Democrat Steve Bullock Won a Red State in 2016. Can He Beat Trump in 2020?

[Celerity]

The governor of Montana thinks there’s still room for one more in the crowded Democratic primary field.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/steve-bullock-2020/589291/

HELENA, Mont.—Yes, another Democrat running for president. Another white guy. Another politician most of the country has never heard of. Another candidate who doesn’t have a lot of money to start with, or any real hopes of meeting the low bar to make the stage for the first debates next month. Another dude whose last name begins with B who thinks that entering the 2020 race after 21 others makes perfect sense.

That’s Steve Bullock, the Democratic governor of Montana, who was elected to his second term in 2016 by four points on the same day Donald Trump won the state by 21 points. Bullock is not so subtly inching toward a presidential announcement expected for this week. On Friday afternoon, a Bullock aide and I rode in a slow-moving car while the likely 2020 candidate was literally running down the side of the highway as part of a charity race, a clip of which was then tweeted from his account with the caption “Feels like a good season to run.”

A few hours later, Bullock and I settled into a table at Jesters, a dive here a few blocks from the capitol. “Hey, Steve!” the young bartender with the black baseball cap and the neck tattoos said. Supporters talk up how Bullock un-ironically wears cowboy boots. His natural affability was on display Friday afternoon at the bar. “Happy birthday, Sheila’s mom!” he said to a woman introduced to him by her daughter, who recognized his face. “Are you going to buy me a drink?” Sheila’s mom asked. He laughed. “I may have to!” Many others approached him during our conversation.

“Trump may have been right in diagnosing the frustration,” Bullock told me. “A whole lot of those folks were like, ‘All right, he’s somebody new. We’re going to drain the swamp.’ Don’t kid yourself: Their lives have not gotten better because of his actions and activities.”

Bullock currently sits at 0 percent in the few polls that have included him as an option, but 2020 is proving to be a race where even the expected heavyweights are struggling to break through. Bullock is poised to enter this week with a network of top advisers and the clear support of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, the only Democrat currently elected statewide in the first caucus state. And he’s hoping to lean into a distinction that no one else in the field can claim.

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[LonePirate]

1. He will not win the primary race. He should run for the Senate instead.

[Merlot]

2. He's running for VP

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Only way he's VP is if a woman wins the nomination.

[Merlot]

7. Not true at all. There's no requirement that half the ticket be female

I'm guessing Biden would pick a male VP just to "cover the bases" and we'll hear about how he just couldn't risk alienating all the RW's who voted for trumpft but just might possibly vote for him.

I have no expectations that any male candidate who wins the nomination will pick a woman. It could happen, but it's not written in stone. People will be so focused on getting rid of trumpft that they will be ok with a male/male ticket.

[LonePirate]

8. Booker is not winning the nomination and there is no way two white men are on the ticket.

Bullock’s only chance at VP are if Harris or Warren win the nomination. He has no chance at being VP if Biden, Sanders or Buttigieg win the nomination. Bullock should run for the Senate regardless.

[Merlot]

9. Agreed that Bullock should run for Senate.

[Drunken Irishman]

10. Doubtful. If a male is at the top of the ticket, a female will be chosen, or at least a POC.

[2naSalit]

3. I wish he'd run for Daines' Senate seat!

Damnit. I will be supporting the women candidates who find it within their inclusion claims to visit Montana. I want to see them up close and personal and actually have a chance to speak with them for five minutes. That's not the only reason I would support a candidate but in this field, I think a woman should be in the Oval Office. And Bullock should be going to the Senate.

[BlueMTexpat]

4. NO.

Please no, Steve. Someone in MT has to get Daines out of the Senate.

You'd be much more useful there.

[brooklynite]

6. I had dinner with him during his "planning my future" phase...

He’s a slightly more moderate version on Hickenlooper, with a Republican- controlled Legislature, but he’s not afraid to talk about progressive policies.