Harris polls even worse than Biden. As I noted in my last post, she also makes it possible for Trump to run a campaign based on identity, which is right up his alley. Are there better alternatives for the open convention?
In this post, I will focus on the Washington options, which are as follows:
- PETE BUTTIGIEG: On the plus side, he is young, bright, and reasonably dynamic, and he has experience running a national campaign. On the negative side, he is a gay technocrat and a controversial member of the Biden Administration. The contrast with Trump could hardly be more striking, and some elements of the left would find his candidacy inspiring, but I don’t see him as a realistic alternative.
- ELIZABETH WARREN AND BERNIE SANDERS: Too old and too far left. It would make no sense to dump an elderly moderate in favor of an almost equally elderly lefty.
- AMY KLOBUCHAR: She has experience running a national campaign, she isn’t tied to Biden, she is moderate enough for a general election, and she comes from the Midwest, which is a decided plus. Any female nominee will present Trump with identity politics opportunities, but that could boomerang on him with moderate voters. She would be a reasonable choice, but could she set a convention on fire? I doubt it.
- CORY BOOKER: An experienced moderate, similar to Klobuchar, but black instead of female and tied to New Jersey. He’s a slightly less plausible choice.
I think Klobuchar would be the best of this lot, but what about the governors? I will address them tomorrow.