Swalwell: Absolutely looking at 2020 presidential run
Democratic congressman from California addresses the Thousand Oaks shooting, shake-up at DOJ, possible 2020 presidential run.
At least three dozen Democrats have floated possible bids to take on President Trump in 2020 — more than double the crowded field of 17 Republican candidates who fought in 2016 for the chance to succeed then-President Obama.
Several Democrats have already begun making campaign moves, even as some races from last week’s midterm elections have yet to be called.
The group of more than 36 possible Democratic presidential hopefuls includes familiar faces — like former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
The wide-open nature of the Democratic field has also drawn several younger candidates. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, for one, spent the weekend in Iowa, signaling his commitment to a possible 2020 presidential campaign, just days after the bruising midterm elections.
The 37-year-old three-term congressman announced last week that he is considering a White House run, officially putting his stake in the ground in the home of the first major contest in the U.S. presidential primary season — the Iowa Caucus — and was the first Democrat to do so after Election Day.
“I’m going to spend the rest of the year talking about it with my family — over Thanksgiving and Christmas — and talking about it with the team I would need,” Swalwell said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. “It would be a long, grueling journey, but what I saw after the midterm elections was that the country, and who they elected to Congress, embraced new leadership and new ideas.”
Last week, Democrats took the majority of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2008. Swalwell touted the new faces elected on both sides of the aisle, noting many of them were under the age of 40.
“When you look at the [primary] field, you’ve got veterans who have been around for a long time, but the people in our country are looking at what is a new vision for America,” Swalwell told Fox News. “I think the candidates who are offering a confident vision for our country, but who don’t own so many of the problems of the last few decades, are going to be received well. I think people want to go forward.”
Swalwell traveled to Iowa for the thirteenth time since 2016 this weekend to meet the Asian & Latino Coalition and the Iowa Democratic Party chairs. He also told Fox News that he traveled to New Hampshire, home of the first primary in the nation, last week.
A number of other House Democrats have also shown interest in a 2020 presidential campaign — including Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii; Joe Kennedy, D-Mass.; Seth Moulton, D-Mass.; and Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, who was just defeated in his Senate race against Republican Ted Cruz. Maryland Rep. John Delaney has already announced his plans to run.
Outside Washington, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo; former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe; and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have not shut the door on a run. Businessman Mark Cuban and the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, have also expressed interest.
Former Obama officials, like Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former Secretary of State John Kerry, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro have all floated possible runs.
On Monday, that list expanded further to include Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who announced he was considering running for president. West Virginia State Sen. Richard Ojeda, a retired U.S. Army major who lost his House election last week, said he would run for the Democratic nomination.
And yet again, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's name was mentioned as a possible candidate, after former advisors for the twice-defeated presidential candidate wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal titled “Hillary Will Run Again.”
“Mrs. Clinton will take down rising Democratic stars like bowling pins,” former Clinton advisers Mark Penn and Andrew Stein wrote. “Don’t pay much attention to the ‘I won’t run’ declarations. Mrs. Clinton knows both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Obama declared they weren’t running until they ran.”
They added: “…Rest assured that, one way or another, Hillary 4.0 is on the way.”
Asked what he thought about Clinton launching a third presidential bid, Swalwell said, “I’m not going to be in the camp saying she can’t run or telling anyone they can’t run, but it’s clear from these election results that the direction the country wants to go is forward."
“I think a crowded field for us is a good thing,” Swalwell told Fox News. “We’ve got a lot of talent to showcase, and our country’s got a decision to make, and I think the best way out of where we are now—a divided, incremental governing country—is to look at all of the different options.”
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