Democrats

The New York Times reports: Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts has told Democratic officials that he is considering making a last-minute entry into the 2020 presidential race, according to two Democrats with knowledge of the conversations, the latest evidence of how unsettled the party’s presidential primary is less than three months before the Iowa caucuses. Mr. Patrick has told …

Politico reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio panned former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s potential run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, calling his predecessor “a billionaire who epitomizes the status quo.” De Blasio has already run and folded his own campaign for the Democratic nomination, which never found much support among voters. The current mayor, who won his office in 2013 largely …

The Hill reports: Lawyers representing Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) on Monday called on Hillary Clinton to retract her comments alleging that the 2020 hopeful was a favorite candidate of the Russians, accusing her of defamation. “Your statement is defamatory, and we demand that you retract it immediately,” Gabbard’s lawyer wrote in a letter, demanding that Clinton “immediately” verbally retract the …

Mediaite reports: LA Times reporter Evan Halper appeared to have captured a remarkably newsworthy moment when during an interview with presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend Mayor laid blame of Donald Trump at the feet of former President Barack Obama. The last paragraph included the following comment “The failures of the Obama era help explain how we got Trump,” …

Newsweek reports: George Conway, along with several other Twitter commenters, claimed a potential acquisition of Fox News would make a huge impact in the upcoming election, and billionaire Michael Bloomberg was just the person capable of taking over the news network. In a tweet on Friday, Tom Wright, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institute, suggested Bloomberg, who already owns …

The Morning Consult reports: A sliver of the Democratic electorate is ready for the presidential candidacy of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to a new Morning Consult poll, which found him to be as competitive as the party’s current top candidates against President Donald Trump in a hypothetical matchup. According to the Nov. 8 poll, 4 percent …

ABC News reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., took a break from campaigning throughout Iowa on Saturday to join ABC News for a wide-ranging interview that included sharp words for a potential rival. The senator and the representative each criticized former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who’s now considering his own 2020 bid. “That is …

Bloomberg can’t buy his way onto the debate stage: The halfway mark of the Democratic debate calendar is coming up, and the sixth debate will likely feature the smallest stage yet. New thresholds announced by the Democratic National Committee for the sixth debate — which will be hosted by POLITICO and PBS on Dec. 19 in Los Angeles — represent …

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Presidential candidates rarely begin their campaigns in Alabama, but in Michael Bloomberg’s case, the calendar forced him to do so. The former New York City mayor Friday filed to run in the Democratic presidential primary in March, marking a late entry into an already crowded field. Friday was the deadline for Democratic candidates to qualify. Bloomberg, …

Politico reports: The House will pass a stopgap spending measure the week of Nov. 18, hoping to thwart a government shutdown later that week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday. The leader did not say how long that next patch would last. In a “Dear Colleague” letter, Hoyer noted that the action is “necessary” since government funding expires on …

The Washington Post reports: Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg unveiled a plan Friday to make tuition at four-year public colleges free for families earning up to $100,000. The move is part of a package of new economic policies aimed at boosting the fortunes of middle- and working-class Americans and positioning Buttigieg as a clear alternative to more liberal candidates. While …

Axios reports: Mike Bloomberg is jumping into the Democratic presidential race because he believes that Joe Biden is fading, opening the moderate lane next to Elizabeth Warren, sources close to the former New York mayor tell Axios. “Mike will spend whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump,” a Bloomberg source said. “The nation is about to see a very different …

The Hill reports: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) welcomed billionaire Michael Bloomberg to the Democratic primary race by referring him to her newly launched “Calculator for Billionaires.” Welcome to the race, @MikeBloomberg!” Warren tweeted Thursday evening. If you’re looking for policy plans that will make a huge difference for working people and which are very popular, start here.” Attached to the …

The New York Times reports: Michael R. Bloomberg is actively preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary and is expected to file paperwork this week designating himself as a candidate in at least one state with an early filing deadline, people briefed on Mr. Bloomberg’s plans said. Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman, has been …

The Associated Press reports: A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Iowa has privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations. The overtures from Pat Murphy, a former state House speaker who is serving as a top adviser on Steyer’s …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump and his supporters insisted on Wednesday that no course correction is needed despite stinging Republican defeats in battleground suburbs and a Democrat on the verge of victory in the governor’s race in deep-red Kentucky. But the blue wave that swept through the suburbs in 2018 and gave Democrats control of the U.S. House …

ABC News reports: In her third appearance on the show this year, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, appeared on “The View” Wednesday fighting back against those who have questioned her loyalty, calling the comments made against her “demeaning.” “It’s offensive to me as a soldier, as an American, as a member of congress, as a veteran, and frankly as a woman, …

The Washington Post reports: A legion of reasons propel political neophytes to run for office, but none may be as unusual as what inspired Juli Briskman, the cyclist who gave President Trump the finger two years ago and found herself without a job and at the center of a national uproar. On Tuesday, Briskman got a new job, winning a …

NBC News reports: Virginia Democrats took control of the state legislature on Tuesday night for first time in more than two decades. Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate, the third election in a row that Virginia Democrats have made significant gains since President Donald Trump was elected. The win will give Democrats control of the legislature …

Joe Biden just posted an essay to Medium. An excerpt: The other day I was accused by one of my opponents of running in the wrong primary. Pretty amazing. On one level, it is kind of funny. I have fought for the Democratic party my whole career. I know what we stand for, who we stand with and what we …