The Atlantic: “Did you know he was running for president? Probably not. If you did once know—Delaney was actually the first Democrat to declare his candidacy, way back in July 2017—you probably forgot. And if you did know he was still running, the question you’re probably asking is the one I am here to explore: Why? Why is a candidate who’s barely registering in any poll still traipsing across Iowa day after day when he has absolutely no chance of winning, or even of seeming like more than an outlying blip on the radar?”
“Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney will overtake Iowa televisions Sunday with a slate of half-hour infomercials set to air across seven different media markets throughout the day,” the Des Moines Register reports.
“On July 9, John Delaney’s senior team sat him down and told him to drop out of the presidential race by mid-August, according to three sources close to the campaign,” Axios reports.
“Those close to him think there’s no chance he makes the September debates, which have a harder qualification threshold than the first two. They thought he flopped at the first debate in Miami.”
A common refrain from staffers: “Every other day he would have a different position.”
“Members of the crowd at the California Democratic Convention booed presidential hopeful John Delaney on Sunday when the former Maryland congressman criticized Medicare for All, CNN reports.
Said Delaney: “Medicare for All may sound good, but it’s actually not good policy, nor is it good politics.”
The booing continued for more than two minutes as Delaney tried to finish his remarks.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away.”
“John Delaney, the little-known Maryland congressman running unabashedly for president since last year, will claim an early milestone in the 2020 contest Sunday: Long before most Democrats formally enter the race, he will have campaigned in all 99 counties in Iowa,” Politico reports.
Politico: “The first presidential contests of 2020 are nearly two years away, but for one Democrat the campaign is already in full swing. John Delaney — a wealthy, little-known congressman from Maryland — has spent more than $1 million on TV in Iowa, hired staffers and opened a campaign office in Des Moines.”
“Since announcing his bid last July, he’s made 110 campaign stops in 48 of Iowa’s 99 counties. He has visited New Hampshire six times, and on Friday made his second trek to South Carolina.”
“The first ad of the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries will run Sunday in Iowa, more than two years before the state’s voters will head to vote in caucuses. The candidate: Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, who for six months has been the only declared candidate for the party’s nomination,” the Washington Post reports.
“Delaney’s ad, ‘Dirty Word,’ is as jarring as anything else viewers might see during the Super Bowl. In it, Iowans cast wary glances at the camera as a narrator ‘admits’ that ‘John Delaney said a dirty word’ during his campaign stops in the state. That word, revealed 20 seconds in, is ‘bipartisanship’ — an encapsulation of Delaney’s promise, if elected, to spend his first 100 days passing and signing bills supported by both parties.”
Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) “plans on bypassing runs for governor and reelection and has told associates he is seriously considering a bid for president in 2020,” Politico reports.
“Delaney, a political moderate and former banker, gave serious thought to running for governor… A presidential bid would seem quixotic: Delaney is little-known even among Democratic operatives, and his moderate stances and background in finance don’t match a left-leaning Democratic primary electorate.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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