Lisa Lerer

But Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D- Minn., is making a rather traditional political bet. While primary voters might flirt with flashier presidential candidates, in the end, they will settle down with a steady Midwestern senator in 2020.

“People are so mad about Donald Trump and the Republicans,” she said during a recent interview in Des Moines. “But remember, this is about actually getting things done. And first of all, winning an election. There’s nothing wrong with anger and passion, but it’s putting it into something that will get results.”

Since entering the race more than two months ago in the midst of a Minnesota blizzard, Klobuchar has been resolutely inching her way forward. Forgoing packed rallies and soaring rhetoric, she is trying to sell voters on the politics of the practical, arguing that her record can win back some of the coveted Rust Belt voters who supported President Donald Trump.

Instead of high school gymnasiums crowded with sweaty, cheering Democrats, there have been health care round tables and tours of ethanol plants. As other candidates roll out the policies of left-wing dreams, Klobuchar has focused her early proposals on reliably bipartisan concerns like infrastructure and privacy protections for personal data.

But as her rivals promise generational change, national unity and sweeping liberal platforms, Klobuchar’s big idea is far more prosaic: a win.

“I am your neighbor,” she told several dozen voters gathered at a union hall in Des Moines on a recent Friday afternoon. “I think you all know we had some difficulty in some of the states in the heartland in 2016. But I’m someone who’s been able to win in difficult counties.”

It is an unusually explicit electoral appeal aimed squarely at the animating desire of Democratic primary voters: finding a candidate who can defeat Trump.

While Democrats are united around that goal, there is little consensus over how to achieve it. After a winter in which liberal ideas dominated the primary race, the entrance of more moderate candidates, like Klobuchar, is prompting a fresh round of soul-searching about whether embracing policies like the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All” could backfire in a general election, alienating the suburban voters who helped lead the party to victory in the midterms.

Along with Klobuchar, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to enter the race in the coming days, and former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who has already declared his candidacy, believe they can win enough support from the party’s liberal wing with appeals of electability, even if they do not quite capture voters’ imaginations.

Klobuchar describes herself as a “proven progressive,” citing former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Sen. Paul Wellstone, two liberal Minnesotan political icons, as her mentors.

During her three terms in the Senate, she has not led on divisive issues like immigration, focusing instead on solving consumer-friendly problems like curbing the cost of prescription drugs, tackling opioid abuse, improving the safety of schools and swimming pools, and increasing the oversight of big technology companies.

“She’s progressive, but she’s not out there on crazy issues, particularly issues that can’t be funded in our lifetime,” said Mondale, who encouraged Klobuchar to jump into the race. “Right now it’s all flash, but that doesn’t do it in the long run. You’ve got to have quality and substance and experience.”

He added, “They’re all spouting off with good ideas, or bad ideas that sound good, and Amy will do this slowly.”

Klobuchar has yet to crack the top tier of the polls, though she has done well enough to earn a place on the debate stage.

While she is hardly a centrist, she has distinguished herself by breaking from the new liberal orthodoxy that has dominated the primary so far.

The first policy proposal released by her campaign was a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, an idea that is popular among Republicans and was championed by Trump during his presidential run.

She does not favor a “Medicare for All” health care system, preferring a more graduated approach, and she has called the Green New Deal “aspirational.”

When asked by a student at a CNN town hall if she supported free tuition for students at public colleges and universities, she said she did not.

“If I was a magic genie and could give that to everyone and we could afford it, I would,” she said.

Her approach has turned off some progressive activists.

“When we talk to our members, frankly, they aren’t super excited about Sen. Klobuchar,” said Yvette Simpson, chief executive of Democracy For America, a political action committee that backed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the 2016 presidential primary. “Voters are looking for champions, fighters, people who are going to go all the way. She has taken an approach that is unfortunately more incremental.”

Klobuchar, 58, grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs. Her mother was a schoolteacher. Her father, a prominent newspaper columnist, struggled with alcoholism during her childhood, and Klobuchar was rocketed into the national spotlight after she raised those struggles during a hearing about the sexual assault allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

She has referenced her father’s story on the campaign trail while discussing opioid addiction and mental health, saying his story showed her that “everyone should be able to be pursued by grace” and find redemption.

The queen of the clever aside, she peppers her stump speech with jokes about raising money from her ex-boyfriends (“not an expanding base”), working with Republicans like the anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist (“don’t be scared”) and making her case to Minnesota’s independent voters (“three words for you: Gov. Jesse Ventura”).

Her wit and willingness to work across the aisle have made her popular among Republicans, winning her a laudatory column from conservative writer George Will and compliments from her GOP colleagues in the Senate and in her home state.

“She goes out of her way to connect with people who may not traditionally vote for Democrats,” said Charles R. Weaver Jr., a Republican business lobbyist who served in the Minnesota statehouse.

