Vision 2020: Democratic hopefuls prepare for race at the White House | American News

IThe autumn weekend is crisp and more than half a dozen renowned Democrats live in states that organize primary primaries. Former Vice President Joe Biden is in Nevada. Two senators, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, are in South Carolina. Former Virginia governor, Terry McAuliffe, is in New Hampshire, while John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, is in Iowa. It is October 2018. The 2020 presidential campaign is launched.

With the exception of Maryland Congressman John Delaney, no one has announced his candidacy. Those who visit states with primary schools insist that they are there to help candidates who vote down in the midterm elections. They do not campaign. At least not openly.

Some have only dipped their toes in the water. Booker, for example, made his first highly touted trip to Iowa earlier this month. Others, like Jeff Merkley, have started the track. This year, the Oregon Senator, a fiery Progressive, made ten trips to the states that voted first: six in Iowa, four in New Hampshire.

Behind the scenes, potential candidates send staff to network, interview potential campaigners and appeal to political power. After the mid-term, candidates are expected to scramble to announce their campaigns. Deadlines will vary, but less well-placed candidates will be more likely to announce earlier.

A key question for potential candidates will be how much money they can collect, especially in a fragmented area. Democratic congressional candidates broke all record records in 2018, but there is no expectation that this will translate into the field by 2020.

Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley plans to run. He told the Guardian that a key element of his decision would be to determine whether he will have the fundraising infrastructure "to hold a more successful race" than in 2016.

The other candidates will not have such worries. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand already has more than $ 10 million in her war chest in the Senate. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has more than $ 15 million.

Potential candidates will be the Super Pacs, fundraising groups that can work without limit as long as they do not coordinate with their candidate or party. In the 2016 Democratic primary, the outside money did not play an important role: Bernie Sanders did not enjoy any significant outside support, while the pro-Clinton Priorities USA group did not spend any money only when Sanders was the biggest threat. He mostly fired for the general election.

But it is likely that the 2020 race will look more like Republican primaries since 2010, when Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court allowed the creation of Super Pacs. A strategist close to a potential candidate noted that with Democrats likely to face the fierce attacks of Donald Trump and Republicans, money outside would be a necessary evil.

"Until we change the campaign finance laws and get rid of Super Pacs, unilateral disarmament is not just the way forward," said the strategist. "Some people are affected because of this, but this seems like a major problem of tied hands behind the back."

"A leadership battle"

Delaney, the candidate who has already stated, does not have this problem. A former self-financed, moderate business man from Maryland, he has been running for president for a year. He told The Guardian that his campaign had achieved his goal so far: get the names identified with Iowa huddle fans to the tune of 75%.

"We are going to achieve exactly where we want to be," he said, adding that by the end of the year, 25 people would be working full time in Iowa alone, in the US. hope to reach 100 people by mid – next year. .

Delaney is not only the most centrist of potential Democratic candidates. It also stands on one side of another argument that will define the race, in terms of Trump's tactical approach. On the strain, Delaney repeatedly invokes bipartisanship.

Michael Avenatti, who has already shot Delaney on Twitter, is at the other end of the spectrum. The California trial attorney, who became famous for his portrayal of adult movie star Stormy Daniels in his fight with Trump, campaigned for the Democrats and began setting up a political organization.

Avenatti, who is considering an offer, told The Guardian that he viewed the campaign as "a battle of the party leadership."

"Many people think that the best way to beat Trump is to do the opposite," he said. "Kinder, sweet, sweet, message of hope, things of this nature and I am all for these things.

"But that's not going to be against this guy."

Avenatti argued that the "smashmouth tactics" would be necessary.

"A number of people I hear will introduce themselves," he said, "I think they would make an outstanding president, a better president than me. But they have no chance to beat Trump if the economy remains as it is. "

Avenatti pointed out that he was a novice in the campaign and that he was trying to acquire the basic skills of the craft, such as retail policy and speech-making. But he was confident in one of them: debate.

"My strong point will be the debate by far because it is my area, that's what I do," he said. "I do not argue as such, but I am a litigator, it will be my home court."

In 2016, Democrats were criticized for having only held a few debates. But Republicans, with a field difficult to handle, may have too much. Many party members have said that organizing a main event and "under card" debate unfairly diminishes some candidates and creates a show that elevates Trump.

Democrats may not have much time to set the rules. In the 2008 elections, the last time the party primaries had been competitive, the first debate took place in April 2007.