May 9, 2019: #BillionDollarLoser

SO, WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?

The hashtag/nickname #BillionDollarLoser was trending for over 24 hours, as Trump lost more than $1 billion between 1985-1994. . . and his son Donald Jr. was subpoenaed to answer questions about Russia. . ..Trump’s tough week continued as the Mueller Report still casts a pall over his presidency, with Mueller set to testify before a House Committee on May 15th. . .to top it off, hundreds of former federal prosecutors have attached their names to a statement saying they believe President Trump would have been indicted in Mueller’s probe for obstruction of justice if he weren't president. . .meanwhile, the president still had time to weigh in on the top two (polling) Dem Primary candidates, saying that he thinks Bernie is smarter than Biden. . on the left, Democratic Primary candidates will flock to San Francisco for the CaDem convention in late May. . .which may or may not include NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio, who becomes the 23rd Dem Primary Candidate in this historic race. . .and here is a great piece on the primary from Axios, “One Big Thing to Know” about each candidate. . .

GET TO KNOW A CANDIDATE: BETO O’ ROURKE

O’Rourke, a fourth generation Irish American, was a two-time member of the House of Representatives in El Paso, Texas. He was a bass player and drummer in various punk bands during and after college. Though his father was active in politics, it was not until he published an alternative online newspaper, Stanton Street, when his interest in politics was sparked. He gave up his seat in the House to run for Senate in Texas in 2016, where he was narrowly defeated by Ted Cruz. Despite his loss, O'Rourke was credited for the election of several down-ticket candidates of the Democratic Party, which some called the "Beto Effect.” Politically, O’Rourke identifies as a progressive-centrist, combining a pro-business approach with social progressivism.

2020 CANDIDATES: WEEK IN REVIEW

JOE BIDEN. . .scoops up cash in Los Angeles. . .thinks that Trump is the problem, not Republicans - but other Democrats disagree. . .has a decades-long feud with Elizabeth Warren, who has accused him of being too cozy with corporate interests. . .Joe is also getting slammed by Bernie Sanders for downplaying China’s economic threat to the U.S. . .the criticism from the left is deserved, according to the L.A. Times. . .that’s what happens when you have a commanding lead in every major poll, though. . .

BERNIE SANDERS. . .says that the economy is doing well under Donald Trump. . but sees weakness in rural America and introduced ‘rebuild rural America’ proposals. . .he also backs Trump’s approach with North Korea. . .even as he backs a plan to cut America’s military spending. . .

PETE BUTTIGIEG. . .is benefiting from his sexuality, according to Barney Frank, the first openly gay man to service in Congress. . .it certainly helped Buttigieg in landing on the cover of Time magazine. . .the majority of the country, however, thinks that the country is not ready to elect a gay President. . .even as newly released documents about his military service placed him in an imminent danger area. . .

ELIZABETH WARREN. . .has a plan, and crowds are going crazy for her. . .introduces a calculator for her student debt forgiveness plan. . .even as people, and polls, continue to say she is unelectable. . .yet, paradoxically, those same polls show her candidacy picking up steam. . .while she is warning that the nation remains "at risk" for further foreign interference in its elections. .

KAMALA HARRIS. . .says ‘This president isn’t trying to make America great; he’s trying to make America hate’. . .also says AG Barr is representing Trump, not the people. . .in response, Trump called her nasty, a sobriquet he previously used on Hillary Clinton. . .she also pledged to repeal Trump’s tax law. . .

BETO O’ROURKE. . .says that the House should move forward to Impeach Trump. . .though he is still struggling to regain his momentum from the beginning of the campaign. . .he is, however, defending fellow candidate Buttigieg from anti-gay protesters in Texas. . .

CORY BOOKER . .unveils a bold plan to require federal license for gun owners. . .however, he is still short of the donor threshold to get on the debate stage. . .in the meantime, he is calling for AG Barr’s resignation. . .

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND. . .vows to only nominate judges that support Roe v. Wade. . has a plan to get more small donors into politics. . .and lashes out at military general over sexual assault. . .

