It’s true that there are only 5 candidates who even have a shot at the nomination (Biden, Warren, Harris, Buttigieg, Sanders—in that order), and maybe not even that many. BUT the polls have had the same top 5 for pretty much all of 2019, and Iowa’s only 4 months away. For another candidate to get the nomination, they’d have to go from 2% or less in the polls to beating out 5 better funded, better polling rivals. It seems less than possible…
So why are they doing it?
—Tulsi Gabbard…because she’s a Russian/Trump-loving Trojan horse. She’s really not there to “win” so much as cast aspersions on whoever they’re most afraid of. [I noticed she seems to hit Harris hard…perhaps that’s who Trump is most afraid of.]
—Marianne Williamson…To sell books and boost her platform.
—Andrew Yang…To boost awareness of his central idea (universal basic income) and also who he is.
—Wayne Messam…Boost awareness of who he is so he can run for a statewide office. Needless to say, the Mayor of a Florida town is probably not thinking he’ll actually be chosen.
—Jay Inslee, Kristen Gillibrand, John Hickenlooper, Seth Moulton, Eric Swawell, Mike Gravel…Have already dropped out, although I believe Gillibrand thought she had a better chance than she actually did. Inslee wanted to raise awareness to climate crisis.
—John Delaney…Because the Chamber of Commerce wants him to. Seems to mostly be running to crap all over economically liberal ideas.
—Joe Sestak…Because he has nothing else. Ex-congressman Joe has flat-out blown two different senate races in Pennsylvania he should’ve won. And nobody in the Democratic Party likes him. He’s probably hoping to boost his profile just enough that he can score a job doing anything else…like an “independent” media commentator.
—Bill De Blasio…His popularity is not great in NYC, and he’s probably afraid to go home (not unlike Chris Christie in 2016).
—Tim Ryan…Raising his profile so he can be considered for House Speakership when Nancy Pelosi finally retires, dies, or is forced out. [Ryan challenged her for it when Democrats regained the House.]
—Steve Bullock…I think he honestly believes he has something to offer as the incumbent governor of a Trump-loving state. He might be trying to raise his profile for a senate race (like some said Hickenlooper was doing), OR is really interviewing for a cabinet position.
—Beto O’Rourke…He doesn’t seem to know. I think a lot of people have told him he’s “presidential looking” and this seemed like a natural next step to losing the most expensive senate campaign in American history. What he SHOULD be doing is running for Texas senate next year, along with…
—Julian Castro…Maybe he’s trying to raise his profile for a Texas senate race. Maybe he’s trying to get a slightly better cabinet position than “HUD” in the next Democratic administration. Maybe he’s been told the Democrats (who are trying hard to appeal to Hispanics) should have at least one Latin candidate running.
—Amy Klobuchar…Some people (like myself) believe she’s a Chamber of Commerce plant no different than Delaney sent to crap on the progressive economics most candidates are floating. She may also truly believe she has a chance since Democrats are trying hard to appeal to the Midwest…EVEN THOUGH Minnesota is the only state in the country that never voted for Reagan, and the way they vote has no bearing on Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, or Ohio. Plus, Minnesota politicians routinely lose the Presidency (Michelle Bachmann, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale).
—Cory Booker…I believe he honestly feels he can win. He routinely polls 6th, which is pretty good out of a field of two-dozen (at one time) candidates. But he has no real chance, and I’m sure Harris’s campaign especially would love for him to drop out.
And the two most mystifying…
—Michael Bennet…This one is the 2nd hardest to figure out. He must know he has NO chance, yet he’s already in the senate (unlike fellow Coloradan Hickenlooper), so he’s not really trying to leverage this into a better job. He honestly has more to lose than to gain by staying in the race. If he embarrasses himself in one of the debates or on the campaign trail, it could wind up costing him his senate seat.
—Tom Steyer…I don’t get this one at all. He’s self-funded, but will certainly lose. He has no real ideas that the other candidates don’t. It’s hard to argue that he has the best chance of beating Trump. He doesn’t APPEAR to be a Chamber of Commerce plant or serving anyone else’s agenda. My only real guess is ego, and perhaps he’s trying to boost his platform to become Treasury secretary (the job he’d be perfect for).