Why are you running for president? Drumbeat grows for some 2020 Democrats to shift sights

[question everything]

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a longshot contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, took to social media last week to cheer Kentucky Democrat Amy McGrath for launching her bid to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It didn’t take long for the Twitter-verse to pounce.

“I can think of another person who could help stop McConnell by winning a new Senate seat," one reply read. "His name is ... .wait, let me think, i'll get it ... oh yeah -- Steve Bullock! Have you heard of him?”

The response was just one of dozens tweeted back at Bullock, urging him to ditch his presidential campaign and instead run against incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

Such is the political atmosphere for Bullock and fellow embattled presidential hopefuls John Hickenlooper and Beto O’Rourke — three candidates whose White House bids are languishing but are seen by party leaders and Democratic voters as attractive candidates to take on vulnerable incumbent Senate Republicans. Unless they find momentum in the weeks ahead, political analysts and party operatives say the trio will find themselves facing two difficult questions: What are you still doing in the race and why aren’t you running for Senate?

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The drumbeat is only likely to grow louder now that the Democratic National Committee has imposed tougher rules to qualify for nationally-televised debates in September and October. All three candidates say they have qualified under easier polling and fundraising requirements the DNC set for the July debates. But making the stage for the fall debates will be a steep climb for Bullock and Hickenlooper, who have struggled to attract donors and show a significant measure of support in early polls. Candidates have to hit 2% in four qualifying polls and tally at least 130,000 individual donors to get on stage, according to the DNC rules.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/07/15/why-steve-bullock-john-hickenlooper-and-beto-orourke-still-running-president/1703546001/