ANDREW YANG. . .calls on Amazon to admit job loss due to automation. . .describes himself as the 'opposite of Trump’. . .and can prove it by pledging to use PowerPoint at SOTU. . .

AMY KLOBUCHAR. . .proposes $100 billion plan for addiction and mental health. . .and criticizes Trump’s efforts with North Korea. . .

JULIAN CASTRO. . .has a plan to stop mass shootings. . .hits the 65,000 donor threshold to join other candidates on debate stage. . .

TIM RYAN. . .is a Trump country Democrat running for President. . .calls Biden’s China comments “seriously out of touch”. . .and rips into Trump over broken promises to Ohio workers. . .

JAY INSLEE. . .promised serious climate policy and is delivering. . .as he wants coal gone in 10 years. . .

JOHN HICKENLOOPER. . .says there will not be Medicare for All right away. . .

ERIC SWALWELL. . stands up for the press. . ..calls Donald Trump a ‘bad kid in the White House’. . .

TULSI GABBARD. . .is proposing a National Lei Day’. . .and defends Ilan Omar. . .while continuing to slam the White House’s war rhetoric. . .

SETH MOULTON. . .is focusing on foreign policy in his campaign thus far. . .

JOHN DELANEY. . .says more focus is needed on mental health during the 2020 campaign. . .

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON. . .wants to be the people’s president. . .

WAYNE MESSAM. . .asks for close look, fair shake as he campaigns for president. . .

MIKE GRAVEL. . .here is everything you need to know about the long-shot candidate from Alaska. .

MICHAEL BENNET. . . .here’s where he stands on some of the issues. . .

BILL DEBLASIO. . .will run for President. . .

WHAT ARE THE ODDS

Below are the latest odds from the PredictIt betting market for ‘Who will win the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination? The number essentially represents the percent chance for the respective candidate to win the primary, as per the live betting markets.

ARE “NEVER TRUMPERS” IN PLAY FOR DEMS IN 2020?

In the 2018 midterm elections, #NeverTrump Republicans voted Democrat and helped Democrats take the House. . .though some pollsters say that #NeverTrump voters are “going extinct,” 40% of Republicans in swing states think a Trump primary challenge would be a good thing. . .especially with the progressive agenda driving #NeverTrump supporters back to Trump. . .however, it appears that more centrist candidates like Biden or Amy Klobuchar could capture the “Never Trump” Republican primary. . .

ALL ABOUT JOE

The story this week is Joe Biden. After the “Creepy Joe” allegations threatened to torpedo his campaign prior to launch, Biden has proven both resilient & buoyant, riding the momentum from a successful rollout to an astounding leap in the polls, with some showing Biden with as much as a 30-point lead. While that Harvard-Harris number may be seen as an outlier, RealClearPolitics has ten different polls all showing Joe in the lead - and that lead is steadily climbing.

POLL OF THE WEEK

DON’T FORGET THESE DATES (2020)

February 3: the Iowa caucus

March 3: Super Tuesday (Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia primaries)

June 26, 27: First Debates: Miami, Florida. (Telecast: NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo) 

July 30, 31: Second Debates: Detroit, Michigan (Telecast: CNN)

July 13-16: The Democratic National Convention (Milwaukee, WI)

DAYS UNTIL 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (NOVEMBER 3) : 543

“He never stooped to trying to sell us on stupidities about "electability" and "realism," or the pitfalls of "purity." Instead, he stared right into the flaming-hot sun of shameless lies and cynical horseshit that is our politics, and he described exactly what he saw - probably at serious cost to his own mental health, but his benefit.” 

- Hunter S. Thompson, Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72

ARCHIVES

May 2 April 25 April 18 April 11 April 7 March 31 March 24 March 17 March 10

We genuinely appreciate reading Dem Primary Tracker 2020. You can reply directly to this email to share feedback or questions. You can share with a friend or colleague here. You can also ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram.