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Messina Says Sanders Can’t Beat Trump

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Jim Messina, who managed Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, told ABC News that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) cannot beat President Trump in 2020.

Said Messina: “I think if you look at swing voters in this country they are incredibly focused on the economy. I think today you look at it and say that Bernie Sanders is unlikely going to be able to stand up to the constant barrage that is Donald Trump on economic issues.”

Messina Now Working for Theresa May

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“U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has hired President Obama’s former deputy chief of staff Jim Messina for her election campaign, reuniting the winning team behind David Cameron’s unexpected victory two years ago,” Bloomberg reports.

“Messina and his colleagues arrived in London on Monday to begin work on May’s bid to secure a bigger majority for her Conservative Party and a fresh mandate for her vision of Brexit, a person working on the campaign said.”

Jim Messina: ‘It Was Always Going to be Close’

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Chris Riback caught up with Jim Messina, President Obama’s campaign manager in 2012, in an airport lounge. The audio quality is sometimes spotty but Messina’s insights into the 2016 campaign are great.

Listen to the conversation here:

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Obama Feared Huntsman Most in 2012

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Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina said that “the guy that we were always most afraid of was Jon Huntsman, the governor of Utah, who I think would be a smashingly great general election candidate,” The Hill reports.

Of course, he added, given the Republican Party’s conservative tilt now, “You and I have the same chance he does of getting the Republican nomination for president.”

Quote of the Day

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“Romney’s problem has always been really about believability and connection with the challenges of average Americans. It’s simply never going to be believable to go from car elevators, off-shore accounts and his famous 47 percent comment to the populist income equality warrior.”

— Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina, quoted by Politico, on Mitt Romney’s new focus on poverty.

The Most Right Wing Nominee Ever?

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Former Obama campaign manager told OZY that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) would be “the most right-wing” presidential candidate in history if he won the GOP nomination in 2016.

Said Messina: “I think if you look at his statements and you look at his record he would be the most right-wing candidate any major party has nominated, including Barry Goldwater. He is that far off the spectrum.”

He added: “I think his chances of winning swing votes in battleground states are my chances of being the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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