Don't look now, but here comes Klobuchar

Actually, you’d better look Sunday, because you might end up missing all of the potential buzz for Klobuchar 2020. Last night, mostly missed among all of the State of the Union events and analysis, came this tweet:

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She’s running, even if no one notices it, reports the CBS affiliate in the Twin Cities, although the Star Tribune keeps its readers in suspense:

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is set to reveal whether she will run for president at a rally Sunday in Minneapolis.

The Democratic senator from Minnesota will make her announcement at a 1 p.m. event at Boom Island Park, across the Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis.

A spokeswoman said Tuesday that Klobuchar would not say until the event itself whether she will seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. A news release says only that Klobuchar will make a “major announcement” to a crowd of Minnesotans and supporters.

Nah, she’s running, writes Vanity Fair’s Eric Lutz:

Amy Klobuchar appears to be ready to announce she’s running for president, joining an increasingly long list of Democrats looking to challenge Donald Trump in 2020. She said as much during an appearance on MSNBC Tuesday evening, telling Rachel Maddow that she’ll announce her decision at a Minneapolis event on Sunday. “It’s gonna be a little cold—20 degrees. Wear warm clothes. Maybe have, you know, little heat warmers with you,” the Minnesota senator said. “But then you’ll find out my decision.”

Unless she’s partial to anticlimax, it seems likely Klobuchar will make official what’s long been assumed. The Minnesota senator has been seen as a potential presidential aspirant virtually since the time she was elected the first woman to represent Minnesota in the United States Senate in 2006. Since then, she has been re-elected twice by more than 20 points in an otherwise purple state, arguably making her the most popular Democrat to hold nationwide office. She been expected to enter the 2020 fray for weeks, and is due in Iowa—the site of the first contest of the Democratic primary—later this month.

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Of course she’s running. No one sets up a public event to announce a demurral, especially not Midwesterners. Those come during Sunday morning news interviews, with the appropriate level of sobriety and humility.

George Will thinks she’s the Trump-beater, while I’m just as certain she’ll get as lost amongst the other candidates as her strange tweet was lost last night amidst the SOTU news. (What a strange time to choose for the promotion!) Allahpundit will game out her chances in more detail later this evening, but I’ll leave readers with this observation from my good friend Steven Schier, a Twin Cities political analyst. There’s nothing about Klobuchar that sets her apart from the crowd — any crowd:

It’s one thing to have a moment during a Senate hearing, but it’s entirely another to bring thousands to their feet with soaring oratory (Barack Obama) or cathartic populism (Trump). Can the senator next door rally the masses?

“Just another face in the crowd — that’s her biggest problem,” says Schier, noting that it’s a big crowd of hopefuls. “She’s not likely to do stunts because that’s not her temperament, but she’s got to find a way to get her name out there. … I just don’t think she’s in the top tier of candidates right now.”

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David Strom 6:00 AM | April 26, 2024
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