Former presidential hopefuls Jay Inslee and Eric Swalwell seem to have more influence on the state of the Democratic presidential primary now that they are out of the race, with top contenders now embracing climate and gun control policies that they championed.
Inslee, governor of Washington, centered his campaign on the threat of global climate change and released multiple long, detailed plans that included trillions of dollars in investment and development, closing all the country’s coal plants by 2030 and achieving net-zero U.S. carbon emissions by 2045.
Though Inslee dropped out of the race two weeks ago, his plans took center stage during CNN’s seven-hour climate town hall with 10 candidates. In advance of the town hall, some remaining primary contenders released new, sweeping plans that borrowed from Inslee’s plethora of proposals.
“Gov. Inslee’s has offered his plan as open-source for anyone to use, and he’s offered his staff to work with any campaign,” Jared Leopold, senior communications adviser for Inslee, told the Washington Examiner. Inslee is “encouraged by the degree of conversation and specifics on ambitious climate plans,” he said.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, known for her detailed policy platforms and having “a plan for that,” took some of Inslee’s language word-for-word. For instance, Inslee said he would “ensure that every federal Interstate Highway rest stop hosts a fast-charging station, by the end of 2024,” and Warren’s plan includes “ensuring that every federal interstate highway rest stop hosts a fast-charging station by the end of my first term in office.”
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro sought input from Inslee’s team ahead of releasing a climate plan this week, and former Vice President Joe Biden’s team has reportedly reached out to the Inslee camp as well.
During the CNN town hall, California Sen. Kamala Harris shifted her position to support a key element of Inslee’s platform: eliminating the Senate filibuster in order to push climate legislation through Congress. In February, Harris said she was “conflicted” about ending the filibuster.
Swalwell, a California congressman, made strict gun control legislation a cornerstone of his brief presidential bid. He proposed banning the sale of assault weapons and implementing a mandatory “buyback” program to remove them from the streets.
Though he dropped out of the race in early July, Swalwell is reportedly encouraging other candidates to adopt his position, and some are moving toward it in the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio in early August.
R. Kyle Alagood, who was Swalwell’s campaign policy director, noted in an op-ed last month that following the August mass shootings, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden also embraced a federal assault weapons “buyback” program, albeit not a mandatory one.
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, an El Paso native, also declared his support for a mandatory “buyback” of assault weapons last month.
In the early months of his campaign, O’Rourke took a softer stance on gun control. He said that primary competitor New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s plan to create a federal gun licensing system “may be too far” before backtracking the next day and clarifying that the idea is worth exploring. Now, he supports a national gun licensing system.
Advisers for Swalwell and Inslee indicated that the former presidential contenders are pleased with breaking ground on policy and making way for others to follow suit.
“On the presidential stage, every Democratic candidate should take a close look at [Swalwell’s] plan and follow suit,” Alagood wrote. “The time for sweeping platitudes and half measures is over.”
“This presidential election involves a deeper conversation about more ambitious climate agenda than any presidential election before,” Leopold said. “And [Inslee is] proud to have played a role in that happening.”
