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Several bids for presidency came and went in 2019

By Casey Junkins - City Editor | Dec 31, 2019

NASHUA – As 2019 began, many national political analysts predicted that Kamala Harris of California and Beto O’Rourke of Texas would emerge as the top two contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, with New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand also considered a strong possibility.

As the year comes to a close, Harris, O’Rourke and Gillibrand have already abandoned their once promising presidential bids.

Other Democrats who both started and ended 2020 presidential campaigns in 2019 include: U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Washington Gov. Jay Inslee; U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio; Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.; former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska; and former Congressman Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania.

As New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation (#FITN) presidential primary date of Feb. 11 draws closer, some whose campaigns once seemed destined for success are no longer in the race.

“I think Joe Biden would be a great running mate. As vice president, he’s proven that he knows how to do the job.”

A confident Harris made this comment during her May 15 campaign stop at Nashua’s Girls Inc. Her point, at the time, was that she intended to be the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, rather than merely someone else’s running mate.

Upon confirming her long-anticipated presidential campaign in January, Harris seemed to have the right demographic factors to be a strong contender to represent the Democratic party of today: An African-American, female, very socially liberal attorney from California.

After her announcement, Harris remained close to the front of the pack of Democratic contenders. Then, during the June debate, she directly challenged Biden on his record on the issue of school busing.

At that point, Harris skyrocketed in the national polls. On July 9, Chicago-based Real Clear Politics showed the national polling averages for candidates as: Joe Biden of Delaware – 27.3%; Harris – 15%.

However, Harris performed badly during the July debate. This included her failure to respond to strong criticism by Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard regarding Harris’ tenure as attorney general in California.

Harris then began a steady slide in the polls that saw her fall from second place nationally to out of the top tier. Not even five months later, the Real Clear Politics polling averages showed: Biden – 27%; Harris – 3.4%.

“Our campaign uniquely spoke to the experiences of black women and people of color — and their importance to the success and future of this party. Our campaign demanded no one should be taken for granted by any political party,” Harris stated in her message to supporters as she ended her presidential bid early this month.

As for O’Rourke, he made his first New Hampshire splash in March before a packed house at Keene State College. O’Rourke rose to national fame with Democrats and media members in 2018 by nearly defeating U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

“If you are worried about 400,000 apprehensions at our southern border with Mexico last year, wait until some of the countries in the Western Hemisphere are no longer inhabitable by human beings,” O’Rourke said in March. “The refugee crisis then, here, and all over the world, is beyond our imagination right now, but we still have time to act.”

However, O’Rourke quickly began to fade because his campaign never had a clear message. During the Sept. 7 New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention in Manchester, O’Rourke tried to impress the crowd by taking very left-wing positions on gun control and reparations for slavery.

This, however, failed to reinvigorate his doomed bid, as he ultimately withdrew from the race on Nov. 1.

For her part, Gillibrand drew a large crowd of interested Democrats to JaJaBelle’s Pastry and Coffee Shop in Nashua on Feb. 2.

“No matter where I go, red places, blue places, purple places, the No. 1 issue for Americans is basic access. They just want to make sure they have health care. They want quality, affordable health care because they are worried about surviving,” Gillibrand said, while touting her past success in winning a U.S. House seat from rural Upstate New York.

Despite several more appearances in New Hampshire, including an April visit to Nashua’s Liquid Therapy, Gillibrand simply struggled to gain traction. She quit the race in late summer.

Swalwell, de Blasio and Ryan also made campaign appearances in Nashua, but failed to impress voters.

As the calendar turns, the current Real Clear Politics polling average for New Hampshire shows:

• Bernie Sanders of Vermont – 19.0

• Pete Buttigieg of Indiana- 17.7

• Biden – 14.3

• Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts – 13.3

• Gabbard – 5.7

• Andrew Yang of New York – 4.7

• Tom Steyer of California – 2.7

• Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota – 2.0

• Cory Booker of New Jersey – 1.7

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