Deval Patrick To Enter 2020 Presidential Race

UPDATE:

As anticipated, Deval Patrick has officially announced he’s entering the 2020 presidential race.

On Thursday (November 14), the former two-term Massachusetts governor joined the already crowded field of Democratic candidates less than three months before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

“In a spirit of profound gratitude for all the country has given to me, with a determination to build a better, more sustainable, more inclusive American Dream for the next generation, I am today announcing my candidacy for President of the United States,” Patrick said in a video via his official website.

The video goes on to reveal Patrick’s intention to offer optimism over strict progressive ideology and presents himself as a unifying candidate.

“I admire and respect the candidates in the Democratic field. They bring a richness of ideas and experience and a depth of character that makes me proud to be a Democrat,” Patrick said in his announcement video. “But if the character of the candidates is an issue in every election, this time is about the character of the country.”

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“This time is about more than removing an unpopular and divisive leader, as important as that is, but about delivering instead for you,” he added.

After announcing his bid on Thursday morning, Patrick traveled to New Hampshire to file the paperwork to officially enter the state’s primary. He told CNN the moment was “extraordinarily humbling, sober and exciting moment all at once.”

“I think we have to be about how we bring people in, how we bring people along, and how we yield to the possibility that somebody else or even some of the party may have a good idea, as good or better than our own,” he said. “That’s the kind of leadership I have brought to settings in the private sector and the public sector, the kind of leadership I want to bring right now.”

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Deval Patrick, the former two-term Democratic governor of Massachusetts, is reportedly entering the 2020 presidential race.

According to two party officials, via the New York Times, Patrick told senior members of his party on Wednesday (November 13) he plans to make the bid announcement later this week. The move would reverse his previous decision from last year to forgo a run.

Patrick joins an already crowded field of Democrats at a time when others are starting to end their campaigns. 

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In his conversations with Democrats this week, per the Times, the governor acknowledged the scale of the challenge he faces by entering the race so late. He hopes to be the bridge between the centrist and more liberal wings of the party.

Mr. Patrick is a close friend of President Barack Obama’s and has reportedly told the former president’s advisers that he envisions a campaign similar to Obama’s 2008 bid – focusing on uniting and healing the country.

According to the Times, Patrick is likely to focus heavily on New Hampshire early on in his campaign as voters in the state may be more familiar with his tenure as governor of neighboring Massachusetts. South Carolina will also be a major focus as Black voters will likely decide the primary there.

Patrick has already missed the filing deadlines in two states, Alabama and Arkansas and reportedly has no campaign cash. It’s also unclear when, or even if, he’ll be able to qualify for a debate.

Deval Patrick is expected to begin his campaign with a video before appearing in person in New Hampshire to file his paperwork to be on the primary ballot in the state. It is currently unclear when the video will be released online.