WASHINGTON (AP) Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced today he is running for president, making a late entry into the Democratic race less than three months before primary voting begins.
In an announcement video, Patrick highlighted his poverty-stricken childhood on Chicagos South Side, saying hes running for the people who feel left out and left back.
As the first in his family to go to college and law school, Patrick said, Ive had a chance to live my American Dream. But over the years, the path to that dream has closed off for others, he said, as government and economy have been letting us down.
Patrick made history as the first black governor of Massachusetts and has close ties to former President Barack Obama and his network of political advisers. But he faces significant fundraising and organizational hurdles this late in the race.
His announcement comes as some Democrats worry about the strength of the partys current field of contenders. Another Democrat, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is also weighing a last-minute bid for the partys nomination.
Bloomberg has taken steps toward launching a presidential campaign, filing candidate papers in Alabama and Arkansas. Even 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton this week said in a BBC interview that she is under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it, adding that she has no such plans but still would never, never, never say never.
The moves reflect uncertainty about the direction of the Democratic contest with no commanding front-runner. Joe Biden, Obamas vice president, entered the race as the presumptive favorite and maintains significant support from white moderates and black voters, whose backing is critical in a Democratic primary. But hes facing spirited challenges from Patricks home state senator, Elizabeth Warren, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressives whose calls for fundamental economic change have alarmed moderates and wealthy donors.
Patrick was asked on CBS if he supports the Medicare for All health care plan, which is pushed by Sanders and would replace job-based and individual private health insurance with a government-run plan that guarantees coverage for all with no premiums or deductibles and only minimal copays for certain services.
No, not in the terms weve been talking about, Patrick said. I do support a public option, and if Medicare is that public option, I think its a great idea.
Patrick also acknowledged the challenges posed by his late entry in such a big field of candidates.
When I was thinking about it many months ago, one of the questions was: How do you break though in a field this large and this talented without being a celebrity or sensationalist? And Im none of those things, Patrick said on CBS This Morning.
Patrick could present himself as a potential bridge across the moderate, liberal and progressive factions as candidates like South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker are trying to do.
But the former governor faces significant hurdles to raise enormous amounts of money quickly and to build an organization in the traditional early voting states that most of his rivals have focused on for the past year. And hell have to pivot to the expensive and logistically daunting contests of Super Tuesday, when voters in more than a dozen states and territories head to the polls. Bloombergs team has said they will skip the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina to focus on the Super Tuesday roster.
Its also a near certainty that Patrick and possibly Bloomberg wouldnt make a Democratic debate stage until January, if at all, because of debate rules set by the party.
Those dynamics left some prominent Democrats questioning Patricks viability.
