MINNESOTA SENATOR JOINS RACE.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar joins presidential race
An already-crowded Democratic presidential primary field gained another big name Sunday with the entrance of Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Klobuchar, 58, was reelected last year to her third term in the Senate after serving as the top prosecutor for Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis. The senator, a relative moderate in both politics and public persona, made her pitch as some heavy snow fell, saying she’s a pragmatist who can get results.
“I promise you this: As your president, I will look you in the eye. I will tell you what I think. I will focus on getting things done. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. And no matter what, I’ll lead from the heart,” Klobuchar said.
President Trump chimed in regarding Klobuchar’s announcement with a tweet mocking her stance on climate change, a phenomenon most scientists say is pushed by human action. Trump wrote that Klobu- char talked proudly “of fighting global warming while standing in a virtual blizzard of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Bad timing. By the end of her speech she looked like a Snowman(woman)!”
Klobuchar has blown out her competition in various Minnesota races, but isn’t high in the polls for the Democratic nomination. She was averaging 1.3 percent as of Sunday evening nationwide, according to Real Clear Politics’ polling aggregator.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has consistently led easily in the polls, and retains a 32.8 percent average, per RCP. Biden is leaning toward entering the race soon, but hasn’t made his mind up yet, according to various media reports.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a political independent who ran as a Democrat for president in 2016, is in second with 12.3 percent. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Texan who recently lost a high-profile Senate race, also is polling fairly strongly at 6.3 percent despite not currently being in the race at this point.
Of the candidates currently in the race, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California is pulling 7 percent, followed by Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 5.5 percent. U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and various others bring up the rear of the current polling, according to RCP. All but the New Yorker Gillibrand are beating Klobuchar, though the Minnesotan was unknown to many before her announcement.