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

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

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

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

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Other positions -

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

Not so positive progressive positions -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Schweitzer's comments on Feinstein & spying -

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

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