Although former Gov. Deval Patrick’s (D) presidential campaign “is expressing frustration that he will not be listed on Michigan’s Democratic primary ballot,” a state party source tells CNN that Patrick “will not be listed for a simple reason: His campaign didn’t ask.”

Former Gov. Deval Patrick scheduled a presidential campaign event at Morehouse College tonight but it was cancelled after Patrick arrived and learned that only two people showed up, CNN reports.

“Deval Patrick’s entry into the Democratic presidential contest has focused new attention on his 2014 decision as governor to push out two members of the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board who had sought to put his brother-in-law on the registry due to a rape conviction,” the Washington Post reports.

“The case has been in the news even before Patrick’s announcement because his brother-in-law earlier this year was convicted of raping Patrick’s sister for a second time. The first rape conviction occurred in 1993.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) “told senior Democrats that he will enter the presidential race, according to two party officials, reversing his decision last year to forgo a run and adding yet more volatility to an unusually fluid Democratic primary,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Patrick was calling a list of Democrats to inform them of his decision and is expected to begin his campaign with a video before appearing in person in New Hampshire to file his paperwork to be on the primary ballot there.”

“I’ve been overwhelmed by advice and encouragement from people from all over the country, known and unknown. Humbled, in fact. But knowing that the cruelty of our elections process would ultimately splash back on people whom Diane and I love, but who hadn’t signed up for the journey, was more than I could ask.”

— Former Gov. Deval Patrick (D), quoted by Politico, on why he’s not running for president in 2020.

Ben Smith: “The biggest missed political opportunity in recent memory is probably Deval Patrick’s decision, after losing quite a bit of sleep, not to run for president in 2016.”

“At the time, the path seemed fairly clear: The former Massachusetts governor could run as Barack Obama had, on unifying optimism, progressive politics, and a strong connection to the black voters who make up a pillar of the primary electorate.”

“Hillary Clinton’s team was quietly afraid of him. One reason for that is obvious: Clinton was a far weaker candidate than the media and Democratic establishment thought.”

“The other possible reason just as obvious, but less discussed: Patrick could have won the primary. The Democratic primaries, as they are currently built, favor a black candidate. The winning formula in recent years has been to build a coalition from older black voters plus another group: white progressives for Obama; white moderates for Clinton. And the Democratic electorates in Deep South states, which vote early in the primary process, are dominated by black voters. That was where Clinton won in 2016, despite no particular attention to the region, and where Bernie Sanders lost it.”

Jeffrey Toobin profiles former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), another potential 2020 contender:

“Patrick has no illusions about the difficulty he will have distinguishing himself from the crowd… Still, Patrick would enter the race with one significant distinction: he is a kind of political heir to Barack Obama, and enjoys broad support from people close to the former President.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) told CNN that he is not “ready to be a candidate for 2020 yet.”

Said Patrick: “I’m trying to keep my focus … on these small number of races where I’ve been invited to help and where I think I can be helpful.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is inching closer toward deciding on a 2020 presidential run, Politico reports.

“The former two-term Democrat plans to hit the campaign trail in a handful of races around the country this fall, which would ‘help him sort it out by the end of the year,’ said John Walsh, a close adviser who managed Patrick’s 2006 insurgent gubernatorial campaign and later headed up his leadership PAC.”

“Patrick has only run for one office in his political career: governor of Massachusetts, where he served for two terms from 2007 to 2015. But he has been encouraged by members of President Barack Obama’s inner circle to run for president.”

Former Gov. Deval Patrick (D), who has largely shunned politics since leaving office and joining Bain Capital in 2015, acknowledged his interest in a possible presidential run in 2020, the Boston Globe reports.

Said Patrick: “It’s on my radar screen.”

He elaborated: “I am trying to think through 2020, and that’s a decision I’m trying to think through from a personal and family point of view and also whether what I believe is going to be on offer by somebody. And if it’s on offer by somebody then maybe what I can do is help that person. But we’ll see.”

Politico: “Obama strategist David Axelrod has had several conversations with Patrick about running, and eagerly rattles off the early primary map logic: small-town campaign experience from his 2006 gubernatorial run that will jive perfectly with Iowa, neighbor-state advantage in New Hampshire and the immediate bloc of votes he’d have as an African-American heading into South Carolina.”

“Obama himself—who is personally close to Patrick, and counts him among the very small group of people whom he thinks has actual political talent—has privately encouraged him to think about it, among others.”