Bullock and Sestak end presidential campaigns


Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

December 2, 2019: Steve Bullock and Joe Sestak ended their presidential campaigns. Tulsi Gabbard crossed the donor threshold for the December debate.
        

There are eight new candidates running since last week, including three Democrats and two Republicans. In total, 972 individuals are currently filed with the FEC to run for president.

Notable Quote of the Day

“Sitting presidents have long used their office to draw a spotlight and rake in money while the party out of power fights its way through a primary. Trump, however, never really ceased campaigning and has been running for reelection essentially since taking office, giving him a far earlier head start.

For months, his campaign has spent comparatively little on digital advertising in battlegrounds, while dumping money in population-dense states like New York, California and Texas, which are rich in potential donors but won’t decide the outcome of the election. Yet the money he is raising there will enable him to flood important states with advertising early next year.”

– Brian Slodysko, Associated Press

Democrats

  • Michael Bennet is campaigning in eastern Iowa Sunday and Monday. He appeared on the Intelligence Matters podcast to discuss foreign policy and election security on Nov. 27.
  • Rep. John Garamendi (Calif.) endorsed Joe Biden on Saturday. Biden continues to campaign in Iowa Monday as part of his eight-day “No Malarkey” bus tour through the state.
  • Michael Bloomberg is spending $9.5 million on television ads in several markets, including Los Angeles, Houston, Tampa, and Dallas.
  • The pro-Cory Booker super PAC, Dream United, announced on Nov. 27 it would shut down. United We Win, another pro-Booker super PAC, will begin to air an ad on Tuesday in Iowa as part of a $200,000 advertising and call campaign. The Booker campaign is also launching a six-figure radio and digital ad campaign.
  • Steve Bullock ended his presidential campaign on Monday. “While there were many obstacles we could not have anticipated when entering into this race, it has become clear that in this moment, I won’t be able to break through to the top tier of this still-crowded field of candidates,” he said in a statement. Bullock will not run for the U.S. Senate in Montana.
  • Pete Buttigieg spoke at a roundtable on the minimum wage on Sunday in North Charleston, South Carolina.
  • Julián Castro released his policy plan on hunger and food insecurity on Nov. 27. Castro is campaigning in Los Angeles on Monday.
  • Tulsi Gabbard introduced a resolution on Nov. 27 to withdraw troops from Syrian oil fields. On Sunday, Gabbard announced she had crossed the donor threshold for the December debate and campaigned in New Hampshire.
  • The New York Times profiled the state of Kamala Harris’s campaign, including the resignation of state operations director Kelly Mehlenbacher. Harris campaigned in Iowa on Thanksgiving Day.
  • Amy Klobuchar’s field organizers unionized with representation from Teamsters Local 238. In a CNN interview on Sunday, Klobuchar said she did not see herself voting to acquit Trump if there were an impeachment trial.
  • Deval Patrick announced his campaign leadership which includes former Beto O’Rourke staffer Abe Rakov as his campaign manager. Patrick campaigned in New Hampshire on Saturday.
  • Bernie Sanders campaigned in South Carolina on Sunday with stops at the Reid Chapel AME Church and the University of South Carolina.
  • Joe Sestak ended his presidential campaign on Sunday. He said, “Without the privilege of national press, it is unfair to ask others to husband their resolve and to sacrifice resources any longer.”
  • Tom Steyer campaigned in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday, speaking at an anti-corruption roundtable and a women’s town hall.
  • Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) endorsed Elizabeth Warren on Saturday. Warren wrote an op-ed about the AIDS crisis on Sunday.
  • Marianne Williamson campaigned in Iowa on Saturday and Sunday with stops in Dubuque and Iowa City.
  • Andrew Yang released his tax returns from 2011 to 2018 on Nov. 27. Yang also had his best fundraising day on Saturday, raising $750,000.

Republicans

What We’re Reading

Flashback: December 2, 2015

The Washington Post published a Republican Party memo on what the party should do if Donald Trump became the nominee.