Warren and Booker Get Serious About 2020
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Hillary 2020?
Rick Klein: “Let’s agree to put a pause on all such talk until at least the inauguration. But how else to explain her campaign operation’s decision – five weeks after a decisive Electoral College loss – to encourage electors be allowed to get classified intelligence briefings on the extent of Russian interference? Reverence for Alexander Hamilton notwithstanding, the Clinton team knows that exerting independent judgment is not what the Electoral College does. Those involved also know there’s no mechanism for gathering 538 individuals scattered across 51 jurisdictions into an intelligence briefing, much less getting them the required security clearances before they cast their votes next week.”
“John Podesta’s statement in support of a briefing for electors marks the most aggressive attempt by Clinton aides to call the election’s results into question. It carries far more weight than support for recounts, in the statement’s implications. As for the politics, why have the Clinton operation on record in this way unless Hillary Clinton herself wants to be in the political mix moving forward? And in the short term, is anyone happier that this story is morphed into a political one than Donald Trump, who prefers these grapes taste sour?”
Biden Says He Would Run In 2020
Vice President Joe Biden told CNBC that he may run for president in 2020.
Said Biden: “Yeah, I am. I am going to run in 2020. For president. And also, you know so, what the hell man, anyway.”
He added: “I’m not committing not to run. I’m not committed to anything. I learned a long time ago, fate has a strange way of intervening.”
Warner Says He Won’t Run for President
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) told the Wall Street Journal that he won’t run for president.
“Mr. Warner, who as Virginia’s governor in 2006 laid groundwork for a potential 2008 presidential campaign, including visits to New Hampshire, said the time for him to be a national candidate has passed and he is not considering a White House campaign in 2020.”
Said Warner: “I think that window is probably shut.”
Gillibrand Already Contacting Donors About 2020
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “is already reaching out to top Hillary Clinton donors about the 2020 presidential race,” the New York Post reports.
“If she were to run, it could set up an interesting clash of New Yorkers for the Democratic nomination. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already made it clear he wants to make a run for the White House.”
Kaine Will Not Run for President In 2020
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said he will seek re-election in 2018 but will not run for president or vice president in 2020, the AP reports.
Said Kaine: “Period. Full stop.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Four years is a long time from now. We’ll take one thing at a time, but I’m not ruling out anything.”
— Sen. Bernie Sanders, quoted by the Associated Press, on running for president in 2020 at the age of 78.
Kasich Plans Thursday Speech
Gov. John Kasich “plans to give a speech less than 48 hours after polls close in this election, casting his vision for the future of the Republican Party after his vocal opposition to current GOP nominee Donald Trump,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
“Kasich is mulling a possible 2020 bid for president, although he does not plan to launch that bid Thursday, the people said. He hopes to be a part of the conversation as the GOP takes stock after a possible loss to Democrat Hillary Clinton.”
A Clinton-Trump Rematch In 2020?
“Newt Gingrich, one of Donald Trump’s closest confidants and most visible boosters, on Friday raised the novel possibility of a Trump-Clinton rematch in 2020,” Politico reports.
Said Gingrich: “The challenge for everybody’s going to be, ‘What if he gets 48 or 49 percent?’ And what if he says: ‘You know, I like this campaign and stuff. I ain’t leaving’? There will then be a Trump Party.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“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.
GOP Hopefuls Already Lining Up for 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.”
Kasich Returns to New Hampshire with Eye on 2020
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.”
Cruz’s Next Campaign Off to a Rocky Start
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.”
Ted Cruz’s Big Gamble
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.”
Cruz Is Plotting a Post-Trump Future
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.”
Walker and Cotton Kick Off 2020 Campaign
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.”
Why Would Pence Want to be Trump’s Veep?
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
