In this weekly series I focus on one potential Democratic candidate and analyze whether or not they would be a good candidate to face Trump.
Amy Klobuchar is a Democratic Senator from Minnesota and the subject of speculation as a potential candidate for president in 2020. In a recent interview on ABC’s This Week, she said, “I’m still thinking about this, talking to people…”
Amidst the speculation, Klobuchar has visited Iowa, the first state to vote in the presidential primaries. This is a signal of her getting serious about a potential bid.
The two term Senator is very popular in her home state, where she won reelection by 24 points. Just two years prior, Donald Trump nearly carried the state, losing by only 1.5 points.
Klobuchar is a centrist democrat, mirroring many of the policy positions of Hillary Clinton in 2016. One of her campaign values involves fixing and expanding the Affordable Care Act and expanding existing programs like social security and medicaid. She’s also made it a priority to reduce prescription drug prices by boosting competition and allowing imported medicine from Canada.
She’s a strong advocate for campaign finance reform, having cosponsored a constitutional amendment to overturn the disastrous Supreme Court decision Citizens United. She has also cosponsored legislation to increase transparency in political spending.
Klobuchar is also a strong environmental advocate. She has introduced legislation that would decrease the emission of greenhouse gases, and she strongly supports rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.
She also advocates expanding the Clean Air Act.
While Klobuchar’s policy positions are far better than President Trump’s, she has failed to address some of the most pressing issues facing the country. Unlike other potential candidates, Klobuchar does not address the widening wealth and income inequality in our country.
She has not given her stance on medicare-for-all. And while she advocates for campaign finance reform, she received over $1.5 million from PACs during the last election cycle.
A major hurdle that Klobuchar must overcome if she is to be a successful candidate is her lack of national support. While she may be popular in Minnesota, she isn’t well known around the country.
Other potential candidates, like Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, already have large followings nationwide. Beto O’Rourke, who only recently came into the national spotlight, amassed over 25,000 volunteers for his Senate bid. This gives him a well-established network for a potential bid in 2020.
Klobuchar represents the more pragmatic choice for president. The problem is that Americans are not looking for pragmatism, they’re looking for change. This is one of the reasons Trump was elected in the first place; Amy Klobuchar is the same type of uninspiring candidate that helped propel Trump to the presidency.
To take back the White House in 2020, Democrats need to utilize the charisma and inspiration that candidates like Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke possess.
People want change, and Amy Klobuchar will not inspire Americans to get out and vote.
Austin Elliott is a columnist for Opinions.