“But she’s not flashy,” he added. “And maybe that’s what Democrats want. And if that’s what they want, she’s not going to be there at the end.”

A big part of her argument hinges on geography: Klobuchar believes her understanding of Midwestern voters and ability to win Republican areas is key to her success.

It was Hillary Clinton’s narrow victory in Minnesota, a state she won by the smallest margin of any Democratic presidential candidate in decades, that prompted Klobuchar to think seriously about mounting her own presidential bid.

She spent 2018 working to elect other Democrats in her home state, helping her party hold both Senate seats and the governorship and flip control of two congressional districts (though the Republicans flipped two as well).

Although her public persona has been described as “Minnesota nice,” Klobuchar is a shrewd political insider who softens her efforts to win over tough rooms with flattery and a quick, often folksy and occasionally dirty, sense of humor. She has acknowledged critiques that she mistreats her staff by describing herself as someone with high expectations who can “sometimes be too tough.”

Fiercely proud of her bipartisan approach, she heralds the high number of bills she has passed through Congress, the 42 counties Trump carried that she won last November and the allies she has cultivated across the aisle.

“When I look at this landscape we’re in, with all these people running, I think eventually people in the Democratic Party are going to say, show me the work, show me what you’ve gotten done,” she said. “But also show me how you can win, because that is the No. 1 concern they have.”

First, though, she must prevail in a crowded Democratic primary where her regional appeal may not carry the sway it once did. In an increasingly national media environment, cable news appearances and internet fame have driven notable amounts of money, coverage and momentum.

“I just don’t have the sense that being from a neighboring state is a huge advantage in such a big field at this particular point,” said J. Ann Selzer, a longtime pollster with one of the most accurate track records in Iowa. “Everything is more nationalized.”

Klobuchar and her aides acknowledge that a strong showing in Iowa is particularly crucial to her chances, given that she casts herself as the “senator next door.”

“I love the smell of ethanol,” she said, trooping through the gravel yard of a plant in rural Nevada, Iowa, as cold winds swept hard hats off the heads of those around her. “It’s like waking up with fresh bread.”

A few hours later, she made her pitch at a meeting with the Asian and Latino Coalition in Des Moines, telling them that she had stopped by the ethanol plant as part of her effort to reach beyond traditional Democratic voters.

“You have to meet people where they are and go out there,” she said.

David and Lauren Solomon, Democratic retirees from Des Moines, said they believed a more moderate candidate, like Klobuchar, would have the best shot at defeating Trump.

“Sure, I’d like some of these young kids, but they don’t have a chance against Trump in my opinion,” David Solomon said. “You’ve got to win the majority of the people.”

But sitting just a seat away, Catie Wittanger, a student at Drake University, said she thought most of the Democratic candidates could probably win the White House. What was most important to her was someone who shared her progressive values.

“Because of how our political system is right now, we do need somebody who is willing to take really big steps that a lot of people may consider risky,” Wittanger said. “I don’t think I could see myself caucusing for Klobuchar.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-2020-president.html" id="090caffe-c32c-36c5-a388-cc564085a809">The New York Times</a>.

Klobuchar's Big Idea: Bipartisan Appeal Can Beat Trump

NEVADA, Iowa — She doesn’t speak Norwegian. She never played bass in an emo-punk band. And she isn’t trying to lead a “political revolution.”

Since entering the race more than two months ago in the midst of a Minnesota blizzard, Klobuchar has been resolutely inching her way to the presidency. Forgoing packed rallies and soaring rhetoric, she is trying to sell voters on the politics of the practical, arguing that her record can win back some of the coveted Rust Belt voters who supported President Donald Trump.

“I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” he told reporters about his hugs and kisses to women over the years. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I’ve never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman.”

Speaking at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers conference in Washington, the former vice president used his first public remarks since the complaints emerged to try to push past the weeklong controversy that has overshadowed his expected presidential campaign.

In his address, he largely stuck to his long-running political themes, highlighting the importance of uniting a divided nation and restoring the “great American middle class” — save for two notable asides.

As he took the stage, he hugged Lonnie R. Stephenson, the union’s president. “I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie,” he said, and the largely male crowd burst into laughter.

Several minutes into his remarks, Biden spotted children in the audience. After welcoming them to the stage, Biden wrapped his arm around a young boy. “By the way, he gave me permission to touch him,” he said, to laughter.

But Biden acknowledged that his physically intimate style of campaigning would have to change — a shift he compared to his efforts to adjust to the practice of snapping selfies with voters.

“It’s going to have to change somewhat how I campaign,” he said. “It’s a new thing. It’s important, and I’m sure it’s going to take a while for it to settle out. But it’s settled out for me.”

But the public joking by Biden struck a nerve among some of the women who had expressed discomfort with their interactions.

