On Politics This Week: Patrick In, Sanford Out

November 16, 2019

By matt stevens and maggie astor

Welcome to On Politics on this Saturday morning.

There was more upheaval in the 2020 race this week, as one new Democratic candidate entered, another moved closer to doing so and a Republican dropped his primary challenge to President Trump. Here’s a look at the highlights.

Deval Patrick enters the race …

Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, spoke after filing to be on the primary ballot in New Hampshire on Thursday.Elizabeth Frantz for The New York Times

Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts officially entered the presidential race on Thursday, adding an 18th candidate to the Democratic primary with less than three months to go before the Iowa caucuses.

In a video he released early Thursday morning, Mr. Patrick offered his reasons for joining the race after having passed on a White House bid a year ago. He said he was running for people who felt “left out” and wanted a future “not built by somebody better than you, not built for you, but built with you.”

Here is our full story on Mr. Patrick’s announcement.
If you’d like to know more about Mr. Patrick’s background and biography, we put together a primer.
And here is a look at why Mr. Patrick changed his mind about the 2020 race.

… as Bloomberg inches closer

Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, flew to Arkansas on Tuesday to personally file paperwork to become a presidential candidate in the state’s Democratic primary. The move amounted to a highly public signal about his interest in entering the 2020 race.

Arkansas is the second state in which he will be on the Democratic primary ballot, after qualifying to put his name on the ballot in Alabama last Friday. The two Southern states both have early filing deadlines, even though they are not among the first primaries on the calendar.

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“If he runs, he’s going to go to states that Democrats never go to in the primary campaign,” Jason Schechter, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, told our colleagues. “We’re starting that today in Arkansas.”

Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire, will spend $100 million on anti-Trump ads that will go online in swing states — making him the single largest spender in the race so far.
Our colleague Michael M. Grynbaum chronicled Mr. Bloomberg’s history of making demeaning comments about women.

… and Mark Sanford exits

Mark Sanford announced the end of his presidential campaign in Concord, N.H., on Tuesday.Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Former Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina said Tuesday that he was ending his Republican primary challenge to President Trump, just two months after announcing it. He conceded that his bid had been “a long shot” and argued that the impeachment inquiry had made it impossible for his message of fiscal conservatism to break through.

“You’ve got to be a realist,” he said, “and what I did not anticipate is an impeachment.”

Our colleague Annie Karni had the story.

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The November debate stage is set

Wednesday was the deadline to qualify for next week’s debate, which will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Atlanta, and there were no last-minute qualifiers this time.

Ten candidates will take part in the event, with the highest-polling contenders, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, standing center stage.

From left to right, they are: Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., Ms. Warren, Mr. Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Senator Kamala Harris of California, the entrepreneur Andrew Yang and the hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer.

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It will be largely the same list of candidates as those who appeared at the October debate, minus former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas (who ended his campaign) and the former housing secretary Julián Castro, who met the 165,000-donor requirement but did not reach 3 percent in a single qualifying poll, much less the four he would have needed to make the cut.

“Whether it’s immigration, police violence, housing, or other issues, Secretary Castro is shaping the debate, regardless of whether he’s on stage,” Sawyer Hackett, a spokesman for Mr. Castro’s campaign, said in a statement.

As for next month’s debate, six candidates have qualified so far, and we’re tracking them here.

Plans for veterans on Veterans Day

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke to voters in Concord.Tristan Spinski for The New York Times

On Veterans Day, Mr. Biden, Mr. Buttigieg and Mr. Sanders released extensive plans outlining how they would help America’s servicemen and women. They follow Ms. Warren, who unveiled a similarly detailed proposal last week, and others who put out their plans throughout the summer and fall.

The large field of Democrats generally agree on how to help. Their plans include calls to bolster the Department of Veterans Affairs, provide veterans with better care, increase their access to housing and jobs and ensure equal treatment for those who serve.

We compiled a roundup of their plans here.

In other policy news:

Ms. Warren released a blueprint to pass major health legislation at the start of her presidency, saying she would start by expanding public health insurance coverage and ultimately transition into a “Medicare for all” system. She also promised to create a new “corporate perjury” law that would hold companies accountable if they lie to federal agencies.
Mr. Castro released a plan outlining the ways he would fight for equality for people with disabilities.
Mr. Yang unveiled a policy explaining his views on technology and calling for a “Digital Bill of Rights.”

And finally …

This week, our colleague Sydney Ember wrote a dispatch from Iowa (the state she is temporarily calling home) that offers us a window into what Mr. Sanders’s campaign looks like on the inside, six weeks after he had a heart attack.

He is taking long walks and eating more salads, she reports. And that change in diet caught the attention of another candidate, Mr. Booker, who is vegan.