It’s been a busy seven days on the 2020 Democratic primary front – Kamala Harris suspended her campaign, Pete Buttigieg’s consulting past came under increased scrutiny, and Biden challenged a voter to an IQ test or push-up contest.
Catch up on the biggest horse race developments in this week’s 2020 recap.
Fmr. Vice President Joe Biden
Push Up Contest Or IQ Test: Biden got into a heated exchange with a man in Iowa last week, in which he challenged the man to an IQ test or push-up contest after the man questioned Biden about his son and said he was too old to be president.
The Tax Man: Last week, Biden unveiled a new tax proposal his campaign said would raise $3.2 trillion. His plan would raise the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, place a minimum tax on companies’ pre-tax income, double a global minimum tax on offshore corporate income, and also tax capital gains and dividends at the same rate as ordinary income for those earning at least seven figures.
Harris As Veep?: The day after Kamala Harris dropped out of the presidential race, Biden was asked if he would consider the California senator as a running mate to which he responded, “Of course I would.” Biden added, “I talked to her yesterday. She’s solid. She can be the president one day herself. She can be the vice president. She can go on to be a Supreme Court justice.”
Kerry Endorsement: Per The Washington Post: “Former secretary of state John F. Kerry endorsed Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy on Thursday, saying his longtime friend and colleague has the character, experience and leadership skills to restore the nation’s standing abroad and confront urgent problems at home.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Major Progressive Endorsement: Per Politico: Sanders “has won the endorsement of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, a victory in his long-running battle with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to become the progressive standard-bearer in the Democratic presidential primary. The group, an alliance of more than 40 left-wing organizations across the country, said it represents 600,000 members. It plans to use an independent expenditure to fundraise, direct a field operation, and do other organizing in the primary, including in states such as Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Falling Behind: After a summer and fall that saw her skyrocket up the polls and into a close second place with Joe Biden, Warren’s support appears to be slipping. A recent poll of California Democrats showed Warren’s commanding lead had slipped to a statistical tie with Bernie Sanders. An analysis by The Washington Examiner drives home the point: “A RealClearPolitics average of national primary polls Thursday placed Warren in third place, at 14.2% support, behind Sanders, at 15.6%, and 77-year-old Biden, leading the pack at 27.8%. That spread is a dramatic reversal from two months ago when Warren was in a statistical tie for first place with Biden. At the time, Warren was .3 percentage points behind Biden, with 26% support, compared to his 26.3%. Since then, Warren has faced a cascade of polls showing her support in free fall. A Morning Consult survey taken Oct. 7-12 found Warren at 21%. By late November, the same organization found her support at 15%. A CNN survey taken at the same time found Warren earning 14% of support.”
A Reluctant Millionaire: According to records abruptly released by her campaign on Sunday evening, “Warren earned nearly $2 million working as a consultant for corporations and financial firms while she was a law professor at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and other law schools.”
Mayor Pete Buttigieg
McKinsey Tenure Under Fire: As Buttigieg has made gains in the polls, his past work at consulting firm McKinsey & Company has come under increased scrutiny. Buttigieg worked for McKinsey from 2007 to 2010, but exactly what he did there is not really known. McKinsey has been criticized recently for the company’s work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on detaining and deporting immigrants, and voters (and political rivals) have begun asking for more information from the South Bend Mayor. Over the weekend, Buttigieg released a timeline of his work at McKinsey but did not name his clients. After receiving approval to break his NDA, Buttigieg’s campaign confirmed he would release a complete list of his clients.
Michael Bloomberg
Spending Millions: Bloomberg only got into the presidential race a little over two weeks ago and he’s already made some serious investments in his candidacy. In the first week of his campaign, Bloomberg outspent almost every Democratic candidate on TV and digital ads. The $57 million Bloomberg spent in his first week puts him on track to overtake fellow billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent just over $60 million since July.
Sen. Kamala Harris
RIP The Harris Campaign: As we’ve been chronicling the last few months, Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has been sputtering along as she has been unable to build a lasting coalition. Late last week Harris made the announcement that she was suspending her struggling campaign, making her one of the first major candidates to withdraw. With Harris out, the rest of the field will be looking to sway her base into their camp.