“Biden’s consent joke is a clear indication Biden doesn’t get it and doesn’t take the voice of the women who have come forward seriously,” said Amy Lappos, who told the The Hartford Courant that Biden crossed “a line of respect” in their 2009 encounter at a fundraiser in Connecticut.

Others praised Biden’s remarks as an indication that he was listening to criticism of his behavior and trying to change.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/us/politics/joe-biden-controversy.html" id="3e6ee0a5-d0b4-30b1-ac9f-691f439dc6cd">The New York Times</a>.

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden on Friday twice jokingly referred to complaints from several women that he had made them uncomfortable with his physical contact, and then offered a convoluted apology about their concerns and his behavior.

Biden Jokes About Hugging in a Speech, Then Offers a Mixed Apology

The joke came as Biden was fending off criticism from some Democrats who worry that the 76-year-old is out of step with the party’s current sensibilities around gender and race. In recent days, he has struggled to address complaints from women that his hugs, kisses and other expressions of his physically intimate style of politicking were unwelcome.

Even as Biden sought to move past the accusations, they were plainly on his mind.

“Everyone knows I like kids more than people,” he added.

In his comments to reporters, made just a few feet from where President Ronald Reagan was nearly assassinated in 1981, Biden all but announced his third presidential bid, saying he had been “told by the lawyers” that he had to watch his words to avoid triggering certain campaign finance rules that start with an announcement. He indicated that he viewed a late entry into the crowded field as a strategic advantage.

“Give everybody else their day. Then I get a shot, and then we’re off to the races,” he said.

But Biden also said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more women came forward. He acknowledged that his physically intimate style of campaigning would have to change — a shift he compared to his efforts to adjust to the practice of snapping selfies with voters.

And Lucy Flores, a former Nevada assemblywoman who published an essay last week that described Biden touching and kissing her inappropriately at a 2014 campaign event, wrote on Twitter: “It’s clear @JoeBiden hasn’t reflected at all on how his inappropriate and unsolicited touching made women feel uncomfortable. To make light of something as serious as consent degrades the conversation women everywhere are courageously trying to have.”

Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement, tweeted that Biden’s making light of the controversy was “disrespectful and inexcusable.”

Celinda Lake, a pollster who specializes in female voters, said Biden’s comments would resonate within a Democratic primary electorate in which a majority of voters are expected to be over 50 — and may identify with Biden’s struggles to understand shifting norms around interactions between men and women.

“I thought he showed that he accepts responsibility, recognizes the issues and is changing,” said Lake, who worked on Biden’s 2008 presidential bid. “No one is perfect. His intent was clear. And he is changing.”

And Biden’s comments added more grist for a controversy spinning in several directions at once. Judith Shulevitz, who writes on feminism and other topics, including as a contributing op-ed writer for The New York Times, said the furious backlash about Biden’s long-public behavior reflected opposition to his candidacy more than his suddenly controversial personal style.

“Don’t pretend to be having an elevated discussion of public policy when you’re conducting character assassination,” she wrote in Politico. “You have come to bury Uncle Joe, not review his record. Own up to it.”

The union conference offered a friendly and comfortable setting for Biden, but it represented only one element of an increasingly diverse Democratic Party base. Biden proclaimed he felt at home with the crowd, liberally sprinkling his comments with the mild profanity that he often deploys at political rallies.

“We’ve gotten so damn sophisticated. We’ve gotten so damn elitist,” he said, referring to what he said was a tilt away from valuing blue-collar labor. “I hate the way things have changed over the last 15 to 20 years.”

He used the bulk of his speech to critique economic inequality and partisanship, offering an argument for American renewal that could form the basis of his campaign. He also leveled a full-throated indictment of Trump, perhaps previewing an opening salvo.

“What in the hell is happening? Our children are listening,” he said. “This country can’t afford more years of a president looking to settle personal scores.”

Some Democrats view the former vice president, with his decades of legislative experience and a folksy, blue-collar political brand, as the most formidable potential challenger to Trump. Biden, who also enjoys broad name recognition, leads in most early polling of the race for the Democratic nomination.

But others fear that Biden, who would enter the White House as the oldest president in U.S. history, and his team are unprepared to deal effectively with the political pitfalls posed by his decadeslong legislative record and old-fashioned style. Biden was slow to respond personally to the furor surrounding the women’s complaints, relying at first on statements issued by aides and supporters.

As criticism mounted and more women came forward, Biden released an online video Wednesday, in which he tried to explain his approach to “connecting” with people over the years. He has described himself as a “tactile politician” who tries to comfort people with hugs, kisses and touches on the shoulder when they appear nervous or upset.

In the seemingly homemade two-minute video, Biden promised to “be more mindful and respectful of people’s personal space” in the future. Reaction to his comments was divided, with critics questioning the lack of a clear apology for his behavior and supporters praising his willingness to address the issue.

