It's not a Presidential Race until you have 'Real' candidates
The news this weekend is Cory Booker headlining the Democrat Fall Gala.
The Gala was formerly known as the Jefferson-Jackson dinner and last year, Alec Baldwin headlined for 3000 people. For sure, at this time of the election cycle, it's a dress rehearsal for a campaign run. The last event of this magnitude in Iowa was May's Hall of Fame dinner which featured Washington's governor Jay Inslee, a name that otherwise hasn't popped up much yet.
The lede on this is that Booker is the first 'serious' candidate to visit the state, which is an unflattering kick to John Delaney and a bunch of others who could end up being the nominee.
A big shout out to Iowa Starting Line for a definitive list of possible candidates and their visits to Iowa. Iowa Starting Line gives you some seriousness when you put numbers to things (given Jason Kander's recent PTSD story, he's unlikely to run, but on top of this list are Delaney, Eric Swalwell, Martin O'Malley, Tim Ryan and Jeff Merkley). Also of note may be who hasn't been here. Is Joe Biden 'addition by subtraction' by avoiding Iowa and thus avoiding speculation.
Booker has been making a lot of headlines with the Kavanaugh hearings, immigration reform and other red button issues of the day. Clearly, the headlines mean he would be in a good spot to make a run. He long has been a favorite of the party. Though with recent activity comes division. Some on the left may see him as an opportunist (and the GOP sees him as a threat), while others have flocked to him for being a bringer of truth.
There has only really been one Iowa poll of much importance and it has flaws - 1) it is over a year and a half old and 2) it was ran by a Martin O'Malley PAC; but it's telling that Booker almost won the poll with 17% (O'Malley won the poll at 18%, but then he again it was his people doing the polling). In any case, you have to move Booker into some kind of front runner-style position.
The only other bit of 2020 speculation I have at this time is from a caller on local right-wing radio (clearly, a reliable news source) and his assertion that infamous anonymous New York Times Resistance within the Administration article is part of a 2020 nomination bid by Secretary of Defense General James "Mad Dog" Mattis. This isn't the most far-fetched theory I have heard, and if you want to put money on it, Vegas puts him at number 5 on the likely list behind Pence, Jeff Sessions and two others. Stories pop up time to time that Mattis is too moderate or too liberal, and I have heard the argument made that he is a calming influence on the Administration's radical moves. Indeed, Mattis may have the mainstream appeal to draw from both parties.
At the very least, someone may have the opportunity to take a shot at the GOP nomination in 2020, and the way things are going, Mattis may be well positioned for that. In any case, if it is true (even as a longshot), I want it in writing, so I can say I called it first.
The Gala was formerly known as the Jefferson-Jackson dinner and last year, Alec Baldwin headlined for 3000 people. For sure, at this time of the election cycle, it's a dress rehearsal for a campaign run. The last event of this magnitude in Iowa was May's Hall of Fame dinner which featured Washington's governor Jay Inslee, a name that otherwise hasn't popped up much yet.
The lede on this is that Booker is the first 'serious' candidate to visit the state, which is an unflattering kick to John Delaney and a bunch of others who could end up being the nominee.
A big shout out to Iowa Starting Line for a definitive list of possible candidates and their visits to Iowa. Iowa Starting Line gives you some seriousness when you put numbers to things (given Jason Kander's recent PTSD story, he's unlikely to run, but on top of this list are Delaney, Eric Swalwell, Martin O'Malley, Tim Ryan and Jeff Merkley). Also of note may be who hasn't been here. Is Joe Biden 'addition by subtraction' by avoiding Iowa and thus avoiding speculation.
Booker has been making a lot of headlines with the Kavanaugh hearings, immigration reform and other red button issues of the day. Clearly, the headlines mean he would be in a good spot to make a run. He long has been a favorite of the party. Though with recent activity comes division. Some on the left may see him as an opportunist (and the GOP sees him as a threat), while others have flocked to him for being a bringer of truth.
There has only really been one Iowa poll of much importance and it has flaws - 1) it is over a year and a half old and 2) it was ran by a Martin O'Malley PAC; but it's telling that Booker almost won the poll with 17% (O'Malley won the poll at 18%, but then he again it was his people doing the polling). In any case, you have to move Booker into some kind of front runner-style position.
The only other bit of 2020 speculation I have at this time is from a caller on local right-wing radio (clearly, a reliable news source) and his assertion that infamous anonymous New York Times Resistance within the Administration article is part of a 2020 nomination bid by Secretary of Defense General James "Mad Dog" Mattis. This isn't the most far-fetched theory I have heard, and if you want to put money on it, Vegas puts him at number 5 on the likely list behind Pence, Jeff Sessions and two others. Stories pop up time to time that Mattis is too moderate or too liberal, and I have heard the argument made that he is a calming influence on the Administration's radical moves. Indeed, Mattis may have the mainstream appeal to draw from both parties.
At the very least, someone may have the opportunity to take a shot at the GOP nomination in 2020, and the way things are going, Mattis may be well positioned for that. In any case, if it is true (even as a longshot), I want it in writing, so I can say I called it first.
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