has had conversations with people in Iowa, New Hampshire and California — three states with early presidential primaries.

Sanford's proto-campaign also came out with a new video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zk6T8J1bDs

[RogueBeaver]

https://twitter.com/AsteadWesley/status/1161367528402300933

[RogueBeaver]

https://twitter.com/reidepstein/status/1161390432267513861

[Mr. Morden]

https://twitter.com/AsteadWesley/status/1161367528402300933

Her speech, as delivered, didn't quite explicitly say she's not running, though the last sentence I quote in bold below seems to imply that:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/13/stacey-abrams-2020-1461880

Stacey Abrams all but confirmed she won’t mount a bid for president in 2020 on Tuesday, announcing she will train her efforts over the next year and a half on a group to expand voter access and boost involvement with the 2020 census.

While Abrams made no explicit announcement that she would not run for president, her self-imposed deadline of Labor Day to jump in to the race is rapidly approaching.

“There are only two things stopping us in 2020: That people have a reason to vote and that they have the right to vote,” she told a labor union in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “I’ve decided to leave it to a whole bunch of other people to make sure they have a reason to vote.”

[Mr. Morden]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanford-points-to-labor-day-decision-on-primary-challenge-to-trump

Mark Sanford says he should decide by around Labor Day if he’s going to mount what he has conceded would be a "long-shot” GOP primary bid against President Trump.

[Mr. Morden]

Avenatti reiterates that a presidential run is back on his radar, and that he'll decide "later this fall":

https://en.brinkwire.com/us/avenatti-says-hes-not-ruling-out-2020-presidential-run-despite-facing-more-than-40-federal-charges/

[Sir Mohamed]

Avenatti reiterates that a presidential run is back on his radar, and that he'll decide "later this fall":

https://en.brinkwire.com/us/avenatti-says-hes-not-ruling-out-2020-presidential-run-despite-facing-more-than-40-federal-charges/

LOL, the creepy lawyer will go absolutely nowhere. He would be fun in the debates though.

[PaperKooper]

Ami Horowitz appears to have dropped out of the Democratic race, although there has been no news coverage thereof. 

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

Ami Horowitz appears to have dropped out of the Democratic race, although there has been no news coverage thereof. 

Because he’s a dork who was never serious about running for President

[Mr. Morden]

Kristol says he's talked to Scaramucci about finding a primary challenger for Trump:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/16/anthony-scaramucci-talks-to-bill-kristol-about-trying-to-force-trump-off-2020-gop-ticket.html

[Lisa's voting Biden]

Avenatti reiterates that a presidential run is back on his radar, and that he'll decide "later this fall":

https://en.brinkwire.com/us/avenatti-says-hes-not-ruling-out-2020-presidential-run-despite-facing-more-than-40-federal-charges/

Why? Seriously, does he believe he has a shot at the nomination? What voter group does he appeal to?

[Mr. Morden]

Apparently Wikipedia lists Joe Walsh as a possible GOP candidate, but the only reference they have on that is this:

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/07/ex-congressman-joe-walsh-considers-primarying-trump-his-entire-life-is-a-lie/

“Joe, why don’t you run as a Republican challenger to him? You have pure conservative ideals, you would get the support of the never Trumpers, and I’d love to see you debate him,” Jeff Fulton said.

In response, Walsh said a challenge was necessary.

“Thank you my friend. Trump should be challenged in the primary,” Walsh replied. “And it should be an honest, decent, principled conservative challenge.”

That seems like a slight reach.  I guess it's a non-denial on Walsh's part, but unlike, say, Mark Sanford, Walsh hasn't actually said that he's thinking about it.  Just that he agrees that a "principled conservative" should run against Trump in the primary.

Well, update on this: Walsh was on the Matt Lewis & The News podcast a couple of days ago, and here's the audio file:

http://ftrradio.com/mattlewis/MLewisWalsh08162019.mp3

At about the 10:10 mark, Matt Lewis asks Walsh if he's open to running against Trump for the nomination this year, and Walsh says "I have not ruled it out".  So maybe there's something more to this than I previously thought.

[beaver2.0]

Kristol says he's talked to Scaramucci about finding a primary challenger for Trump:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/16/anthony-scaramucci-talks-to-bill-kristol-about-trying-to-force-trump-off-2020-gop-ticket.html

Get Scaramucci to run.  The only one who can out New York businessman a New York businessman is a New York businessman.

[Mr. Morden]

Walsh also did an interview with Al Sharpton here:

http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/watch/former-gop-lawmaker-trump-s-a-coward-who-needs-to-be-primaried-in-2020-66414149571

And in that interview as well (at about the 5:55 mark), he says he's not ruling out running himself.

[Mr. Morden]

https://twitter.com/AsteadWesley/status/1161367528402300933

Her speech, as delivered, didn't quite explicitly say she's not running, though the last sentence I quote in bold below seems to imply that:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/13/stacey-abrams-2020-1461880

Stacey Abrams all but confirmed she won’t mount a bid for president in 2020 on Tuesday, announcing she will train her efforts over the next year and a half on a group to expand voter access and boost involvement with the 2020 census.

While Abrams made no explicit announcement that she would not run for president, her self-imposed deadline of Labor Day to jump in to the race is rapidly approaching.

“There are only two things stopping us in 2020: That people have a reason to vote and that they have the right to vote,” she told a labor union in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “I’ve decided to leave it to a whole bunch of other people to make sure they have a reason to vote.”

In her interview on This Week today, she was more definitive:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-18-19-peter-navarro-sen-kirsten/story?id=65040588

DAVIS: You have decided not to run for president.

ABRAMS: I have.