Trump taunted Biden about the accusations Thursday, tweeting a 15-second video that mocked Biden, accompanied by the text “WELCOME BACK JOE!” With his remark, the president seemed to be practically inviting a re-examination of his own record with women, including multiple claims of sexual harassment and the “Access Hollywood” tape that nearly derailed his 2016 campaign.

While Biden fashions himself as a fierce defender of women’s rights, frequently citing his work as the architect of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, he has already faced obstacles in his efforts to win over female Democrats. Women are expected to make up a majority of voters in the Democratic primary, which includes six female candidates.

Recent comments that he wished he “could have done something” to treat Anita Hill’s claims of sexual harassment with more respect during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991 drew fierce backlash from critics, who pointed out that Biden had been chairman of the Senate committee that questioned Hill. His shifting position on abortion rights over his 36 years in the Senate has also drawn fresh scrutiny.

The joke came as Biden was fending off criticism from some Democrats who worry that the 76-year-old is out of step with the party’s mores around gender and race. In recent days, he has struggled to address complaints from women that his hugs, kisses and other expressions of his physically intimate style of politicking were unwelcome.

“Give everybody else their day, then I get a shot and then we’re off to the races,” he said.

But Biden also said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more women came forward, acknowledging that his physically intimate style of campaigning would have to change — a shift he compared to his efforts to adjust to the practice of snapping selfies with voters.

“It’s going to have to change somewhat how I campaign,” he said. “It’s a new thing. It’s important and I’m sure it’s going to take a while for it to settle out. But it’s settled out for me.”

“Biden’s consent joke is a clear indication Biden doesn’t get it and doesn’t take the voice of the women who have come forward seriously,” said Amy Lappos, who told the The Hartford Courant that Biden crossed “a line of respect” in their 2009 encounter.

Jessica Valenti, a feminist author, wrote on Twitter that Biden’s making light of the controversy was part of the problem.

“When women talk about the every day indignities we face — the too-close hugs, the shoulder rubs — a huge hurdle is the fear that we’ll be accused of overreacting,” she wrote. “That we’ll be laughed at. Biden is proving that fear correct.”

Some Democrats view the former vice president, with his decades of legislative experience and a folksy, blue-collar political brand, as the most formidable potential challenger to Trump. Biden leads in most early polling of the race for the Democratic nomination.

Speaking at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers conference in Washington, the former vice president used his first public remarks since the complaints emerged to try to push past the controversy that overtook his expected presidential campaign in the past week.

The joke came as Biden was fending off criticism from some Democrats who worry the 76-year-old is out of step with the party’s mores around gender and race. In recent days, he has struggled to address accusations from women that his hugs, kisses and other expressions of his physically intimate style of politicking were unwelcome.

Even as Biden sought to move past the complaints, they were plainly on his mind.

He used the bulk of his speech to critique economic inequality and partisanship, offering an argument for American renewal that could form the basis of his possible presidential campaign. He also leveled a full-throated indictment of President Donald Trump.

“This country was not built by Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers,” he said. “It was built by the great American middle class.”

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden on Friday twice jokingly referred to complaints from several women that he had made them uncomfortable with his physical contact, and then gave a convoluted apology about their concerns and his behavior.

The joke came as Biden was fending off criticism from some Democrats who worry that the 76-year-old is out of step with the party’s mores around gender and race. In recent days, he has struggled to address accusations from women that his hugs, kisses and other expressions of his physically intimate style of politicking were unwelcome.

He used the bulk of his speech to critique economic inequality and partisanship, offering an argument for American renewal that could form the basis of his possible presidential campaign. He also leveled a full-throated indictment of President Donald Trump, perhaps previewing the opening salvo of a third presidential bid.

The union conference offered a friendly and comfortable setting for Biden, but one that represented only one element of an increasingly diverse Democratic Party base. Biden proclaimed he felt at home with the crowd, liberally sprinkling his comments with the mild profanity that he often deploys at political rallies.

“We’ve gotten so damn sophisticated. We’ve gotten so damn elitist,” he said. “I hate the way things have changed over the last 15 to 20 years.”

Biden is widely expected to announce his presidential bid in the coming weeks. Some Democrats view the former vice president, with his decades of legislative experience and a folksy, blue-collar political brand, as potentially the most formidable challenger to Trump. Biden leads in most early polling of the race for the Democratic nomination.

But others fear that Biden, who would enter the White House as the oldest president in U.S. history, and his team are unprepared to deal effectively with the political pitfalls posed by his decadeslong legislative record and old-fashioned style. Biden was slow to respond personally to the furor surrounding the new complaints, leaving much of the response to statements issued by aides and supporters.

The appearance before the union was opened to the media shortly after Biden released an online video Wednesday, in which he tried to explain his approach to “connecting” with people over the years. He has described himself as a “tactile politician” who tries to comfort people with hugs, kisses and touches on the shoulder when they appear nervous or upset.

