Now we have a pretty good idea what the response to being pushed out of the circles of power of the Democratic Party will be, at least on the (D) side. They’re going to run (((Hispanic))) and (((Asian))) candidates.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) will stoke speculation that he is considering running for president in 2020 when he makes several stops across Iowa next month.
Garcetti will travel to the Quad Cities in April to deliver a keynote address at the Scott County Democrats’ annual Red, White and Blue Dinner, his political spokesman said.
Later, he will make stops in Altoona, at a Carpenters Union training facility, and Des Moines, where he will take a tour with Mayor Frank Cownie (D). Garcetti will also stop in Waterloo, where his wife Amy has family.
In a statement, Garcetti spokesman Yusef Robb strongly hinted that the second-term Democratic mayor would begin pitching himself in the first-in-the-nation caucus state as an anti-Washington solution.
Don’t be surprised if Garcetti shows up in 2019 with a warchest that will blow away Kamala, Biden, and any other would-be candidates. The only thing that prevents me from identifying him as the Democrats’ candidate for 2020 right now is that it is too soon to tell if he is willing to take the risk of being steamrolled by Trumpslide 2020 or if he’s merely positioning for a 2024 run. My initial take is that he will go all-in for 2020 if the Democrats overperform in the mid-term elections, but he may be taking a card out of the Bill Clinton playbook regardless of how they do.
Why is a mere mayor on the presidential radar? Because, with a name like Garcetti, he might sound like an Italian Catholic, but he’s not.
His mother, Sukey Roth, is of Russian Jewish descent. His maternal grandfather, Harry Roth, who founded the clothing brand Louis Roth & Co., was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. It has also been reported that Garcetti’s family is of Litvak descent.
An anti-Washington solution indeed.