“Andrew Yang, the former tech executive who gained a national following as a Democratic presidential candidate, has been privately telling New York City leaders that he intends to run for mayor next year,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Yang is not expected to announce his bid until next month, but with the Democratic primary less than seven months away, he has begun to make overtures to several of the city’s political power brokers.”
“The next mayor is going to inherit a shit-show, a deficit that is in the multiple billions of dollars — worse than the 1970s.”
— Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, quoted by the New York Daily News, officially kicking off her New York City mayoral campaign in a video.
“Terry McAuliffe (D), who mixed business-friendly politics with liberal social policies over four hard-charging years as Virginia governor, will announce Wednesday that he wants his old job back,” the Washington Post reports.
“A win would make McAuliffe only the second governor since the Civil War to make a comeback in Virginia, the lone state to bar its chief executive from serving back-to-back terms.”
Andrew Yang is calling elected officials to gauge support for a possible bid to become New York City’s next mayor, Politico reports.
“Former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who advocated for a “universal basic income” during the Democratic primary, is now the subject of a poll that tests New York City voters’ appetites for a third-party candidate in the upcoming mayoral race,” Politico reports.
“The poll did not indicate it was being conducted on Yang’s behalf… but several questions focused on his potential candidacy — something his team said he was weighing as recently as last month. Others asked respondents to gauge a nameless candidate, whose description closely matched Yang’s profile.”
Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) “is considering a quick return to politics after losing his House seat this month,” Yahoo News reports.
“Rose has begun laying the groundwork for a potential mayoral campaign in New York City.”
Former Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) formally announced Tuesday that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor, hoping to become the first Republican elected to the office in over a decade, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
“Corey Johnson, the New York City Council speaker and a presumed front-runner in the 2021 contest to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio, withdrew from the race on Thursday,” the New York Times reports.
Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told the New York Post he is taking a hard look at running for mayor in 2021.
Said Giuliani: “I am certainly thinking about it. It’s something that a bunch of people that I trust have approached me with. It’s been terrible to see over the last few years how the city has spiraled. I am afraid if the right candidate doesn’t win in 2021, four more years of de Blasio’s policies will remind us of the 80s.”
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu (D) called Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) to tell him she would challenge him in a Democratic primary next year.
Walsh then called the Boston Globe to preempt her public announcement.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has filed the paperwork to run for his old office, the Washington Post reports.
But a spokesman said he won’t make an official decision to run until after the general election in November.
Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) said he’s seriously considering running for Virginia governor, just weeks after his own party voted against giving him a second term in Congress, Bloomberg reports.
Said Riggleman: “The Virginia Republican Party is so broken. Maybe it is time for a third-party run.”
Ben Smith: “Four years ago, he told me he was considering a future in politics. On Thursday, I asked him whether he was interested in the most obvious role, which will be open next year in a city aching for leadership: mayor of New York.”
“He paused, and said he didn’t want his answer to cause a storm of news.”
Then, he said: “New York City is going to need a very strong mayor in the aftermath of this, and I always like a challenge.”
While his office maintains it was not an “official” announcement, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) told a group of seniors that he will “be planning to run” for Virginia governor in 2021, the Petersburg Progress-Index reports.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is staffing up his political action committee, a move that suggests the Democrat is interested in another run for the Executive Mansion in 2021, the Washington Post reports.
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) said that he is ‘very hopeful about the future’ and ‘thinking very seriously’ about a gubernatorial run in 2021, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“Fairfax, who faces sexual assault allegations by two women, said the scandal has raised his public profile for good.”
“Said Fairfax: “Many people a year ago would not have recognized me, now they really do. People come up to me at gas stations, they say, ‘Hey, we recognize you. We love you. We know what they are saying about you is false.’”
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who was popular when he left office last year, is hinting to Democrats that he may run for governor again in 2021, Axios reports.
☑️ Life in the Middle: Marginalized Moderate Senators In the Era of Polarization is available on Amazon. It takes a deep dive into the power of moderates and why we see them behave so precariously.
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.
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