Who will the Democrats nominate to run against Donald Trump in 2020?
That is one question hanging over Washington.
Joe Biden made a recent announcement and now everyone is wondering if it will be him.
Pundits assumed that when Biden passed on a 2016 Presidential campaign, it had signaled the end of his career in politics.
The Vice President was 72-years-old and it was viewed as his last chance for the Presidency.
But when he recently announced a trip to New Hampshire, pundits were left wondering if it’s the first step in a mounting a challenge to Trump.
The Boston Globe reports:
“But later this month Biden will return to New Hampshire, the state expected to hold the first presidential primary in 2020. Biden, 74, will address the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen fund-raising dinner on April 30.
“We’re thrilled that former Vice President Biden is joining us to honor the first ever all-female, all-Democratic delegation at our biggest event of the year,” said NHDP Chairman Ray Buckley.
Since serving eight years as vice president and foregoing a third run for president, Biden had appeared to be largely retired from electoral politics. He is affiliated with two policy institutes that bear his name at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware.”
There could be more to this trip than meets the eye.
Biden recently stated he regretted not running for President.
The Hill reports:
“Former Vice President Joe Biden late Friday night voiced regret about his decision not to run for president, predicting if he had secured the Democratic nomination he could have won against Donald Trump.
“I had planned on running for president and although it would have been a very difficult primary, I think I could have won,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe not. But I thought I could have won.”
“I had a lot of data and I was fairly confident that if I were the Democratic Party’s nominee, I had a better than even chance of being president,” Biden continued.
Biden explained that he didn’t regret the time he was able to spend with his son Beau Biden, who later died after battling cancer.
“But do I regret not being president? Yes,” Biden said. “I was the best qualified.”
But would Biden have been the Democrats best candidate?
Left-wing pundits believed he had a “blue collar appeal” that could have helped thwart Trump.
Biden, however, would still have been running on the Obama record of open borders, international trade deals, foreign intervention, and Obamacare.
And in 2020, Democrats may not want to turn back the clock for a nominee.
They could seek a “fresh face” like Corey Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Cuomo, or any of the other leftists looking to grab the Democrat Party nomination.
And then there is the matter of actually defeating Trump.
Since 1900, voters have tossed out only four Presidents after they served just one term.
The media is trying to make hay out of Trump’s approval numbers, but he remains strong, with enthusiastic and loyal support among the people who voted for him.
And if Trump can keep the support of his voters, he’s already proven it is enough for an Electoral College majority.
The prospect of running against Trump may appear enticing.
Polls showed Trump with low approval numbers throughout the 2016 campaign.
But in the end, he defeated 16 other Republicans in the primary, the establishment in both parties, the press, the Bush family, the Obamas, and the Clintons.
He should not be underestimated in 2020.
And Joe Biden or any other Democrat would be wise to consider that before jumping into the race.