Trump taunted Biden about the allegations Thursday, tweeting a 15-second video that mocked Biden, accompanied by the text “WELCOME BACK JOE!” With his remark, the president seemed to be practically inviting a re-examination of his own record with women, including multiple claims of sexual harassment and the “Access Hollywood” tape that nearly derailed his 2016 campaign.

While Biden fashions himself as a fierce defender of women’s rights, frequently citing his work as the architect of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, he has already faced obstacles in his efforts to win over female Democrats as he prepares for the possibility of a third presidential bid. Women are expected to make up a majority of voters in the Democratic primary, which includes six female candidates.

In a video announcing his decision Tuesday, Merkley highlighted “three great crises” facing America that amount to a “battle for the soul of our nation,” focusing on threats to economic equality, the climate and the democratic system.

“I’m going to work to fix our broken and dysfunctional Senate so it isn’t just a graveyard for good ideas,” Merkley said. “To fix America we must fix the Senate.”

His decision leaves the Democratic primary field with 14 candidates. John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, joined the race Monday.

Long a progressive darling, Merkley rose to national prominence as the only senator to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. After Sanders lost, Merkley saw an opportunity to claim some — if not all — of the senator’s coveted base of support.

But he would have been far from the only candidate fighting for what’s become known as the “Sanders wing” of the Democratic Party. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; and Cory Booker, D-N.J., have all staked a claim to a share of the liberal base.

“To win these battles we need both strong leadership in the Oval Office and strong leadership in the Senate,” Merkley said. “I believe that there are Democrats now in the presidential race who are speaking to the importance of tackling the big challenges that we face.”

During the first week of Sanders’ campaign for the 2020 nomination, aides announced that he would raised $10 million, underscoring his still-strong hold over liberals in the party. Even before Sanders entered the race, Merkley had already raised doubts about whether he could build the kind of operation needed to run successfully in such a crowded primary field.

“You would really have to build a vast operation to be competitive given the design of our primary system,” he told Oregon Public Broadcasting this year, “and that would require an all-out effort. And so it’s balancing that effort against putting all my efforts in through the Senate.”

Merkley, a mild-mannered, 62-year-old lawmaker, saw his profile rise in June, when he tried to enter a federal detention center in Texas that was holding immigrant children. A videotape of officials calling police in response to his unannounced visit went viral, racking up more than 1 million views in a day and getting aired on national news. About two weeks later, Merkley received permission to tour the facility.

He spent the midterm election cycle visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Through his Blue Wave Project political action committee, Merkley endorsed a series of midterm candidates, including nearly two dozen in key presidential primary states, and hired some staff in early primary states.

The son of a mill worker and a homemaker, Merkley joined the Senate in 2008 on the wave of President Barack Obama’s White House win. He defeated a Republican incumbent to win the seat once held by Mark O. Hatfield, a moderate Republican for whom Merkley had worked as an intern.

In the Senate, he’s championed environmental causes, Wall Street changes and same-sex marriage, pushing for passage of the Equality Act, legislation that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

By running for president, Merkley would have been giving up the opportunity for a third term in the Senate. Late last year, he informally asked Oregon lawmakers to change an existing law prohibiting candidates from being on the ballot for two offices — in his case, the U.S. Senate and the presidency — in the same year. His requests were rebuffed: “It doesn’t appear that there is a consensus to make this move at this time and I’m completely fine with that,” he tweeted in early December.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/us/politics/jeff-merkley-not-running-president.html" id="6ca6dd2e-56f8-3582-abc9-6a7ae5861a38">The New York Times</a>.

Merkley, Oregon Senator, Says He Won't Run for President

Jeff Merkley, a two-term senator from Oregon, has opted out of running for the 2020 presidential nomination, forgoing what would have been a long-shot bid against some of the most famous names in Democratic politics. He said he would pursue re-election to the Senate.

In a video announcing his decision Tuesday, Merkley highlighted “three great crises” facing America that amount to a “battle for the soul of our nation,” focusing on threats to economic equality, the climate and our democratic system.

Merkley’s candidacy would have been a long-shot bid against some of the most famous names in Democratic politics.

During the first week of his campaign, aides to Sanders announced that he would raised $10 million, underscoring his still-strong hold over liberals in the party. Even before Sanders entered the race, Merkley had already raised doubts about whether he could build the kind of operation needed to run successfully in such a crowded primary field.

“You would really have to build a vast operation to be competitive given the design of our primary system,” he told Oregon Public Broadcasting earlier this year, “and that would require an all-out effort. And so it’s balancing that effort against putting all my efforts in through the Senate.”

