Deval aides’ PAC may be prelude to bid for prez
A political action committee launched by two Deval Patrick aides to help like-minded progressive Democrats win back the House and Senate is a move taken directly from the presidential-hopeful playbook, one strategist said.
“If you’re thinking about running for president, one of the things you have to do is set up a PAC, not only contribute to other candidates but to travel to the different states and meet folks,” said Jim Manley, a former aide to U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Harry Reid.
“It’s almost a requirement,” Manley told the Herald. “Don’t get too focused on the money part. It’s more about building relationships in the months to come.”
But former Patrick chief of staff Doug Rubin said Patrick had no idea about the PAC and was not involved in setting it up.
“He was not aware of it before we set it up,” Rubin said. “I don’t know if we have his blessing or not.”
Former Patrick campaign manager John E. Walsh set up the Reason to Believe PAC yesterday and is listed in federal elections filings as its treasurer. The name for the committee came from Patrick’s 2011 memoir.
The committee said its aim is to “elect progressive Democrats” to federal office who “share Governor Deval Patrick’s view that we accomplish more when we turn to each other, not on each other,” according to its website.
“Voters want their candidates and their elected officials to stand for something, to care about more than staying in office,” the PAC wrote. “History shows that when Democrats do what’s right and stand up for what we believe — like fixing health care and expanding the economy to those who have been left out — we win.”
Patrick and Walsh did not return requests for comment about the political action committee.
While the committee’s opening salvo is aimed at the 2018 midterms, the fundraising group said it is focused on “developing and promoting a positive agenda for Democrats in 2018 and beyond.”
What lies beyond 2020 has prompted a careful dance from Patrick. Earlier this month, he said on CNN speculation of a presidential run is “touching” and asked not to be interviewed for 2020 yet.
“I’m not ready to be a candidate for 2020,” Patrick said, adding that he would make a decision about running “in due course.”