Politicians are always running so let’s limit it to Governor, US Senate or other major office.
Mike Coffman (R - CO 6th Dist) has been on the radio a lot. He is the typical Republican in that his entire platform was pro-veteran (and not much else). He ran a smear campaign against a great politician Morgan Carroll. He is constantly on the radio now and it is clear he is running for something and I think it’s Governor. Hickenlooper is term-limited in 2018 and the Dem Senate seat is not up until 2022.
If he does run for governor, it may be a primary race with State Treasurer Walker Stapleton. He came out very publicly against the proposed single-payer health program and I believe (but am not 100% sure) he is in the pocket of the energy companies like all of the other state officials in Colorado. Since the election he has been more public, I mean how many of you ever hear anything from your state Treasurer? Like Coffman no official announcement but more of a vibe I’m getting.
Karl Dean, the former mayor of Nashville, has announced he’s running for Governor of Tennessee as a Democrat. He’s a fairly respected, business-friendly politician who presided over much of Nashville’s recent economic development and evolution into a tourist mecca. He’s a pretty solid centrist, even conservative, for a Democrat. Still, with a (D) after his name it’s going to be a difficult challenge to win over the rural (Trump) voters.
Gretchen Whitmer (D) has announced a run for Michigan governor. Former Michigan Senate Democratic Leader and county prosecutor. She’s charismatic, progressive, women’s health champion. And she’s the first of what will likely be a very crowded Democratic field looking to replace Rick “Let Them Drink Poison” Snyder.
Pennsylvania: State Senator Scott Wagner has been positioning himself to challenge Gov. Wolfe for a while now, culminating in a budget scheduling decision that caused the closing of half the state’s Unemployment service centers, resulting in over 500 state employees being laid off less than a week before Christmas (including my husband) and blaming Gov. Wolfe for it.
Mayor of Albuquerque Richard Berry ® is making noises about a gubernatorial run. I think he’s going to have two problems. First, there’s currently a two-term Republican in office (she’s term-limited out in 2018), and it could be a very anti-Republican year depending on national events, even though I agree all politics are local. Which brings me to the second point, the questionable project that is his rapid transit project. If that thing is the failure a lot of us are expecting, there’s no way he can win without a good chunk of Albuquerque voting for him.
Hickenlooper was mentioned as a potential Presidential candidate for 2016 but he immediately denied it. He refuses to answer the question for 2020 but pointedly has not denied it. He’s been getting a ton of National TV attention, especially during the Governor’s meeting in BC last week.
California has a plethora of Governor candidates. Among those who have declared are:
Democrats:
John Chiang, California State Treasurer
Delaine Eastin, former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California
Antonio Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles
Somebody named Akinyemi Agbede
and somebody named David Asem
Republicans:
Rosey Grier, former NFL player
Allen Ishida, former Tulare County Supervisor
Somebody named Jacob Morris
Dianne Feinstein hasn’t announced if she’s running for reelection to the Senate, and I haven’t seen anybody who has announced their candidacy.
Curt Schilling, a Republican may run against Elizabeth Warren a Dem. in
Massachusetts ! :smack: Oh god I can’t stand either on of the two ! I want to see proof that Warren is part Native American !
And I want to see Trump’s tax returns. We’re both waiting for the unicorn.
Andrew Gillum - Mayor of Tallahassee (and speaker at the Democratic National Convention) has declared his candidacy for Governor of Florida. Not sure how I feel about this since Tallahassee has had some fairly serious issues lately.
Pretty much, though Villairagosa will have a lot of Hispanic support. Newsom has long been a liberal favorite, though.
California’s primary is top two into the general election, so if some name Republican doesn’t step up, it’s going to be two Democrats against each other in the general election.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will be up for re-election in 2018. As far as I know, she plans on running for another term. I imagine her re-election campaign will be pretty low key because she’ll be a strong favorite.
Governor Andrew Cuomo will also be up for re-election. His plans are harder to predict. Normally, I’d assume he was planning on running for another term but he’s faced growing opposition in the last few years.
eta: I just checked. Cuomo has set up a 2018 campaign website. Gillibrand has not.
