Who Are The Most Promising Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Under 60?

[TomCADem]

In sports, you talk about rookies or 2nd and 3rd players to see if a team has a bright future. With Democrats, who are the most promising Democrats for the new generation. Of course, in California, we have a lot, but a lot of them are not nationally known. Still, for future reference, you have:

Kamala Harris - U.S. Senator
Alex Padilla - Secretary of State
Xavier Becerra - California Attorney General
Eric Garcetti - Mayor of Los Angeles
Gavin Newsome - Lt. Governor
John Chiang - State Treasurer
Betty Yee - State Controller

I am sure someone will mention Corey Booker, but who are the rising stars of the Democratic Party from other States?

I edited to make it under age 60, since a person in their 50s is still generally considered to be in their prime.

[CanonRay]

1. Tulsi Gabbard?

[KamaAina]

4. Lots of baggage on her flight to the mainland, I'm afraid.

The Islamophobic bag alone was overweight and cost her a $25 fee. 😀

[brush]

43. Not at all. She's on FOX too much bashing other Dems. She's a dino.

[Cha]

64. good god, no.

[Skidmore]

71. No!

Absolutely not.

[BlueCaliDem]

78. NO. WAY. eom

[Arazi]

84. Yes definitely on any short list

[Loki]

86. Never.

She's not even a progressive.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Got a bunch in NY, but Sen. Gillbrand should be leading the pack if she wants it.

[HoneyBadger]

72. Gillibrand's flip flop on guns gives me vertigo

http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Kirsten_Gillibrand_Gun_Control.htm

Shifted to left because "I fight for my constituents" 😅😅😅😅

Gillibrand explained her sharp shift to the political left--particularly on gun control and immigration--since Gov. Paterson appointed her to the statewide seat last year. "One thing that's clear is that I always fight for my constituents," she said; noting that she's now focused on keeping illegal guns out of cities.
DioGuardi said voters could get "whiplash" watching Gillibrand's policy changes. "She sounded like Annie Oakley, and now she's somebody different," DioGuardi said.
Source: New York Post coverage of 2010 N. Y. Senate debate , Oct 16, 2010
Track data on illegal gun traffickers

On the day Gillibrand was appointed to the Senate, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg attacked her opposition to gun control: "She has voted to keep critical data needed to track illegal gun traffickers from law enforcement, has voted to tie the hands of the ATF, and has also voted to protect dealers who sell guns illegally."
But all that changed when Hillary's seat opened up, and she shamelessly promoted herself as a candidate to fill it. Within days Gillibrand's raw ambition had trumped her stated principles, and she began flipping on all kinds of critical issues. As a new senator, Gillibrand was transformed from a rabid opponent of gun control--with a 100% rating from the NRA--to a cosponsor of gun control legislation. In 2007, she had sponsored a bill to delete background check information after 24 hours; now she suddenly voted to repeal her very own bill.
Does she still keep two guns under her bed, as she claimed during the campaign? She hasn't said.
Source: Take Back America, by Dick Morris, p.183 , Apr 13, 2010
Earned high rating from the National Rifle Association

Her politics, perhaps reflecting her conservative district, cannot be easily charted along a left-right axis. She earned a high rating from the National Rifle Association and opposed efforts to extend state drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. At the same time, she favors abortion rights.
Gillibrand moved to bridge the political & cultural divide, shunning political labels and even embracing Second Amendment gun rights and other positions that placed her outside the mainstream of her party.
Source: Michael Powell and Raymond Hernandez, New York Times , Jan 23, 2009

[TreasonousBastard]

73. Surprised you didn't catch the big tobacco client at her law firm...

but, upstate tends to lean to the right, so as NY 20 rep she would kinda head that way, too.

Lotta hunters up there

Anyway, since bumped up to the Senate, and surviving more elections than she should have had to go through, she's been quietly defining her turf. Big on women's rights, and our definition of family values, she appeals to most nooks and crannies in the political spectrum, and could be relied upon to bring sanity to Pennsylvania Ave.

[marylandblue]

3. Julian Castro

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

[sarcasmo]

21. +1 I thought Castro should have been VP pick.

[Merlot]

49. yes! Castro or Booker would have motivated a lot more people to vote

Tim Kaine is a nice enough guy, and pretty smart but he didn't bring any excitement to the ticket. I was SO disappointed when he was announced as the VP choice. He was a "safe" choice.

[C Moon]

54. I agree with you.

[madokie]

63. Julian Castro gets my vote

[Cha]

65. Agree.. fighter!

"Trump is so corrupt that if Democrats controlled even one chamber of Congress, he'd be done before he even got started," tweeted Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.

pbmushttp://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=2668648

[BlueCaliDem]

80. YES! The "Latino" Obama. Powerful speaker, thoughtful, super-intelligent. He was my pick

for Hillary's VP.