The mild-mannered, 62-year-old lawmaker saw his profile rise last June, when he tried to enter a federal detention center in Texas that was holding immigrant children. A videotape of officials calling the police in response to his unannounced visit went viral, racking up more than 1 million views in a day and getting aired on national news. About two weeks later, Merkley later received permission to tour the same facility.

He spent the midterms visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Through his Blue Wave Project political action committee, Merkley endorsed a series of midterm candidates, including nearly two dozen in key presidential primary states and hired some staff in early primary states.

The son of a mill worker and a homemaker, Merkley grew up largely in a working-class neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, and was the first person in his family to graduate from college. He had his first experience with national politics when he interned for Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, a moderate Republican.

After working in Washington, he returned to Portland and became executive director of the city’s Habitat for Humanity before being elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1998.

In 2008 he defeated a Republican incumbent to win Hatfield’s former seat, riding into the Senate on the wave of President Barack Obama’s White House win.

In the Senate, he’s championed environmental causes, ending the war in Afghanistan, Wall Street reform and same-sex marriage, pushing for passage of the Equality Act, legislation that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Jeff Merkley, a two-term senator from Oregon, has opted out of running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and instead said he would pursue re-election to the Senate.

The country is 337 days away from the Iowa caucuses and 611 days from the general election for president. But that’s not stopping Democrats from debating the politics of entering the race really, really early or just, well, plain old-fashioned early.

A dozen candidates, half of whom are women, rushed into the contest in the first two months of 2019, creating the most diverse primary field in history. Now, the party is on the cusp of a second round of announcements: A wave of white men, most of whom have targeted March as their do-or-die moment.

“Amy and I have made a decision about how we can best serve our country,” former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas said in a brief statement Wednesday. “We are excited to share it with everyone soon.”

Michael Bloomberg gave himself a timeline of “three more weeks” to decide — 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Asked last Sunday whether he was running, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington answered, “We’re getting to that point where we can talk to you about that.”

Inslee announced his bid Friday morning, and former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado is expected to enter the race as soon as next week. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is wrapping up his tour of early primary states, leaving him a week or two away from making a decision, say those who have spoken to him.

“We are in a period of campaigns starting earlier,” said Joel Benenson, a Democratic pollster who played a top role in Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns. “I don’t think that you’re dead in the water if you don’t get in by April 1, but you don’t have a lot of time after that.”

There are arguments for both an early and a late start. A winter launch means more time to raise money, attract coveted staff members and build grassroots support. But a spring announcement could bring the appeal of a fresh face into a crowded field.

Some of those considering joining the race are not household names, and an earlier entrance might have gotten lost in the sea of announcements from prominent Democrats like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand.

The exception, of course, is former Vice President Joe Biden, who polls show would instantly be the early front-runner if he ran. His indecision has fed a constant stream of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation.

Biden, in an appearance Tuesday at the University of Delaware, said his family is urging him to run. But, he added, “I’m not there yet.”

“I have not made the final decision — but don’t be surprised,” he said. If he were to run, he said, he expected he would enter the race in the second quarter of the year.

O’Rourke, whose strong showing in his failed challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, boosted him to political stardom, has kept his decision-making process far more closely held.

While O’Rourke has spent his time since his Senate defeat traveling the country, posting viral Instagram videos and talking to voters, others’ presidential aspirations have been complicated by their day jobs. Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, another potential candidate, is reluctant to spend much time traveling to early primary states during his state’s legislative session, a gathering that happens only once every two years and isn’t expected to finish until April, his aides say.

Hickenlooper was governor until early January, making it difficult for him to fully focus on a presidential campaign until after the new year, aides said. He has argued that taking the extra time is worth the potential cost.

“To me, it’s better to be late a few weeks and lose money on it, and not have raised as much money as you would have, but actually have everybody unified,” Hickenlooper told Colorado reporters, who traveled to Iowa to cover his not-quite-yet-campaign.

Of course, in 2020, “late” is still really early. Democratic candidates have packed the field far faster in 2019 than in any other primary contest in the modern era.

For those outside the race, the whole discussion over whether to announce in January or April seems slightly insane.

“The primaries are in a few weeks, right?” joked Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who has endorsed Harris. “The whole thing, it’s absurd. ‘Biden really needs to decide right now.’ Really, does he? I mean come on.”

But whether Biden is out or in, Democrats haven’t seen a race this wide open in over a decade. Competition for donors and staff is fierce, with some early-state operatives being courted by nearly a dozen candidates, candidates-to-be and potential candidates.

Already, fundraising requests flood Democrats’ inboxes, a reflection of the frenzy around small-dollar donations that has taken hold as candidates try to court the party’s base by rejecting corporate and big-dollar donations — at least for the primary contest.

