Gillibrand Officially in 2020 Race, Could Biden Soon Follow?

Courtesy of Twitter

UNDATED (AP) – And then there was one more. And maybe one more still to come?

The large crop of Democrats who want to be president grew, technically, when New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand changed her status Sunday from exploring a 2020 White House run to becoming a full-fledged candidate. She’d spent more than a month visiting states to gauge support for a campaign, so voters likely considered her already in the race.

Not yet in, but perhaps tantalizingly close is former Vice President Joe Biden, who told Delaware Democrats in a speech Saturday night that he has “the most progressive record of anybody running.” He quickly corrected himself, clarifying that he meant to say “anybody who would run,” then added, “I didn’t mean it” while a cheering crowd in his home state nearly drowned him out.

Biden has been known to go off script, so it not clear whether his remark could turn out to be a case of accidentally telling the truth.

But on Sunday, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who was at the Delaware Democrats’ dinner, told ABC’s “This Week,” ”Well, I’m very optimistic that Joe Biden will soon formally announce his campaign for the presidency.”

One hopeful, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, said he has met a fundraising threshold to participate in this summer’s debates. He said he has received donations from more than 65,000 individual donors.

The Democratic National Committee said last month up to 20 candidates can qualify for the debates by collecting donations from at least 65,000 individuals, with at least 200 unique donors in at least 20 states. They also can qualify by reaching 1 percent support in at least three national or early primary state polls.

In an email to supporters, Buttigieg said “we weren’t even close” to 65,000 donors when the party announced the requirement, but that more than 76,000 people have now donated.

The debates will be held in June and July.

Another busy day of weekend campaigning has former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke in Wisconsin, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota in Iowa and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in Tennessee.