The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Murmurs are heard of 2020 challengers
‘Door is wide open,’ Texas billionaire Mark Cuban says.
NEW YORK — Mark Cuban isn’t ready to launch a formal campaign to challenge President Donald Trump.
Yet Cuban, an outspoken Texas billionaire who describes himself as “fiercely independent” politically, sees an opportunity for someone to take down the Republican president, who is increasingly viewed as divisive and incompetent even within his own party.
“His base won’t turn on him, but if there is someone they can connect to and feel confident in, they might turn away from him,” Cuban said in an interview. “The door is wide open. It’s just a question of who can pull it off.”
Indeed, just seven months into the Trump presidency, Republicans and right-leaning independents have begun to contemplate the possibility of an organized bid to take down the sitting president in 2020. It is a herculean task: No president in the modern era has been defeated by a member of his own party, and significant political and practical barriers stand in the way.
The Republican National Committee, now run by Trump loyalists, controls the rulebook for nominating the party’s standard-bearer and is working with the White House to ensure a process favorable to the president.
Yet Trump’s muddled response to a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., this month has emboldened his critics to talk about the once unthinkable.
GOP officials from New Hampshire to Arizona have wondered aloud in recent days about the possibility of a 2020 primary challenge from a fellow Republican or right-leaning independent. No one has stepped forward yet, however, and the list of potential prospects remains small.
Ohio’s GOP Gov. John Kasich has not ruled out a second run in 2020. Another Republican and frequent Trump critic, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, last month visited Iowa, which hosts the nation’s first presidential caucuses. And a handful of wealthy outsiders including Cuban and wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, are being encouraged to join the fray.
Trump’s comments about Charlottesville “frightened” many Republicans in New Hampshire, said Tom Rath, a veteran Republican strategist in the state that traditionally hosts the nation’s first presidential primary.