With the next presidential campaign just around the corner, it’s worth taking a look at one significant 2020 campaign event that occurred in 2017. The California primary, which in 2016 was held on June 7, has been moved to the first Tuesday in March, which in 2020 is March 3rd. That is a very big prize early in the campaign. It takes a lot of resources to play in California.
The following is a list of people who have been mentioned (by either themselves or others) as potential candidates in 2020. Folks are on the list whether or not they have claimed or disclaimed any interest in running. When an individual suggests publicly that he or she is not interested in running, their name is struck through.
Ultimately, the list will narrow for a variety of reasons. Among those reasons is “opposition research” done by folks who are supporting other candidates. Events from a person’s past inevitably come to light in a presidential campaign and take on added significance as a result of the standards of the time. Another reason candidates drop out is the inability to raise enough money to be relevant.
The list of people without government experience is followed by a list of current or past government officials who have been mentioned or have done something to suggest they are thinking about running for president.
Democratic Primary
Dwayne Johnson – Actor
Bob Iger – Disney
Howard Schultz – Founder & Exec. Chairman, Starbucks
Mark Cuban – Businessman and Owner, Dallas Mavericks
Kanye West – Entertainer
Tom Steyer – Billionaire philanthropist
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg – CEO, Facebook
Oprah Winfrey – CEO, OWN
Michael Bloomberg, Businessman and former Mayor of New York
Michael Avenatti, Attorney, Attorney for Stormy Daniels
Al Sharpton, Civil Rights Activist
Oscar De La Hoya, former professional boxer
Andrew Cuomo (D) – Governor of New York (Said during a gubernatorial debate related to his re-election campaign in New York that he intends if elected to serve the full 4-year term)
John Hickenlooper (D) – Governor of Colorado
Steve Bullock (D) – Governor of Montana
Jerry Brown (D) – Governor of California
Jay Inslee (D) – Governor of Washington
Gina Raimondo (D) – Governor of Rhode Island
Martin O’Malley (D) – former Governor of Maryland
Terry McAuliffe (D) – former Governor of Virginia
Deval Patrick (D) – former Governor of Massachusetts
Congressman John Delaney (D) – Announced 7/22/17
Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D)
Congressman Tim Ryan (D)
Congressman Seth Moulton (D
Congressperson Maxine Waters (D)
Congressperson Tulsi Gabbard (D)
Congressman Eric Swalwell (D)
Congressman Joe Kennedy (D)
Cory Booker (D) – U.S. Senator
Amy Klobuchar (D) – U.S. Senator
Kamala Harris (D) – U.S. Senator
Bernie Sanders (D) – U.S. Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand (D) – U.S. Senator
Tim Kaine (D) – U.S. Senator
Elizabeth Warren (D) – U.S. Senator
Chris Murphy (D) – U.S. Senator
Sherrod Brown (D) – U.S. Senator
Mark Warner (D) – U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley, (D) – U.S. Senator
Lincoln Chafee (D) – former mayor, Rhode Island governor and U.S. Senator
Al Franken (D) – former U.S. Senator
Eric Holder (D) – former Attorney General
Joe Biden (D) – former Vice President, former U.S. Senator
John Kerry (D) – former U.S. Senator, former Secretary of State, former general election candidate for president
Eric Garcetti (D) – Mayor of Los Angeles
Mitch Landrieu (D) – Mayor of New Orleans
Bill de Blasio (D) – Mayor of New York City
Pete Buttigieg (D) – Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
Julian Castro (D) – former Secretary of HUD
Republican Primary
Don Blakenship, Business Executive
Jeff Flake, U.S. Senator
Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland
John Kasich, Governor of Ohio
Bill Kristol, Journalist
Here is how the Democratic field looks 25 months before the 2020 election in the CNN Poll 10/4-7.
| Joe Biden | 33% |
| Bernie Sanders | 13% |
| Kamala Harris | 9% |
| Elizabeth Warren | 8% |
| Cory Booker | 5% |
| John Kerry | 5% |
| Michael Bloomberg | 4% |
| Beto O’Rourke | 4% |
| Eric Holder | 3% |
| Eric Garcetti | 2% |