The Perfect Losing Campaign

Jonathan Bernstein: “Was Swalwell’s campaign a mistake by a candidate who never had a chance? I don’t know. Currently, there’s a small-town mayor with what appears to be a fairly viable presidential campaign. Maybe there’s something objective separating Swalwell and Pete Buttigieg. But even if there is, it’s not clear anyone could’ve predicted it six months ago. Really, I’m not going to criticize anyone with plausible qualifications for seeking the job. They’re politicians. They should be ambitious.”

“All that said, I wouldn’t look too hard for lessons from Swalwell’s early exit about how the rest of the cycle will play out. It doesn’t really matter whether the also-rans exit now, after they fail to qualify for the next debates, or after they fail to find any support in Iowa. We can’t really say whether the party will winnow its way to a candidate by the end of the primaries and caucuses yet. But we can say that at least one candidate responded to the incentives to drop out by actually exiting. As long as that holds up, the Democrats shouldn’t have a problem producing a nominee.”

Source: Politicalwire.com

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Swalwell • Swalwell • Pete Buttigieg • Swalwell • Doesn't Really Matter • Iowa • Democratic Party (United States) •