14 May 2019 — 1737 mdt
Steve Bullock: running as a younger, more vigorous, Biden
Wilmot Collins: sans platform, but with one hell of a story
President. Montana Governor Steve Bullock formally announced today what everyone not stranded on as asteroid without a radio already knew: he’s running the the Democratic nomination for President. He joins at least 20 other Democrats who see themselves as the nation’s chief executive.
Senator. Yesterday, Wilmot Collins, Helena’s mayor, announced he running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Republican Steve Daines. Collins probably won’t be the last Democrat to seek the nomination.
Bullock — a red state centrist running in the rust belt lane
As noted in today’s Washington Post, Bullock’s basic argument is that he’s highly electable because he won elections in Montana, a red state at the Presidential level, by winning the votes of Montanans who voted for Republicans John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Donald Trump. That, he argues, means he can win the votes of the working class whites who voted for Barack Obama, but defected to Trump after Hillary Clinton derided them as deplorables. Bullock won’t make that mistake.
Those are the same voters Joe Biden is courting. Biden, however, reportedly has considerable support among black Democrats. Bullock’s appeal to that cohort is unknown.
Ultimately, Bullock — and other centrist Democrats — is hoping that Biden’s star will dim as the septuagenarian stumbles, has senior moments, and seems a step slower than his opponents who are a generation younger.
I believe Biden will fade — and should fade; he’s too damn old for the job — but I have no idea whether Biden’s former supporters will join Bullock’s camp.
Bullock’s first, and most important, task is qualifying for the Democratic debates this summer. If he’s not on the debate stage, his campaign will have great difficulty achieving critical mass.
Collins — out of Africa, into American politics
A quarter-century ago, Collins fled his homeland, Liberia, to escape a civil war, obtaining refugee status in the United States. According to his biography in the Wikipedia:
He subsequently became a United States citizen, and worked for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, specializing in child protection. For over two decades, he was a member of the United States Navy Reserve. Collins has two children with his wife, their daughter, Jaymie and their son, Bliss. Wilmot Collins is first cousins with Helene Cooper, Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Liberia, and a master of science degree from Troy University in Alabama.
His journey was remarkable, and it will be told many times during the campaign. Indeed, at this point, he’s running on his story, as his website ignores issues and just asks for money. That won’t be enough to win a contested primary, let alone prevail over Daines in the general election. As the challenger of an incumbent, Collins must make two cases:
- Why Joe must go.
- Why me to replace thee.
He needs to spend a couple of days in his policy shop — pronto — and nail together a platform strong enough to weather a rough and dirty campaign. Frankly, he should have put together his platform before he announced his candidacy. His sequence of “I’m running for the U.S. Senate. Send money. Ask me about issues later.” reeks of raw ambition, not a dedication to public service.
Thus far, incidentally, the most interesting report of his candidacy comes not from Montana’s news media but from The Intercept.