“First of all, because I’ve said it. Not only am I going to serve for six years, I’ve been honest with people, the things I want to achieve, some may take longer than six years to achieve.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), quoted by CNN, ruling out a presidential run in 2020.
“There is still one month before the 2016 presidential election, and already there are signs ambitious Republicans are planting seeds to seek the White House in four years if the current nominee, Donald Trump, falls short,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton begins a four-day, eight-stop tour across Iowa on Saturday, an itinerary raising eyebrows even in a state used to attention long before presidential campaigns begin… Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker spoke at a fundraiser for Iowa state senate Republicans last week… South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire for GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Sununu… Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who lost to Mr. Trump in this year’s GOP primary, stumped for Mr. Sununu last month, and Mr. Walker is to do so next week.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer: “For Kasich, the trip will be his first to New Hampshire since finishing second to eventual GOP nominee Donald Trump in the February primary there. Kasich so far has refused to endorse Trump, citing the New York businessman’s inflammatory rhetoric. He has kept alive his political operation to campaign for down-ballot Republicans in races across the country this fall.”
“By getting involved in a New Hampshire race and sending word that he plans to gather with his allies there, Kasich is signaling that he also is keeping alive the option to run for president again in 2020. The all-important Granite State traditionally hosts the nation’s first primary.”
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National Review: “Cruz’s remarks provoked backlash not only from delegates in Cleveland but also from allies in the conservative movement and top-dollar donors to his campaign. In the week and a half since his speech, some of Cruz’s longtime supporters have excoriated him both in private and in public, blowback that has far exceeded what Cruz and his team anticipated.”
“Unnerved by the scope of the fallout, Cruz is attempting to defuse tensions behind the scenes. He and his lieutenants are confident that the controversy will die down and believe that Trump’s every misstep between now and November will validate Cruz’s decision to withhold his support. They also realize, though, that his run in 2020 — not to mention his Senate reelection in 2018 — will be immeasurably more difficult without the support of the financial and grassroots networks he cultivated in 2016, significant portions of which he has angered with his recent actions.”
Byron York: “By allowing Ted Cruz to speak without an assured endorsement, Donald Trump took a gamble with his convention. By refusing to endorse the nominee of his party, Cruz took a gamble with his political future.”
“Trump lost his gamble when Cruz’s speech ended with boos and bad feelings as the audience realized Cruz would do no more than urge them to ‘vote your conscience‘ and would not endorse the candidate who soundly defeated him for the Republican nomination.”
“Cruz’s gamble is longer term. No one will know whether he won or lost until a few years from now.”
Politico: “The act of defiance promises to be a defining moment in Cruz’s political career. He antagonized millions of voters who made Trump the nominee — whether the New Yorker wins or loses, the political cost of that move could be very steep indeed.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “decompressed from his crushing 2016 loss by starting to plan for 2020,” Politico reports.
“Yes, he and his wife went to Mexico less than three weeks after losing the Indiana primary. But the Cruzes didn’t go alone. They were joined by his campaign chairman, Chad Sweet, his national finance chairman, Willie Langston, and his campaign manager, Jeff Roe, who came for part of the trip even though his second daughter (name: Reagan) had been born only about 10 days earlier.”
“It was a sign of just how tight-knit Cruz’s inner circle had become by the end of the campaign and Cruz’s unquenchable thirst for politics. Cruz has kept a lower profile since withdrawing but behind-the-scenes his political organization has continued to hum.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) “will be the potential 2020 presidential contenders jockeying most openly and aggressively at the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland, as both Republicans have lined up visits with the influential early-state delegations of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,” Politico reports.
“Those three states have kicked off the GOP nominating process for decades and are expected to do so again in 2020. Walker and Cotton are the only national politicians currently scheduled to speak with all three delegations, according to officials familiar with the delegation schedules in the three states.”
James Hohmann: “The hard truth is that he’s not too popular in the Hoosier State, and he could very possibly lose reelection to a second term as governor of Indiana this November, which would end his political career. Joining Trump would let him get out of that pickle. His advisers tell National Review’s Eliana Johnson that they think even being on a losing ticket with Trump would position Pence as a top prospect in either 2020 or 2024.”
For members: Why Pence Is Trump’s Best Choice for Veep
Taegan 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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