Castro/Booker 2020!

[tblue37]

5. Gavin Newsome. nt

[jg10003]

56. Agreed. He will be governor of CA in 2 years and president in 12

[BlueCaliDem]

81. I'll love Newsom as our next Governor, but he's got the handicap of being too good looking

for RustBelt America. And he's too liberal for most Americans (but not for this liberal Democrat in California!).

[madinmaryland]

6. Martin O'Malley

[tblue37]

88. Yes, he is a good one. nt

[guillaumeb]

7. Michelle Obama. eom

[Dustlawyer]

8. I have only 3 words for whoever it is,

NO CORPORATE DEMOCRATS!!!

[TomCADem]

10. Prefer a "Populist" Like Trump?

No one is a front runner, yet we are already giving unnamed Democrats the Susan Sarandon treatment?

[DanTex]

11. No Marxists either. That was easy.

[bravenak]

26. Bingo. I second this

[LaydeeBug]

9. Can we just name celebrities, since our elections are now just for show? Clooney. nt

[wyldwolf]

14. Val Kilmer with the ultimate campaign slogan: I'm Yer Huckleberry

[pangaia]

32. Oh YES !! My choice.. :))))

Thanks for the reminder....

[LeftInTX]

15. Oprah, cuz she's a billionaire

[solara]

70. Thats a lot easier

Jon Stewart/Steven Colbert

Uber smart, definitely classy, progressive, knowledgable and funny

What's not to love or vote for?

[rbrnmw]

12. Martin O'Malley

[Laffy Kat]

13. Either of the Castro brothers? nt

[hay rick]

23. Sorry, Fidel is dead. nt

[crazycatlady]

16. Kirsten Gillibrand

[rurallib]

17. Corey Booker, perhaps?

How old is Al Franken? Or Sherrod Brown?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

50. Al Franken is 65.

Sherrod Brown is 64.

[SummerSnow]

18. Chuck Schumer from NY

[pangaia]

33. NO. Please.. No..

we can do better...

[Renew Deal]

39. Schumer is good at a lot of things

But I don't think he's suited for that

[TomCADem]

42. Plus He Is 66 and Been Around...

...forever. He is not exactly the next generation. OP is about the rising stars of the Democratic Party.

[marlakay]

19. Since people seem to want actors

Why don't we ask George Clooney? There are lots of stars heavily involved in politics that would do good for the country.

They would be outsiders but have political insight. I trust any of them to fight against war keep peace and save the environment.

[sarcasmo]

22. Clooney Damon 2020

[marlakay]

46. After what happened this year i would

Vote for them.

They are both serious, have good temperaments.

[NBachers]

62. In some alternate, better universe, this would make a perfect dream team.

[world wide wally]

20. Sherod Brown!

[question everything]

31. Sherrod Brown is 64 (nt)

[moondust]

24. Chris Murphy (D-CT)?

Age 43.

More about substance than show.

[Laffy Kat]

27. Murphy Brown! Oh, wait.. nt

[Jim Lane]

25. Jeff Merkley turned 60 only about two months ago.

Keith Ellison is only 53, though, and hence comfortably in his prime by your standard.

[Takket]

28. Wendy Davis is 53. has a good record of standing up for her party

maybe could even turn texas blue!

i'd get behind her

[Yupster]

34. Her governor's race was an absolute disaster

Abbott ripped her to shreds.

She lost by 20 points. Here's the Washington Post's blow by blow of her campaign.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/11/06/wendy-davis-lost-really-badly-heres-how-it-happened/?utm_term=.829b0959c071

[Takket]

38. yikes what a mess. i forget she even ran for governor

she'll need to run some decent campaigns if she wants any national attention.

this just goes to show to me that we can't woo voters by constantly running away from who we are.

[elehhhhna]

29. Al Franken.

[question everything]

30. Franken is 65 (nt)

[Beartracks]

36. But gosh darnit, people like him!

I'd put him in the running!

==================

[smirkymonkey]

66. Love Al Franken!

[oasis]

35. Xavier Becerra. Great mind. Good debater who is up on the issues. (eom)

[brush]

45. I like him. Saw him on cable and he more than held his own pushing back against repugs

[Cha]

69. Oh yes, and he's getting experience now as California's

next AG!

[colsohlibgal]

37. There Are A Few

I say we must move away from corporate Dems too.

Gavin Newsome, Wendy Davis, Zephyr Teachout. Those are my top 3.

Oh and liberal populism is far different than right wing so called populism. It is FDR populism, a rising tide lifts all boats....it is past time for us to spread the wealth around, not just to the top 1%.

We need a progressive tax system and also close corporate loopholes, both. Legalize pot and tax it. Slash the Defense budget, it is institutionalized and ridiculous.

