Yes, it’s cool to have “former presidential candidate” as your CNN chyron for the year or so after the presidential primary ends. But beyond mere personal aggrandizement, it’s hard to see any point to former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s late-in-the-game presidential campaign.
Political pundits love to talk about what “lane” a candidate has, or their “pathway” to the nomination. With Patrick, there’s really no lane to be seen.
“This time is about more than removing an unpopular and divisive leader, as important as that is, but about delivering instead for you.”
Former Governor of Massachusetts, @DevalPatrick, enters the 2020 race.https://t.co/UrTr93sEyg
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 14, 2019
As my Washington Examiner colleague Becket Adams noted, Patrick is trying to frame himself as a moderate, coming out of the gate opposed to socializing healthcare via “Medicare for all” and sounding a more tempered tone on taxing the rich. But between Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar, there’s no shortage of (somewhat) moderate options in this Democratic race.
Patrick doesn’t really offer anything new just by being a non-socialist.
With this in mind, it’s hard to see why any Democratic primary voters would swing over and support his campaign. Socialists will stick with Sen. Bernie Sanders or else jump to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Moderates will likely remain with Biden, or one of the others if he implodes. And the gay and transgender voters who aren’t too radical will continue to support their beloved Mayor Pete.
In all cases, these voters are unlikely to defect to Patrick.
If you’re a “wokie” looking for maximum identity politics, you’d probably go with Kamala Harris over Patrick. He might be black, but he’s also a cisgender male, and this in 2019. Maybe if Patrick comes out as non-binary or something, that would help, but I’m guessing his wife wouldn’t be too happy about that.
Anti-war hard-liners will stick with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and those few poor souls who find cringe-worthy pandering somehow appealing will likely remain wedded to the flailing campaign of Sen. Cory Booker.
All in all, it appears there’s no real constituency for Deval Patrick’s presidential campaign, even if it will help him get back on TV and in the headlines. So, Patrick’s decision to run only makes sense if getting elected is not actually the point.
