HAVE 2020 VISION
For Warren, a new and formidable challenge
Look out, Liz.
Deval Patrick has the bug that all Massachusetts politicians eventually seem to catch: Potomac fever.
Even when Patrick was serving his two terms as governor, it was clear he had national ambitions in mind, but now it’s out in the open.
“It’s on my radar screen,” Patrick said about a run for president in 2020 on a Kansas City radio station last week.
This may come as a bit of a shock to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has assumed she’d be the anointed one from Massachusetts this time around.
But now the 61-year-old Patrick is clearly sending signals that he wants consideration, and she’d be wise to take him seriously. When Patrick first announced his run for governor in 2006, the political world didn’t give him a chance. Two terms later, Patrick had the last laugh.
If he runs for president, Patrick would immediately draw comparisons to former President Barack Obama, and be able to draw on Obama nostalgia to fuel his campaign. Obama in fact ripped off Patrick on the stump. That’s a pretty powerful statement, and one that Warren can’t match.
And Patrick, along with Warren, would be one of the early front-runners in New Hampshire, thanks to all the exposure from neighboring Massachusetts. The former governor would likely do well in Iowa, too. The Hawkeye State has shown it likes liberal Massachusetts politicians. And Patrick would face a welcoming landscape in another early primary state, South Carolina, which has a large percentage of black voters.
Patrick’s biggest problem right now is he’s been mostly out of politics since 2014, except for the occasional campaign trip to help out candidates like U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama.
The former governor’s current job is with Bain Capital, which was portrayed as the Evil Empire by Democrats when Mitt Romney ran for president. No doubt Democrats and the media will now give Patrick a pass.
And Patrick already seems eager to focus on politics again, telling the Kansas City public radio station that he plans to get involved in the 2018 elections.
Why exactly is Patrick giving interviews to Kansas City radio stations?
Well, it’s clear he wants the national attention. And he likely will get it if he keeps planning for 2020.
The clearest signal that Patrick is serious about a White House run will come if the former governor gets more deeply involved in the midterms, or forms a new super PAC to pay for his travels and contribute to favored candidates. And of course watch out for a side trip to Iowa or the Granite State.
Yes, Deval definitely has the fever.
Who’s next? Charlie Baker?