The earlier candidates enter the race, the more time they have to build up their political ATMs — a roster of potential supporters they can tap again and again for contributions. They will be competing with grassroots fundraising behemoths, some of whom have millions left over from past campaigns and expansive lists of supporters. Sanders, for instance, collected more than $10 million in his first week as a candidate, according to campaign officials.

Much of the fundraising anxiety stems from the looming deadline of April 15, the date candidates must file their first financial reports of the year with the Federal Election Commission. With early polling measuring little more than name recognition, those numbers are typically viewed as the first real demonstration of relative strength.

“I would not wait much longer,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of the political action committee Emily’s List and an early proponent of online fundraising as Howard Dean’s national finance director. “If they’re going to run they’ve got to go. The money isn’t just going to come immediately.”

Supporters of Warren, who effectively pushed up the start date of the race with her surprise New Year’s Eve announcement, say her early entrance allowed unfettered political space for her message. But she has still faced fundraising struggles, as Sanders — who poses perhaps her toughest competition for economic progressives — has raised far more money.

“Being first in has one downside: People can applaud your big bold ideas while also thinking, ‘I’d like to wait six months before picking a horse and making my first donation,'” said Adam Green, co-founder of the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has endorsed Warren.

Julián Castro, the former housing secretary and former mayor of San Antonio, who launched his exploratory committee more than two weeks before Warren, described his early start as a strategic choice to give himself the best shot at building a following against better-known and better-financed rivals.

“What I need is time. I need the fight to start earlier,” Castro said.

But some Democrats question whether the traditional rules of the “invisible primary” — the prevoting period when candidates rack up endorsements, donors and media attention — still apply. In 2015, President Donald Trump entered the primaries in June, and Sanders at the end of April.

Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster who is working for Hickenlooper, says the real sorting of the field will begin with the first primary debate in June, a potentially two-night event that she believes will have “off-the-chart” viewership.

“I just think all these traditional trappings of primary campaigns were upended in 2016 and are already being upended in 2020,” Greenberg said. “Nobody really knows what the rules are now.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/us/politics/2020-democrats-announcements.html" id="7d1e725c-0aa5-370f-a7a5-2f1f1d350323">The New York Times</a>.

(Political Memo)

Decision for 2020 Democrats: Should They Get in the Race Early, or Really Early?

The country is 340 days away from the Iowa caucuses and 614 days from the general election for president. But that’s not stopping Democrats from debating the politics of entering the race really, really early or just, well, plain old-fashioned early.

Inslee is poised to announce a bid as early as Friday, and former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado is expected to enter the race as soon as next week. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is wrapping up his tour of early primary states, leaving him a week or two away from making a decision, say those who have spoken to him.

O’Rourke, whose strong showing in his failed challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, boosted him to political stardom, has kept his decision-making process far more closely held, with friends saying not even his mother has asked whether he plans to run for president.

“What I need is time. I need the fight to start earlier,” Castro said. “The earlier for me or anybody in my position starts, the better strategically.”

Party officials, anticipating a rush of candidates eager to grab a spot in the nationally televised forums, created a new set of standards that would accommodate a maximum of 20 candidates. To qualify, a candidate must either reach 1 percent in three approved polls or raise at least $65,000 from 200 donors in 20 states. Each candidate’s slot will be selected by a random drawing.

The criteria will apply only to the first two debates, scheduled for back-to-back weeknights in June and July, allowing the committee to update its requirements as the field shifts. NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo are sponsoring the first debate, and CNN will host the second, with specific dates and locations to be announced in the coming weeks.

In total, the committee expects to hold a dozen debates over the 2020 campaign cycle.

“Because campaigns are won on the strength of their grassroots, we also updated the threshold, giving all types of candidates the opportunity to reach the debate stage and giving small-dollar donors a bigger voice in the primary than ever before,” Tom Perez, the committee chairman, said in a statement.

Small-dollar donations have emerged as a significant metric for assessing candidates’ early strength, as some have disavowed super PACs that allow for unlimited sums from wealthy backers. The new debate standard, the first to include small-dollar donations, is likely to intensify the pressure for candidates, particularly those with less name recognition, to quickly lock down donors.

The new criteria are a direct response to criticism leveled during the 2016 campaign that the party committee organized the debate schedule to favor Hillary Clinton, the eventual party nominee. Her two primary opponents, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, accused the party’s leadership of creating a “rigged” process by limiting the number of debates to six — two of which were scheduled for Saturday evenings and one for a Sunday. Eventually the committee sanctioned four more debates.

The revised debate plan is one of several reforms undertaken by the DNC to rebuild trust within the party after the 2016 elections. Last year, committee members voted to drastically curtail the power of superdelegates — the elected officials, lobbyists and party activists who get to vote for a candidate during the party’s nominating convention. The new rule bars superdelegates from voting on the first presidential nominating ballot at a contested national convention.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/us/politics/democratic-debates-2020.html" id="55576bd9-4ba3-386c-aeb8-0765ddb8aeba">The New York Times</a>.

