Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumWhich Dem candidate do you think would have the best chance of winning a traditionally red state?
For example, a state such as Texas, Georgia, or Arizona.
Buttigieg? Biden? O'Rourke? Harris? Bullock? Warren? Sanders? Klobuchar? Gillibrand? Steyer? Someone else?
I think in 2020 we're going to have a shot at converting a red state or two. Which candidate or candidates you think would be the best bet to do that, and why?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Jane Austin
(9,199 posts)O'Rourke
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Voltaire2
(12,629 posts)It is the battleground states that matter.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
JI7
(89,182 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
LonePirate
(13,386 posts)You might want to update your list of battleground states.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Hillary was looking at Georgia and Arizona near the end of her campaign. Unfortunately not enough big visits were made to the heart of the industrial Midwest and smaller Florida counties.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
applegrove
(118,022 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
JI7
(89,182 posts)and their advantage would be because they are straight white men .
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Bullock, Biden, and Beto are the only sure fire candidates to make red states flippable. As much as I love Liz, I struggle to see her winning 270 EV's.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
JI7
(89,182 posts)but those 3 i mention are more likely to get support from white people and especially white men who mostly want white men in office . so they could make those other states more competitive.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
COLGATE4
(14,732 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)https://poll.qu.edu/texas/release-detail?ReleaseID=2625
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
OregonBlue
(7,744 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
VarryOn
(2,343 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
peggysue2
(10,811 posts)Which is why the GOP and Trump desperately want someone else to run against.
Others?
Perhaps Bullock. I think we need to hear more from him to make that call but as a Democratic Gov from a Red State he has creds. Klobucher may also have some clout in the Midwest. I'd like to say Beto as well but his recent donation haul was disappointing. He still has time to pull it together but the clock is ticking. His one advantage is qualifying or nearly qualifying for the September round of debates. But he'll need money to stay in the game because even the primaries are insanely expensive.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Our focus should be the industrial Midwest and states that have shown themselves to be purple states.
I really don't care if Texas, Georgia or Arizona look like one may drop into our column. Our nominee should not pull a single resource from the places I mentioned earlier to chase the red plum.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
moonscape
(4,664 posts)is important.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
KPN
(15,587 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)We do have big down ballot races in all of them.
Our nominee needs to be very active, no sizeable periods off the campaign trail. I like that Joe Biden said that if Trump call him old in a debate, he would immediately challenge Trump to a push-up contest on the spot. ANY candidate that we end up nominating should do the same. If Trump talks about how healthy and hale he is, challenge his ass to a push-up or sit-up contest on the spot, then ridicule him if he declines (which he will). Also, have a mental agility test that Trump would be challenged to take, and chide him for not making his full medical records public.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)I really think that anyone else would find it tough. But, we don't need to win any red states, all we need to do is get back the states that Barack Obama won, which have been generally blue for the last few decades.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Mme. Defarge
(7,982 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
dawg day
(7,947 posts)We can twist ourselves like a pretzel trying to attract red-staters who vote against their own interests and the interest of the country and are self-destructive.
Or we could focus on the new voters and young voters and unenthusiastic voters and overwhelm the red-state nihilists.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brooklynite
(93,878 posts)Those "new voters and young voters and unenthusiastic voters" have to be in either battleground or Red States to matter. Racking up more votes in CA, WA, MD, NJ, etc. is wasted effort.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
dawg day
(7,947 posts)and focusing on chasing the chimerical "white working class male red-state voter" distracts from that effort.
I didn't say, "Build up the count in CA" particularly. That will happen anyway. But the Obama-voting states that inexplicably went for Trump? More important than Missouri or even Georgia-- and just get the Jill Stein types and the new college students and the "my vote doesn't count" voters, and the Dems win Wisconsin and Mich and Penn.
That is, of course, absent cheating and interference.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Demsrule86
(68,355 posts)and the Senate as well. Look at the map...the Senate makes me want to weep. And we have not path to the presidency unless we rebuild the blue wall and win in MI, PA and WI. We are in a desperate situation. We may have popular support and I believe we do...but our elections have an electoral college and individual district method (states can be gerrymandered The GOP controls the majority of the states. We won't win in 20 or beyond if we don't get the rust belt back. And there are more states with the Senate firmly in the control of the Republicans than Democrats.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
dawg day
(7,947 posts)If the OP was really "for" Biden, then of course he/she should fight hard. But why at this point be "for" someone other than the ones you think are best?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Celerity
(42,673 posts)He is literally the ONLY one to win (and multiple times at that) a statewide position in a ruby red state.
He has that Western-style charisma (dare I say almost a little swagger, but still humble) that would play very very well in Texas.
Biden is the only other one who would come close,
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
The River
(2,615 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
mtnsnake
(22,236 posts)Last edited Tue Jul 16, 2019, 09:34 AM - Edit history (1)
It will be interesting to see how Bullock does when he's finally allowed into the debates, since he's the only Democratic candidate to not only be elected, but to be re-elected to a red state in 2016.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)Biden leads in every single RCP poll he's been in, national and state, except one: an early April Emerson poll of MA showing Bernie at 26% and Biden at 23%. That's it. And in a June Boston Globe poll Joe leads Bernie 22 to 6:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/ma/massachusetts_democratic_presidential_primary-6786.html
Biden leads in every single poll in CA, NH, SC, TX, Nevada, and Iowa. I think that's a good indicator of strong support!
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brooklynite
(93,878 posts)Won two terms in Montana, including the same year Trump won.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
JI7
(89,182 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
brooklynite
(93,878 posts)Bullock was the first candidate I met with. I'm impressed with his record, but ended up going with Hickenlooper because he came across as more approachable to voters. At this point, I'm going to see if he makes the debates (we'll know today) and how he does.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Skya Rhen
(2,701 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
blm
(112,920 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)FL will be full-blown purple-blue when some of these "Greatest Gen" and Boomers die off.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Amimnoch
(4,558 posts)Beto, especially when pared with Hegar's Senate bit would put Texas into play.
I do think Biden has the best chance of pulling in the required traditional "swing" states of all the candidates though.
Buttigieg could put Indiana into the battleground territory, but with 11 EC votes, he'd have to pull in better polling in at least 2 other battleground states.
I haven't seen anything to make me think any of the other candidates currently in the running will turn any traditionally "red" states into battlegrounds though.
Abrams, had she run, could have put Georgia into the battleground category.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Gothmog
(144,005 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
DeminPennswoods
(15,246 posts)She taps into the same economic populism that Trump did/does except she knows what she's talking about and has thoughtful plans on how to address inequality. Put another way, she can recapture the Obama-Obama-Trump voter.
It's anecdotal, but I watched her townhall on MSNBC from Ft Wayne, iirc, IN. Chris Hayes had some voters on stage with Warren. One woman had voted for Obama, then Trump. When she asked Warren a question and got Warren's answer, you could see her just beam. She looked like she had been converted on the spot.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Demsrule86
(68,355 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
DeminPennswoods
(15,246 posts)to them. And Warren is very, very good at that.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
FloridaBlues
(3,993 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Demsrule86
(68,355 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Indygram
(2,113 posts)eom
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided