Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota conferred with former President Jimmy Carter on Friday in Georgia, picking up tips on winning an underdog campaign.
“Wonderful lunch with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter today at their home in Plains,” Klobuchar tweeted of the 39th president. “Tomato soup and pimento cheese sandwiches! Got some good advice and helpful to hear about their grassroots presidential campaign (when no one thought they could win but they did)!”
Wonderful lunch with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter today at their home in Plains. Tomato soup and pimento cheese sandwiches! Got some good advice and helpful to hear about their grassroots presidential campaign (when no one thought they could win but they did)! pic.twitter.com/SEbE6QYU6l
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 22, 2019
Klobuchar, 58, foreshadowed the encounter on Thursday night during a speaking engagement in Iowa.
“I’m going to Atlanta, and I’m doing some events there, and hoping in the morning to maybe go see President Carter,” she said, before gushing about Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, who also hailed from Minnesota.
Carter was elected to the White House in 1976, succeeding former President Gerald Ford, who took over when Richard Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.
The one-term Georgia governor and former state senator was initially dismissed as a virtual unknown on the national stage. He had visited 37 states, delivered more than 200 speeches and traveled over 50,000 miles before any other candidates announced that they were in the race.
Unlike Klobuchar, who has been in the Senate since 2007, Carter has never worked in Washington. His outsider status was a major boost in the post-Watergate environment and he emerged from a crowded field of 15 candidates by competing in every primary and caucus.
After a tough primary battle with Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts in 1980, Carter was crushed by Ronald Reagan in the general election, losing his re-election bid by nearly 10 percentage points and 489 to 49 electoral college votes.
A spokesperson for Carter, 94, described the Friday sit-down with Klobuchar to the Washington Examiner as a “courtesy meeting.”
Carter last month counseled another 2020 contender: Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. In a video posted after their meeting, Carter voiced his early support of Booker, 49, who at the time had yet to declare his candidacy. He later did so at the beginning of February, coinciding with the start of Black History Month.
“I’m very glad to have you here this morning, and I hope you come back. And I hope you run for president,” the former naval officer and peanut farmer said in the recording.
Former President Jimmy Carter is encouraging Democratic Sen. @CoryBooker to run for President. Booker was in Plains, GA with Rep. John Lewis this morning. So far, anything with #Booker2020 on it seems to be supporter made or a prop on SNL. #11Alive @11AliveNews pic.twitter.com/393Hxcfiy5
— Joe Giesy (@HeyJoeGies) January 20, 2019
After leaving office, Carter dived into charity work through his foundation, the Carter Center, with a special focus on peace-building and health programs. He has also been heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity.
Carter didn’t take a break from his philanthropist efforts in 2015 when he was diagnosed with melanoma, which had spread to his brain. Doctors warned him he only had weeks to live, but seven months later, he was able to tell his Sunday School class he was cancer free.
Klobuchar’s meal with Carter comes after a report she sought advice from 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, before kicking off her campaign for the White House this month in her home state.
Klobuchar is in Georgia for a Friday fundraiser with 2018 Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. She will stump this weekend in South Carolina.
