Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former Attorney General Eric Holder may not have ruled out 2020 White House bids after all.
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, and Bloomberg have both recently told people in confidence that they would reconsider running for president this time around if they thought they could win, according to the New York Times.
Both potential candidates, however, were skeptical that there would be an opening for them to enter the race, Democrats who spoke with them said.
Clinton teased a possible rematch with President Trump after he taunted her to run again earlier this month. “Don’t tempt me. Do your job,” she tweeted at Trump, who mockingly said she should “enter the race to try and steal it away” from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
The former first lady had told friends in January that she was not ready to end her White House dreams, before special counsel Robert Mueller wrapped up his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. But in March, before the release of Mueller’s report, Clinton said she was “not running.”
Democrats close to Clinton and Bloomberg said they only see either of them reconsidering if former Vice President Joe Biden ends his candidacy or is in a weakened position heading into the general election. Former White House chief strategist Steven Bannon also predicted that the pair will join the race if Biden’s campaign deflates by the end of the year. By that time, it could be too late to get on the ballot in many primary states.
A Democrat familiar with Holder’s thinking said the former Obama official is weighing a last-minute entry but believes it may be too late in the process.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry has also questioned his decision to sit out of the 2020 race as he watches Biden slide in the polls and his fundraising slow. Despite being urged to get in, Kerry still believes the former vice president is the Democratic Party’s best nominee.
Other Democrats are also fielding calls about who could be a late entrant into the race to save the party from potential defeat.
“There’s more anxiety than ever,” Connie Schultz, a journalist who is married to Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, told the New York Times. “We’re both getting the calls. I’ve been surprised by some who’ve called me.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said he has also been asked by friends to reconsider running.