Oh, and undo Citizens United, and go to publicly funded elections....foolproof reliable elections, no machines, no CrossCheck.

[Squinch]

40. Tammy Duckworth. Wounded veteran, Senator, does not suffer fools.

[Renew Deal]

41. In no order... Gillibrand, Newsome, Booker

I can probably think of some others. The three all have positives and negatives. But there are names.

[madville]

44. Would Newsome be hampered by

His previous sex scandal if competing at the national level? It doesn't seem to matter much in CA but would surely come back full force in a presidential election.

[marlakay]

47. They lowered the bar to bottom this time

So Gavin shouldn't have to worry unless the dems can't stand up for him.

Compared to Trump just about anyone can run, what they proved is your message to the people has to be stronger than anything people throw at you.

[BainsBane]

48. Forget about the presidency

Focus on state and congressional races.

[LAS14]

79. See response #75

[Jake Stern]

51. Here's an idea. . . .

Instead of sitting here playing Fantasy President why don't we play "Who Would Make A Great State Legislator?"

A secret to Republican's success is that they have managed to take over state houses and governorships allowing them to cement their control of the House through gerrymandering and voter suppression laws. In this last election they gained even more seats and governorships!

Unless we start retaking state houses we won't come close to retaking congress.

[LAS14]

77. True, true.

We went through 8 years with a really great president, and we lost out on so much because we didn't have congress. And we won't have congress if we cede state legislatures to gerrymandering republicans. See my response #75 in this thread about the plight of one local Mass town committee.

[JustAnotherGen]

85. We already have that in NJ

We will hold November 7, 2017.

Also - Phil Murphy will be the governor.

[LisaM]

52. Jay Inslee.

How come he is never mentioned? Amy Klobuchar?

[LisaM]

53. Wendy Davis, Cecile Richards.

Plenty of names.

[Golden Raisin]

61. I completely agree. Jay Inslee is impressive,

but technically, 65.

[LisaM]

87. He is?

Funny, I thought he was younger!

[brewens]

55. Hillary 2020! It's time for a woman in the White House! This time we really mean it! Third

times a charm! Did I mention that it's time for a woman in the White House!

[Jamaal510]

59. Couldn't tell

if that was snark or not, but this thread is about up and coming Democrats age 60 or younger.

[TomCADem]

60. Not Under 60. Not Exactly a Rising Star.

nt

[hibbing]

57. Gavin Newsome has a strong Twitter game n/t

[HarmonyRockets]

58. Betsy Hodges

The mayor of Minneapolis. She was impressive on Rachel's show one night talking about how she would be fighting Trump as mayor.

[yuiyoshida]

67. I met Gavin Newsome and was very impressed.

I am crossing my fingers for him...I might even volunteer to get the word out on his running in a few years!

[smirkymonkey]

68. From the great state of Massachusetts:

Seth Moulton
Katherine Clark

A winning ticket!

[treestar]

74. Concentrate on the lower offices

We lose because we obsess over the presidency. It's not much good without Congress. We should not be bothering with this. Concentrate on 2018 and state elections. Why is the gerrymandering against us? Because we pay no attention to states. Have we not learned that the presidency is not all powerful?

[LAS14]

75. I agree. Was depressed by my first Democratic town committee...

... meeting in Mass. The speaker invited us to list issues to focus on to make Mass a leader in the opposition. But when some of us suggested reaching out to our own mid-state rust belt he wouldn't even put it on the list. Finally, after several insistent calls from audience members he put it in its special place down in the right hand corner.

Someone else in the meeting who I was told was a leader in the Dem hierarchy pointed out that we won't get anywhere if we keep just talking to ourselves.

It's not that I want to ignore the time-honored and important issues. It's just that we didn't need to spend the time of the town meeting listing them. We needed some creative thinking to DO SOMETHING about the fix our country is in.

[nycbos]

76. Tammy Duckworth.

[BlueCaliDem]

82. She'd be perfect but unfortunately, as we've seen, America isn't ready for a woman president.

Looking at the mewling Millennial women today (who are more interested in pleasing their boyfriends/men with photoshopped selfies but who'll be the key voting block in our future), I have no hope that we'll ever be ready for a woman president. This country is still too male-centric, and Millennial women help in that.

[Squinch]

83. They might accept her. As a wounded veteran, the Republicans wouldn't dare

to pull the same shit they did with Hillary. She'd be my choice.

And as for the "mewling Millennial women," that may have been true in the past but it is no longer true. The ones I know are more than pissed, and quite terrified. They've just been radicalized. Seems like as soon as they get their IUD's in place (because they fear they will soon not be available), they'll become one of our loudest segments.

[OregonBlue]

89. Jeff Merkley. He's 60 and very progressive.