Elizabeth Warren Strategist To Meet With Beto O'Rourke, Sparking 2020 Rumors
With one of Boston’s major media outlets editorializing against a possible White House campaign by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the possible candidacy of Texan Beto O’Rourke is getting a dose of support.
Mindy Myers, who ran Warren’s 2012 campaign before becoming Warren’s chief of staff, will be meeting “soon” with O’Rourke, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The Post said Myers, who did not comment on the speculation, is meeting with several campaigns.
That comes after a Nov. 16 meeting between O’Rourke and former President Barack Obama, The Washington Post reported.
The Post said “former Obama aides have encouraged the Democratic House member to run, seeing him as capable of the same kind of inspirational campaign that caught fire in the 2008 presidential election.”
O’Rourke has said in the past that he was not running for president in 2020, but after losing last month’s Senate race to Republican Ted Cruz, O’Rourke has indicated that statement might not be his final position.
Chicago financier Louis Susman, who poured money into John Kerry’s 2004 presidential race as well as Obama’s 2008 campaign, would like to see O’Rourke, 46, in the race, according to CNN.
“It’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Susman said.
Susman said that in 2020, enthusiasm will top experience for the Democrats.
“I have nothing against the Bidens and Kerrys of the world and all of these senators that are looking at it, but I think the Beto example is what inspired people and what we are going to need.”
Not everyone looking for change is looking at O’Rourke, however.
“What I’m looking for this time is someone who can win Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida,” said Gary Hirshberg, the co-founder of yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm. He cited as possible Democratic contenders Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
“I don’t just need someone who can rock a rally,” Hirshberg said. “I’m looking for somebody who demonstrates executive prowess and deep substance.”
Warren has said she is thinking of running for the White House but has not made a formal announcement,
On Thursday, the Boston Globe, which wanted Warren to seek the White House in 2016, said she should pass on 2020.
“Warren missed her moment in 2016, and there’s reason to be skeptical of her prospective candidacy in 2020. While Warren won reelection, her margin of victory in November suggests there’s a ceiling on her popularity,” the Globe wrote in an editorial, noting that other potential Democratic candidates appear to have more enthusiasm behind them.
“While Warren is an effective and impactful senator with an important voice nationally, she has become a divisive figure. A unifying voice is what the country needs now after the polarizing politics of Donald Trump,” the Globe wrote.
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