Sen. Elizabeth Warren told CNN that she isn’t running for president in 2020.
Said Warren: “For the people of Massachusetts, and for the people across this country. This government is working better and better and better for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. I am in these fights, and I am in this fight to retain my Senate seat in 2018. That’s where I’m focused. That’s where I’m going to stay focused. I’m not running for president.”
“The Democratic Party’s hierarchy on Saturday acknowledged the ‘perceived influence’ of insiders over voters in picking a presidential nominee, but don’t know yet how to settle an issue that bedeviled the bitter nomination fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in 2016,” the AP reports.
“At issue is the role of Democratic National Committee members, elected officials and other party dignitaries — known collectively superdelegates. They overwhelmingly favored Clinton, who won the nomination, though her wide advantage among this group ultimately saddled her with charges of favoritism.”
“They’re trying to ensure the 2020 Democratic nominee makes at least one more stop in Wisconsin than Hillary Clinton did,” Politico reports.
“Thursday night in Washington, the people pushing Milwaukee’s bid for the next Democratic convention made the case directly to party insiders at a reception during the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Washington.”
Politico: “Between stops on his book tour and in the ramp-up for what will be a heavy midterms campaign schedule, a tight circle of aides has been brainstorming a range of tear-up-the-playbook ideas for a White House run.”
“On the list: announcing his candidacy either really early or really late in the primary process so that he’d define the field around him or let it define itself before scrambling the field; skipping Iowa and New Hampshire and going straight to South Carolina, where he has always had a strong base of support; announcing a running mate right out of the gate and possibly picking one from outside of politics; and making a pitch that he can be a bridge not just to disaffected Democrats, but to Republicans revolting against President Trump.”
“They’ve also discussed an idea some donors and supporters have been pitching Biden on directly for months: kick off by announcing that he’d only run for one term… The former vice president would pick a younger Democratic running mate and argue that he’d be the elder statesman to get the country and government back in order post-Trump and be the bridge to the next generation.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced that she’s donated $5,000 to every state Democratic party, for a total of $250,000, Politico reports.
“Republican donors last year paid over a half-million dollars for Trump re-election campaign offices in Trump Tower ― a decision that personally benefited the president, but provided workspace for at most a handful of staff,” the HuffPost reports.
“The monthly rent was more than what candidate Donald Trump had been charging from June 2015 to March 2016, back when he was largely self-funding his campaign… And while it is unclear why Trump’s re-election campaign has rented so much room for so few people, its decision to do so has helped fill office space that appears to have become much more difficult to rent out since Trump won the presidency.”
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds President Trump trails a generic Democratic presidential candidate by eight points, 44% to 36%.
Key finding: “Male voters are evenly split: 42% would vote for Trump, and 42% would back the Democratic candidate. Among female voters, the Democrat has a 15-point lead, 46% to 31%.”
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.”
The Maryland Senate “passed a bill to require president and vice presidential candidates to release their tax returns if they wish to appear on the state’s ballots,” the Baltimore Sun reports.
“The move, a direct assault on President Trump, drew harsh criticism from Republicans and some Democrats.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told CNN that he thinks President Trump will and should have a Republican challenger in the 2020 presidential election.
Said Flake: “I do think the President will have a challenge from the Republican Party. I think there should be. I also think that there will be an independent challenge.”
While he said it’s “not something I’m planning,” Flake did not rule out mounting a third party challenge to Trump.
“Donald Trump is wrapping up the most chaotic week of his presidency by rolling out a major new donor push — one of his most serious steps yet to prepare for a 2020 reelection campaign,” Politico reports.
“Trump will appear before big GOP givers at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday for the launch of a fundraising initiative that mimics the famed George W. Bush ‘Pioneer’ program, according to three senior Republicans familiar with the plans. As with Bush, the president will reward donors who’ve bundled thousands of dollars in contributions, giving them an entree to exclusive dinners, political briefings, and future retreats.”
“Jared Kushner showed up for work at the White House on Wednesday and acted like everything was normal. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser attended the daily senior staff meeting, where he launched into a discussion about Trump’s 2020 reelection bid,” Politico reports.
“Kushner’s recent focus on the 2020 election has led some in the White House to wonder whether he’ll eventually transition out of the West Wing to become an adviser to his father-in-law’s reelection bid. Trump’s newly announced campaign manager, Brad Parscale, is a close ally of Kushner’s and the two men speak on the phone regularly.”
Oprah Winfrey told People Magazine that she would consider a 2020 presidential bid if she received a call from God that was “so clear that not even she could miss it.”
Said Winfrey: “And I haven’t gotten that.”
Associated Press: “The rollout of Brad Parscale’s announcement as Trump’s 2020 campaign manager was not without a hitch. A statement released Tuesday by the Trump campaign attributed to White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was in apparent violation of federal law prohibiting the use of official titles in political work. The campaign used Kushner’s title and his position as an ‘assistant to the president’ in its press release announcing Parscale’s role.”
“The Hatch Act bars government employees from using their official titles in political work. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday all senior officials and Cabinet secretaries have been briefed on the prohibition.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a frequent harsh critic of President Trump, will visit New Hampshire on March 16, WMUR reports.
“Flake’s appearance in the first-in-the-nation primary state is sure to ignite intense speculation that he is considering challenging Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.”