The “Who is running in 2020?” tea leaves thread, Part 3

[Progressive Pessimist]

Bullock reiterates that while he might run for president, he has no interest in a run for Senate:

https://www.montanafreepress.org/mt-lowdown-podcast-gov-steve-bullock-looks-back-on-his-political-career-discusses-legislative-priorities-and-discusses-2020/

Bullock acknowledged that some in his party have urged him to challenge Daines, but he thinks there are other Democrats who could take that seat. Besides, he says, he doesn’t want that job.   

“I’ve expressed all along [that] I just don’t have an interest in running for U.S. Senate,” Bullock said. “I think that my skill set, and what I’ve done, I just wouldn’t enjoy it, so I’d ruled it out.”

Damn...Democrats really could have used another potential pickup opportunity.

And his odds in the Presidential primary are so bad that he'd have a much better chance of becoming Senator than President.

Exactly. That would have been a much better move for him and the Democratic Party as a whole. It also would have enabled a future run for President if he got elected.

[Mr. Morden]

de Blasio asked about 2020 at about the 12:45 mark here:

https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/de-blasio-nyc-would-have-worked-with-amazon-to-resolve-issues-1458682435699

and simply answers “I have not ruled it out.”

Also, there’s a new Tim Ryan profile here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/ohio-democrat-tim-ryan-might-run-president-2020/584782/

[ibagli]

Tim Ryan has almost run for governor, what, three times? So who can deny he has the experience needed to almost run for president?

[Mr. Morden]

Gillum was on Real Time with Bill Maher last night, and seemed to know the Iowa poll results pretty well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssSecquxZ0U

[GeorgiaModerate]

Tim Ryan has almost run for governor, what, three times? So who can deny he has the experience needed to almost run for president?

He has almost enough.

[AltWorlder]

Will Larry Hogan run or will Bill Weld be the only notable Republican (sort of) to primary Trump?

[Mr. Morden]

Moulton says he’ll decide on a presidential run in the next 4-6 weeks:

https://www.wmur.com/article/inslee-moulton-and-de-blasio-visit-nh/26845983

Biden:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-17/biden-makes-verbal-slip-as-he-almost-refers-himself-as-candidate?srnd=premium

Former Vice President Joe Biden made a verbal slip on Saturday and almost referred to himself as a presidential candidate as he edges toward entering the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination. 

“I have the most progressive record of anybody running,” he told a room full of family and friends gathered for a Delaware Democratic Party dinner, stopping himself just before he referred to what he might be running for. The home state crowd responded with cheers, and after a few seconds playing up the situation, he added, “anybody who would run.”
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Biden suggested that if he runs, he’ll propose a “new corporate ethic.” He didn’t get into details but said “you’re going to hear a hell of a lot about it from me.”

Abrams talks 2020, including, again, the unusual decision flowchart she’s alluded to before, where she plans to first make a binary choice about running for Senate, then followed by deliberation about a presidential run:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-the-democratic-field-grows-stacey-abrams-weighs-a-presidential-race/2019/03/16/82a77ec8-475c-11e9-aaf8-4512a6fe3439_story.html

“I think that I am a skilled communicator,” she said. “I think I’m a very good thinker. No, I know I’m a good thinker. I know I have policy chops. I have foreign policy experience. . . . I’ve done a great deal of work on a number of issues. But I need to make certain that I am the best person at this moment for that job and that’s what I need to think about.”

Abrams says she is not an impulsive politician. She is methodical in her thinking and her analysis. Running for president has been in the back of her mind for many years, though not a race in 2020. Candidates for president don’t always get to pick their moment. Abrams’s gubernatorial race has provided an unexpected opportunity to consider a White House bid. But time is pressing in on her.
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Abrams has been pushed hard by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and many of his colleagues to challenge incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) next year. If she isn’t going to do that, she knows she owes it to her party to make that known soon. She said she expects to decide about a Senate campaign by early April. If the answer to that is no, she will then turn immediately to the question of running for president.

