Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has been openly flirting with a 2020 presidential bid for some time, and has done little to combat rumors that she’s planning to toss her hat in the ring.
With the release of her memoir and a schedule jam-packed with media appearances over the coming weeks, the subtlety is wearing thin. During an interview on “The View” Tuesday, Harris duped the show’s co-hosts into thinking she was about to announce her 2020 bid on their show.
“I am pleased to announce on ‘The View’ — that I’m not ready to make my announcement yet,” she said.
Kamala Harris dupes "The View" hosts with 2020 announcement joke pic.twitter.com/fh3sINICI4
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) January 8, 2019
It seems to me that pretty much all of the top-tier candidates (or candidates to be candidates) are feeling forced into keeping their name in the news in the next week or two, even if they’re ostensibly deferring the question.
I’m (of course) interested to see who else speaks up this month. To some extent, there’s a first-mover factor that has to be taken into consideration… I think primary voters’ first preferences will start to gel fairly quickly, if they haven’t already.
But what do I know, I’m no political scientist.
Maybe if the “media” weren’t such an eager enabler – breathlessly flogging and prematurely hyping 2020 in the midst of a government shutdown and virtual Constitutional crisis – it might not be “wearing thin” for them.
Just a thought.
Cuomala Harris?
It’s not just about the primary voters: early candidates can scoop up the best organizers, office space, and media spots - especially in the early states. Warren has already hired the top organizers from Bernie and Obama’s campaigns (at least in Iowa).
Thanks for the cliffhanger, there, Kamala. Please say Yes.