The invisible primary for the Democratic nomination for president is becoming visible. Having assessed their chances, candidates are either dropping out or declaring that they are in. Unfortunately for the wide filed, there are so many of them that few are getting media attention. Media savvy newcomers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are making themselves much better known than those who are running for president, and making it harder for the presidential contenders to get airtime. To refresh your memory, here is the current Democratic primary field. Many people expect Joe Biden to enter the race in the near future.
Cory Booker (D) Senator from New Jersey
Pete Buttigieg (D) Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
Julian Castro (D) former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Obama
John Delaney (D) former Maryland representative
Tulsi Gabbard (D) representative from Hawaii
Kirsten Gillibrand (D) Senator from New York
Kamala Harris (D) Senator from California
John Hickenlooper (D) Former governor of Colorado
Jay Inslee (D) Governor of Washington
Amy Klobuchar (D) Senator from Minnesota
Wayne Messam (D) mayor of Miramar, Florida
Beto O’Rourke (D) former representative from San Antonio
Bernie Sanders (I) Senator from Vermont
Elizabeth Warren (D) Senator from Massachusetts
Marianne Williamson (D) author
Andrew Yang (D) author and founder of a nonprofit
Axios by Mike Allen
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was more recognizable to a focus group of Wisconsin swing voters than every Democratic presidential prospect besides Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren, Axios’ Alexi McCammond writes.
- Why it matters: AOC has been in Congress for less than three months, yet she’s breaking through even in rural areas of the Midwest.
This was a takeaway from an Engagious/FPG focus group of swing voters that McCammond watched last week.
- The group included eight who voted for President Obama in 2012 and President Trump in 2016, and four who switched from Mitt Romney to Hillary Clinton.
The focus group participants were shown photos of each candidate without their name, and asked them to score on a scale of 1 to 10 how confident they were in recognizing that person.
- Sanders was by far the most recognizable, followed closely by Biden and Warren.
- Sens. Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris scored at or around 2.5 out of 10.
- Only three people knew that Harris is a senator.
- Beto O’Rourke earned a score of 1 out of 10.
- Somewhat surprisingly, these voters recognized Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii more than O’Rourke.
Why is this news? How can the people running for president break into the news cycle and get the attention they will need when running against each other and then against Donald Trump?
AmGov, Axios and the News 