Kamala Harris made an announcement this weekend. Soon, she told MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, she’ll make a decision on whether she’s running for president.
“It will ultimately be a family decision,” Harris said. “And over the holiday, I will make that decision with my family.”
It’s not breaking news, but with the midterms behind us and the 2020 presidential election a short 23 months away, one of the top Democratic contenders setting a timeline for her decision is enough to generate dozens of headlines.
Assuming Harris sticks to that timeline, and assuming she and her family decide that she should run, and assuming she makes that announcement public shortly thereafter, she’ll be the first major candidate to announce her candidacy.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown could follow her. He appeared on CNN Sunday and Jake Tapper asked him whether he thinks he’s the guy to take on Trump. “I don’t know,” Brown said, before making the case for himself. I was “pretty overwhelmed after the election by the number of people that said, not just my message of dignity of work, but my career of always fighting for workers, whether it’s against NAFTA, or a better tax and trade policy, or health care for workers, or consumer protections, or all of the above.”
“It’s not just a message that works in the industrial Midwest and in states that we need to beat President Trump. It’s also a message for the X-ray technician in Oakland, and the construction worker in Augusta, Maine.”
The famously disheveled Brown was also sporting a fresh haircut. That could only mean one thing.
Meanwhile, Honolulu Civil Beat caught up with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard a long way from home. She was in Exeter, New Hampshire to speak at a Rockingham County Democrat meet and greet, and when a reporter asked her about her 2020 plans she said she’s “seriously considering” a bid for president.
If she does launch a long shot campaign, she appears to have already won over at least one New Hampshire voter. “She’s more important to me than Tom Brady,” Eric Jackman, who attended Gabbard’s talk rather than watch the Patriots game, told Honolulu Civil Beat.
Not speaking in New Hampshire this weekend was Michael Avenatti, the attention-craving lawyer for Stormy Daniels who was recently disinvited from a prominent Democratic event in the state after a domestic violence arrest. As Politico reports, he’s also seen his TV bookings drop off and major Democrats speak out against his potential candidacy.
Doesn’t sound like he’s going to let any of that stop him though. “I think the field is shaping up to be even more advantageous for someone like me, not less,” he told Politico. “I think my chances have only gone up, not gone down.”
One prominent Democrat who doesn’t agree. “I don’t see anyone out there at the moment … the man who can beat Trump, or the woman who can beat Trump,” Bruce Springsteen told The Sunday Times. “You need someone who can speak some of the same language … and the Democrats don’t have an obvious, effective presidential candidate.”
Sounds like it’s time to add another name to the list of potential candidates.