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

Gillum was on Real Time with Bill Maher last night, and seemed to know the Iowa poll results pretty well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssSecquxZ0U

I have a theory that the reason why so many random people are jumping in is because they think the more candidates that run, the higher their chances are of breaking out.

[Harlow]

Biden:

“I have the most progressive record of anybody running,”

Ohhh, so he's going for the comedy tour angle.

[Mr. Morden]

de Blasio in NH:

https://nypost.com/2019/03/16/de-blasio-continues-to-tease-presidential-run-in-new-hampshire/

Mayor Bill de Blasio took his presidential tease tour to a new audience Saturday, coming to this key early presidential contest – but again refusing to answer the key question: When will he decide if the White House is a better fit than Gracie Mansion?

“Sooner rather than later,” de Blasio said, reiterating an answer he and First Lady Chirlane McCray have given repeatedly in recent days.

And no matter the way reporters phrased the question, de Blasio wouldn’t budge.

“Sooner rather than later,” he again reiterated.

[Famous Mortimer]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/politics/florida-mayor-wayne-messam-2020-committee

Wayne Messam launched an exploratory committee. 

lol no one even bothered to make fun of this

[Mr. Morden]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/politics/florida-mayor-wayne-messam-2020-committee

Wayne Messam launched an exploratory committee. 

lol no one even bothered to make fun of this

There's a thread about it here:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=315753.0

And "What are Messam's chances in Iowa?" here:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=315790.0

[GAProgressive]

De Blasio speaking at AIPAC feels like it's building up to something.

[Mr. Morden]

New Hogan interview, in which he says he might not decide on 2020 until the fall:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-havent-abandoned-my-principles-hogan-pondering-challenge-to-trump-casts-himself-as-a-traditional-republican/2019/03/17/3862b274-48d3-11e9-9663-00ac73f49662_story.html

He said he remains undecided about a White House run and may hold off on deciding until the fall, waiting to see how investigations of Trump unfold and whether Republican voters eventually clamor for an alternative.

“The whole country is waiting for this to come out,” Hogan said, referring to the findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and possible obstruction of justice, and is expected to finish his inquiry soon. But, the governor added, “don’t get the impression that I’m sitting here like this vulture waiting for some bad news.”

In the meantime, Hogan, a cancer survivor and gregarious pol, is chiseling his political persona into 2020 shape — and is taking steps to introduce himself to Republican voters nationally. He has accepted an invitation to speak next month in New Hampshire, home to the first-in-the-nation primary, and spent two days in early March in Iowa, the first caucus state.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The fall will be too late for Hogan. He's not big of enough of a national figure to make up the difference in time for NH. I suspect he's leaning against running. Sure, running a scampaign against a uniformly popular incumbent (among Republicans, I mean) could make him some money I guess, but he seems like he has bigger problems to worry about than money,

[Mr. Morden]

Looks like Terry McAuliffe has an event in South Carolina tomorrow:

https://secure.ngpvan.com/4Wli09LOwEm2gV-P9Ep6XA2?midqs=PxjwZcvdyifjZh0-XV09Kw==

(As spotted by the Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/terry-mcauliffe-to-travel-to-south-carolina-ahead-of-looming-2020-decision )

[Mr. Morden]

Biden:

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2019/03/18/former-Vice-President-Joe-Biden-endorsements-message-2020-Democratic-race/stories/201903180154

As he prepares for a possible run, Mr. Biden has hunkered down for strategy sessions with a tight knit group of advisers and held meetings with top Democrats and elected officials. One subject of discussion has been the early selection of a running mate, which one aide said would help keep the focus of the primary fight on the ultimate goal of unseating Mr. Trump.

Last week, Mr. Biden stirred speculation as he met privately with Stacey Abrams, a Democratic rising star who ran for governor in Georgia last fall and is weighing another run for office -- potentially even the presidency. Mr. Biden requested the meeting, according to a person familiar with the sit-down, which comes as the two mull their own respective political futures. Ms. Abrams also huddled with a half-dozen other Democratic presidential hopefuls, but her meeting with Mr. Biden takes on added weight because of his attempts to shore up support among black leaders amid lingering questions about his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings and his support for a sweeping crime bill two decades ago.

