Top Democrats were apoplectic Monday about what they fear will be a spoiler campaign by Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO, after he said he is “seriously considering” running for president as an independent.
Many Democrats on Capitol Hill said Schultz’s campaign would only split the anti-Trump vote and deliver Trump another victory in 2020.
“It would be hurtful. History shows it would be hurtful,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., in an interview Monday. Hoyer likened Schultz to Ross Perot, who helped spoil a second term in the White House for then-President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
“He ought to run as a Democrat or support a Democrat who can win,” Hoyer added.
While the former Starbucks chief has yet to make his bid official, he is making the moves of someone who is prepping for a high-level campaign. On Monday, he hired Bill Burton, a top deputy of former President Barack Obama.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said Democrats praised Schultz for giving healthcare coverage to his employees.
“We didn’t know what a barista was at the time,” Durbin said. “And I thought, ‘I kind of like this guy. Maybe I’ll buy this super expensive coffee.'”
But now, Durbin thinks Schultz is a huge political problem who could keep Democrats out of the White House in 2021.
“I don’t know who he is anymore [politically], and certainly, his entry in this race brings back memories of Ralph Nader’s quixotic journey,” Durbin said. “It can’t help, as far as I’m concerned.”
Schultz kicked off his book tour Monday night with an appearance in New York City, where he defended his possible Independent bid and slammed the door shut on any chance of him running as a Democrat. He also took issue with Michael Bloomberg’s assessment that an independent candidate has no chance of winning.
All of that makes Democrats nervous.
“I certainly worry about that,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the former chairman of the Senate Democratic campaign arm. “I very much worry about dividing the Democratic and independent vote.”
One person who welcomed a possible Schultz bid was Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., one of his home state senators.
“It’s great to have a whole variety of people running for office, and Howard is a great businessperson with a lot of great businessperson experience,” Cantwell said. “We’ll see what he does, but he’s a guy with a lot of good ideas.”
Cantwell added that she has not talked to Schultz recently about a possible 2020 bid.
The news comes as the Democratic field begins to take shape, headlined by announcements over the past month from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent who ran as a Democrat two years ago and is likely to run again, declined to comment on whether Schultz would hurt Democrats.
“[It’s a] free country, last I heard,” Sanders said.
