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

[Mr. Morden]

Here's a roundup of the Sanders chatter right now:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-19/bernie-sanders-presidential-speculation-grows-ahead-of-interview

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[TarHeelDem]

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1097823443259703296

[mgop]

now only left beto and biden to declare

[TarHeelDem]

Don't forget Sherrod! #DignityOfWork

[mgop]

yeah, i like sherrod more than these two but many says than he's not "big" candidate

[Zaybay]

Yep, looks like we have 2 major candidates and 1 minor, but my favorite, candidate left to announce.

[TarHeelDem]

I'm still expecting Swalwell, Hickenlooper, and Inslee to enter the race, too. Bloomberg and Merkley probably stay out.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

I'm still expecting Swalwell, Hickenlooper, and Inslee to enter the race, too. Bloomberg and Merkley probably stay out.

I'm hoping all of the above stay out, except for maybe Inslee. I want Bullock to enter the race, but I think the field is pretty set as is. Inslee would be great to really bring climate change back to the forefront of the discussion.

[TarHeelDem]

I'm still expecting Swalwell, Hickenlooper, and Inslee to enter the race, too. Bloomberg and Merkley probably stay out.

I'm hoping all of the above stay out, except for maybe Inslee. I want Bullock to enter the race, but I think the field is pretty set as is. Inslee would be great to really bring climate change back to the forefront of the discussion.

Hopefully Chuck convinces Bullock to run for Senate (forgot about him).

I agree on Inslee re:climate change. I'd also love to see Swalwell run because he has the best cybersecurity/intelligence credentials out of everyone. Those are really critical issues for me. I think I'd be happy to see Merkley enter, too, just to help shift the debate leftward. Hickenlooper's okay but I don't think he really brings anything unique to the table.

[The Mikado]

I thought Inslee was already running.

[Cabbage]

I thought Inslee was already running.

Yeah, that Atlantic article's title was absolutely atrocious. He hasn't announced yet, though (in theory, he'll announce his intentions by April 28).

[Mr. Morden]

I thought Inslee was already running.

No, he isn't.  What he's doing is the same as what most of the other as-yet-undeclared candidates are doing (e.g., Bullock, Hickenlooper, McAuliffe, etc.): Using his PAC as a pseudo-exploratory committee, in that it funds his trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, and also pays some political staff who he'll presumably "promote" to work on his actual presidential campaign when/if he ever launches one.  Most of the candidates already in the race were doing the same thing up until the day they launched their campaigns, or formed an exploratory committee.  As were prospective candidates who ultimately opted not to run, like O'Malley.

However, Inslee made some offhand comment a month or so ago that he's "exploring a race for president", and I guess that prompted Wikipedia to briefly list him as having an exploratory committee, because they misunderstood.  But he doesn't have one.  He just has a PAC, like most of the others who aren't yet legally in the race yet still making early primary state visits and the like.

[Cabbage]

I thought Inslee was already running.

However, Inslee made some offhand comment a month or so ago that he's "exploring a race for president", and I guess that prompted Wikipedia to briefly list him as having an exploratory committee, because they misunderstood.  But he doesn't have one.  He just has a PAC, like most of the others who aren't yet legally in the race yet still making early primary state visits and the like.

With regards to that, the biggest problem was that The Atlantic literally ran an article titled "Jay Inslee Is Running for President on Climate Change" (or something to that effect; they later changed the title when they realized how it had been misconstrued). This set off a chaotic period of "is he running, is he exploring, is he just 'expressing interest,' (i.e. what Morden said)" that lasted a couple of weeks. They eventually got it settled, but yeah, it was pretty confusing during that time.

[ViaActiva]

I doubt that Beto and Biden run, maybe Biden.

[UWS]

I doubt that Beto and Biden run, maybe Biden.

Actually, when Biden met the Armenian President yesterday, he asked Biden whether he is going to run, then there were whispers that could not be easily heard but if you read well Biden's lips, he would have said "I'm gonna run." And according to Biden's gestures, his answer also sounded like a yes.

https://news.am/eng/news/497152.html

[RogueBeaver]

https://twitter.com/tackettdc/status/1097972393988030464

[Spiffy]

Sounds like Beto is talking himself out of it.

[Mr. Morden]

https://twitter.com/ericbradner/status/1097959397609955333

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Isn't the problem for Beto that if he runs for the Senate he'll be out of contention for the Veepstakes? That seems like a big argument in favour for running for President.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

Isn't the problem for Beto that if he runs for the Senate he'll be out of contention for the Veepstakes? That seems like a big argument in favour for running for President.

Or a big argument in favor of him hitting the campaign trail either way because he really wants to be Veep.

[MarkBGraham2020]

Here is the official site of Mark B Graham  for President of the United States in 2020

https://markbgraham2020.wixsite.com/home

[Spiffy]

This woman 2020

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1098048342947495936?s=21

[Ferguson97]

Trump, Bernie, and Tulsi are the only decent candidates so far. Glad he’s running again, because I’m not voting for Pence if the coup succeeds.

How are those three your preferred candidates? Tulsi/Bernie couldn't be more different from Trump.

[Mr. Morden]

Hogan says he’s undecided on whether to run in 2020, but warns that Trump is a weak GE candidates for the party to put up in 2020:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/larry-hogan-says-trump-looks-pretty-weak-for-2020-general-election/

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Bloomberg’s political team is talking to recipients of $ from his philanthropic network to ask who would support his presidential run, should he decide to go ahead:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/19/michael-bloomberg-network-2020-1173605

Swalwell:

https://dailyiowan.com/2019/02/18/iowa-native-likely-to-announce-2020-bid/

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[Mr. Morden]

O’Rourke says he still hopes to decide by the end of the month, but isn’t ruling out the possibility of taking longer:

https://www.texastribune.org/2019/02/19/beto-orourke-keeps-suspense-days-until-anticipated-2020-decision/

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Hogan:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/larry-hogan-maryland-governor-isnt-ruling-out-primary-challenge-to-trump/

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And he’ll be in Iowa in a couple of weeks:

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