Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says the potential 2020 Democratic presidential field resembles an “old folks home,” according to a new report.
In the aftermath of President-elect Trump’s victory and recent chatter that Vice President Biden could launch a 2020 campaign for the Democratic nomination, the Nevada Democrat remarked that the field of prospective candidates in four year’s time looks like an “old folks home.” The soon-to-be former senator was referring to Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, all of whom could launch campaigns.
“It depends on who’s running,” Reid told an aide while preparing for his final press conference at the Capitol in early December. “It appears we’re going to have an old-folks’ home. We’ve got [Elizabeth] Warren; she’ll be 71. Biden will be 78. Bernie [Sanders] will be 79.”
Reid, 77, made the comment after speculation about a possible Biden run in 2020, who has been stoking the fire about a potential campaign. Biden told “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert that while he is not planning a run, he has learned to “never say never.”
Some recent key moves have signaled that some top Democrats are already preparing for potential campaigns. Warren and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker recently earned spots on two top committees — Warren on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Booker on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That has reignited talk about their future ambitions.
Sanders has said it is too soon for anyone to be looking ahead to 2020, saying he is focused on the incoming Trump administration and combating issues he talked about throughout his campaign for the Democratic nomination.