Mr. Biden's team has started gaming out scenarios for what a campaign launch could look like with Wilmington, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Biden was born, among several potential locations floated for an announcement rally, a source with knowledge of the discussions said. While the rest of the Democratic field settles into place, Mr. Biden's allies say the former vice president is keenly aware of the attention any announcement will draw.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Biden:

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2019/03/18/former-Vice-President-Joe-Biden-endorsements-message-2020-Democratic-race/stories/201903180154

As he prepares for a possible run, Mr. Biden has hunkered down for strategy sessions with a tight knit group of advisers and held meetings with top Democrats and elected officials. One subject of discussion has been the early selection of a running mate, which one aide said would help keep the focus of the primary fight on the ultimate goal of unseating Mr. Trump.

Last week, Mr. Biden stirred speculation as he met privately with Stacey Abrams, a Democratic rising star who ran for governor in Georgia last fall and is weighing another run for office -- potentially even the presidency. Mr. Biden requested the meeting, according to a person familiar with the sit-down, which comes as the two mull their own respective political futures. Ms. Abrams also huddled with a half-dozen other Democratic presidential hopefuls, but her meeting with Mr. Biden takes on added weight because of his attempts to shore up support among black leaders amid lingering questions about his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings and his support for a sweeping crime bill two decades ago.

Mr. Biden's team has started gaming out scenarios for what a campaign launch could look like with Wilmington, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Biden was born, among several potential locations floated for an announcement rally, a source with knowledge of the discussions said. While the rest of the Democratic field settles into place, Mr. Biden's allies say the former vice president is keenly aware of the attention any announcement will draw.

Is he just trying to preempt the field and act like he’s already won?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Anything new on Gillum?

[Harlow]

Anything new on Gillum?

Announcement coming tomorrow.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-andrew-gillum-tease-20190319-story.html

After a surprise primary election victory, the former Tallahassee mayor had hoped to make Florida history by becoming the state’s first black governor. DeSantis dashed those dreams, but the campaign skyrocketed Gillum onto the national stage.

Despite the loss, Gillum’s been rumored to be considering a run for president in an already-crowded Democratic field.

Will that be the “major announcement” coming Wednesday in Miami, or will Gillum throw his support behind one of the other contenders?

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Anything new on Gillum?

Announcement coming tomorrow.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-andrew-gillum-tease-20190319-story.html

After a surprise primary election victory, the former Tallahassee mayor had hoped to make Florida history by becoming the state’s first black governor. DeSantis dashed those dreams, but the campaign skyrocketed Gillum onto the national stage.

Despite the loss, Gillum’s been rumored to be considering a run for president in an already-crowded Democratic field.

Will that be the “major announcement” coming Wednesday in Miami, or will Gillum throw his support behind one of the other contenders?

He’s gonna primary Shalala.

Source: My *ss, but I think it would be funny

[AltWorlder]

Is Richard Vague still running?

[TarHeelDem]

https://twitter.com/reidepstein/status/1108129056271331328

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Biden should really either announce or get out of the way, him holding his decision is getting old really fast.

[Mr. Morden]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/joe-biden-tells-backers-he-plans-on-2020-presidential-run-2019-03-19

Former Vice President Joe Biden reached out to at least a half-dozen supporters Tuesday to tell them he intends to run for president and to ask for their help in lining up contributions from major donors so he can quickly raise several million dollars, said a person familiar with the matter.

Biden has expressed concern to these people that he wouldn’t be able to raise millions of dollars in online donations immediately the way some other Democratic candidates have, including former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, this person said. O’Rourke raised $6.1 million in the 24 hours after his announcement, while Sanders collected $5.9 million in the same period.

Biden wants to announce a large fundraising number after his candidacy is official to better compete in what is often dubbed the “money primary” that kicks off a presidential season.