As is customary, there’s much less movement on the Democratic CHASE — rolling monthly rankings of the most likely 2016 nominee of each party.
The one switch for September: The addition of New Jersey Senate candidate Cory Booker to the list.
Young, media friendly, provocative, Twitter-obsessed, Booker’s name is beginning to pop up more frequently in stories that mention dark horse 2016 contenders. His name even popped up at a South Carolina Democratic Party gathering I attended. Sure, he’s not even a senator yet — but that’s a foregone conclusion barring a catastrophe.
After his presumed election in October, he’ll enjoy a media platform that only a handful of senators command.
Yes, he has said he won’t run for president in 2016 — much like Elizabeth Warren, John Hickenlooper and Deval Patrick — but if we could take politicians at their mere words, this job would be much easier to predict.
And frankly, on the off-chance Hillary Clinton doesn’t run, all bets are off.
So Cory Booker hops on The CHASE, knocking off Janet Napolitano.
Even though the odds are under 50 percent, Booker has the persona and drive to keep himself in the national conversation, and these days, that’s the first step in this long, thorny, uncertain process.
Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com
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