DEMS DESPERATE FOR AN ANSWER TO TRUMP
The Democratic presidential battle is on the brink of being blown apart as more candidates join the fray and voters continue to search for someone who can defeat President Trump.
No one — including the top tier of Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — has been able to close the deal with Democrats.
Biden is too shaky and old, Warren and Sanders are too far left and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is too inexperienced.
That leaves a gaping opening for a newcomer like former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick or potential candidate Michael Bloomberg or even Hillary Clinton.
Patrick’s 11th-hour entrance into the race buttressed the argument that the current lineup of candidates is weak and vulnerable.
He may not be the savior, but he could draw voters from Biden and Warren in
New Hampshire and South Carolina and prevent them from claiming an early hold on the race.
Then there’s the looming presence of Clinton, who continues to tweet up a storm and make news as she contemplates a surprise return to the presidential fold and claims the mantle as the ultimate “comeback kid.”
Clinton may be deluded, but her recent interest shows just how volatile the current race has become. Polls continue to show that more than half of the voters are open to changing their minds less than three months before the first contests.
“The one thing that’s absolutely clear is the race is wide open,” one Democratic strategist said.
Even long shots like Tom Steyer, the billionaire businessman, and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, could catch fire and become factors in the race.
Patrick looks like he’s skipping the Iowa caucuses and focusing on New Hampshire, where he is much better known. It’s a risky strategy but he’s clearly hoping that Iowa only muddies the water and no one gets much of a bounce out of winning there.
The Granite State is the place where all of the candidates have a shot to break out, then head to Nevada and South Carolina with momentum.
The latest polls show Warren, Biden and Sanders vying for first place in New Hampshire and Buttigieg not far behind. But none of them have been able to grab a real lead, and voters there traditionally make up their minds at the last minute.
Patrick faces tough sledding as he tries to raise enough money to get a spot in the debates and build a national campaign to compete against candidates like Warren, who already has 600 staffers across the country.
And the former Massachusetts governor is already facing flak for his mixed record and decision to work as a venture capitalist for Bain Capital, Mitt Romney’s old firm.