A Lot of People Want Bernie Sanders to Run in 2020
Nov 25, 2018 6:00 AM ET
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE
Excerpts:
Hes uniquely positioned to do better against Trump in the general because he appeals to white working-class and rural votersmuch better than a conventional Democrat does, said Ben Tulchin, who was Sanderss 2016 pollster and remains in touch with his team. He also is very popular and has done well in the Midwest, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, which are critical to winning.
Sanderss midterm campaign swing was, on the one hand, a successno prospective presidential candidate drew crowds as big as his, and he drew them consistently, from South Carolina to Iowa to Colorado. Candidates as varied as Jacky Rosen, who won her Senate race, and Andrew Gillum, who narrowly lost his governor race in Florida, were eager to appear with him. On the way to the University of Reno rally, Sanders stopped by the Culinary Workers union hall and was greeted with chants of 2020! 2020! There were a number of events like that off the public schedule during Sanderss tour, as well as meetings with local politicians and other leaders who struck the senator and his team as being much more open to him than they were the last time around.
And he and the crowd were both clearly enjoying it in Reno when he directly took on the protesters holding a Trump flag off the side of a multistory parking lot. Really? he said. Do you really want to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the 1 percent? Do you really want to throw 32 million Americans off the health care that they have?
Ro Khanna, a California congressman who in 2016 knocked out an incumbent Democrat on his second try for the seat, said he thinks Sanders should run againand he has told the senator directly.
The goal, Khanna said, is not simply occupying the presidency, but shaping the policy direction for the nation and the policy direction of the progressive movement and the country
I dont think you can do that behind the scenes being a kingmaker.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/can-bernie-sanders-beat-donald-trump-2020-race/576331/