Democrats Unveil Plan to Split Debates Over 2 Nights

The Democratic National Committee on Thursday unveiled the criteria for participation in the first two presidential primary debates, splitting the debates across two consecutive nights to accommodate an already sprawling field of candidates.

Now, as the longest government shutdown in history rolls into a fourth week, Jones finds himself holding the same position as Nancy Pelosi, the liberal House speaker: Reopen the government, then negotiate on border security.

Jones is the only red-state Senate Democrat up for re-election in 2020. By taking on President Donald Trump and the border wall, which are both popular in Alabama, and refusing to give ground on the shutdown, the senator may be the last “Doug Jones Democrat” to win here anytime soon.

Alabama has one of the largest groups of federal workers in the country, and the economic pain of those who are out of work because of the shutdown is rippling through local businesses across the state.

“I voted for Jones, I did,” said Ann Lynch, an 86-year-old retired schoolteacher, as she did her grocery shopping wrapped in a fur coat on a brisk afternoon in Huntsville, where more than half the local economy is tied to federal spending. “But he doesn’t support the wall. I don’t like that, of course. I think we need it. Trump knows we need it.”

Jones’ opposition also underscores the challenge Trump faces in fulfilling one of his key campaign promises, and the fierce partisanship that has come to define the stalled shutdown negotiations. If the president can’t convince a Democrat from Alabama — the most vulnerable senator up for re-election in 2020 — to back his wall, who can he sway?

“I’m just not going to throw money at anybody who is with a gun to my head,” Jones said in an interview, referring to Trump’s $5.7 billion request for the wall. “Let’s get the government open.”

In Huntsville, the effect of empty offices at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on the Army’s Redstone Arsenal base has rippled through the contractors, restaurants and hotels that power Rocket City. With 5,000 workers furloughed across the state, the pain is being felt by people like Angie Gates, whose small family restaurant lost out on $600 worth of lunch business recently because a prison training program was shut down during the wall standoff.

“For us, because we’re a small town, the shutdown is kind of difficult. But there’s also things in politics that may be worth doing,” said Gates. “If Doug Jones doesn’t support the wall, I don’t support him.”

Democrats argue that the politics of the shutdown favor their party, pointing to surveys showing that a majority of Americans blame the president for the stalemate and oppose the wall.

But that political calculus may not hold for Jones, who won a special election to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he was appointed attorney general. Polling also shows that support for the wall among conservatives, who make up much of Alabama’s electorate, has remained strong during the shutdown. Even supporters of Jones think he’s in trouble.

“He’s a dead man walking,” said former Rep. Parker Griffith, a conservative Democrat who helped Jones in his election and continues to support him. “He leaned into his base, and his base is not big enough to elect him.”

The partisanship that has become a hallmark of the Trump era has not been kind to moderate Democrats: Of the five other Democrats from Trump-supporting red states who were in the Senate when Jones arrived last year, three lost their 2018 re-election bids after opposing Trump on various fronts, including the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

One who survived last year, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, has stood closer to Trump on the border wall than any other Democrat in the Senate, running an ad during his campaign touting his support for the proposal and saying he would back a presidential declaration of a state of emergency, if it would end the shutdown.

Jones has adopted a different playbook. While he has voted with Trump half the time, according to the website FiveThirtyEight, more than nearly any other Senate Democrat, he has stood with national Democrats on high-profile issues, including opposing Kavanaugh. He used his first speech on the Senate floor to call for new gun control measures, tackling an issue that has long been anathema to many Southern Democrats.

Democrats hope voters will value Jones’ decision to stick with his gut when it comes to difficult political issues, even if that means siding with the national party.

“He’s a guy who’s going to be true to himself,” said John Anzalone, a Birmingham-based Democratic pollster. “Authenticity is what sells in a place like Alabama.”

But there’s also little question that Jones hit the political jackpot with his special election in 2017 by facing Roy Moore, an already-controversial Republican opponent who became all but radioactive after charges of sexual assault against underage girls. Even with that baggage, Jones beat Moore by only about 20,000 votes.

A number of Republican officials in the state, including Rep. Bradley Byrne and Alabama state Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh, are considering challenging Jones next year. None have the liabilities of Moore, who motivated a surge of black Democratic voters while prompting some Alabama Republicans to cross party lines and others to stay home from the polls.

On top of those local challenges, Jones will also be running against the backdrop of the 2020 presidential election, a contest that will both highlight the national Democratic platform and bring out conservative voters eager to support the president.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — After Doug Jones scored an upset win in the Alabama Senate race in 2017, elated Democrats nationwide dreamed of winning in other deeply red corners of the country. Jones seemed to offer a model, rejecting labels like progressive or conservative and calling himself a “Doug Jones Democrat.”

Lisa Lerer

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