By James Demetriades
This past week put an end to rumors about the potential of Mitt Romney running for president in 2016, in favor of new rumors about another Republican, Jeb Bush. At this point, no candidate has officially declared that he or she is running for President, but Bush is the current Republican front runner. No doubt he will face challenges from the radical right, as Romney did in 2012, but Jeb Bush has broad appeal and will likely win his party’s nomination.
On the other side of the aisle, the undeclared Hilary Clinton sits as the unchallenged nominee and front-runner. This does not sit well with everyone in the Democratic Party. Just as the Republican base has polarized towards the right, the Democratic base has shifted to the left. The radical left is desperately searching for someone left of left to contest the more moderate Clinton’s grasp on the nomination.
New super PACs like “Ready for Warren” popped up in the last few weeks and have begun pushing for a more radically liberal candidate to run. Last week, they sent POLTICO a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling that found that 48 percent of the 900 respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Clinton, which they claimed as evidence that the Democrats needed a different candidate. However, a Rasmussen Report survey from Jan. 26 found that Clinton would top Warren 62 percent to 22 percent among likely Democratic voters. Clinton has the name recognition, the experience and the funding base to be able to go up against the well-funded, well connected and well-known Bush.
Elizabeth Warren has repeatedly said she will not seek the nomination, and with hope she will keep to her word. Warren, though well-intentioned, is perfect where she is as a liberal senator representing a liberal-minded state. It would be natural for Warren to run for state office in Massachusetts, Connecticut or California. However, in a national election, Warren would have a hard time connecting to moderates and independents. To win swing states like Florida, Virginia or Ohio you need a moderate candidate. Obama did well in 2012 to tailor his message to the center, while Romney suffered for statements in the primaries that pushed him further to the right. If Warren ran, she would force Clinton to go to the left of center on many issues, muddying the waters and possibly cause her to lose swing votes to the moderate Bush. A Warren candidacy would not only end in failure, but it could also dangerously force Clinton further left, isolate independent voters and hand the election to the Republicans.
