John Delaney wasn’t slowed by a crush of national political press that sometimes swarms presidential candidates at the Iowa State Fair. Quite the opposite.
“Who is that?” retired child psychologist Bernard Wiesemann of Des Moines said Friday as the three-term Maryland congressman — and declared candidate for the 2020 presidential nomination — strode down the fair’s busy Grand Concourse.
“It’s John Somebody, right?” said Linda Gundlach, who sold Delaney lemonade at the popular Steer ‘N Stein watering hole near the grandstand. “I was wondering who he was.”
Such is the burden of little-known Democrats who have begun making visits to early presidential nominating states. With more than a year and a half before Iowa holds the caucuses that signal the beginning of the presidential nomination process, the top Democratic stars and many other rising national figures are staying away, for now, focusing instead on the upcoming midterm elections.
Delaney ambled through the crowd unnoticed on the fair’s sun-splashed first weekend day. With his wife, April, and daughter Grace, he was recognized at the Iowa Democratic Party’s booth in the teeming Varied Industries Building. But despite a couple of news reporters and cameras in tow, he blended into the crowd as he waded into the building’s labyrinth of hot tubs, garden tractors and workout equipment.
And Delaney is better known than most: He’s visited 14 times since last year and is airing his seventh television ad since February. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]But, according to a segment on MSNBC, Avenatti is a legitimate front-runner.
“You look at the field of Democrats right now, and Avenatti’s the one who stands out. He’s the one who’s not a politician,” said Philip Rucker, The Washington Post’s White House bureau chief.
“If he gives the base what they’re looking for and shows he can go toe-to-toe with Trump, he’d have a chance.”
“If they decide they value a fighter most, people would be foolish to underestimate Michael Avenatti,” said Nicole Wallace, host of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House.”
“I have always said they need a fighter,” political science professor Jason Johnson, an MSNBC contributor, said. “You need someone who is not going to take the high road because the high road doesn’t work with (Donald Trump).” – READ MORE
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