Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said he thinks the 2020 Democratic primary will come down to four candidates.
“I’m sure I’m going to take heat for this several months for now,” O’Connell told Hill.TV during an interview on “Rising” as he unveiled his Democratic final four.
“I think when it comes to the Democratic Primary you’re actually down to four people and that is the three B’s and Kamala Harris: Biden, Beto and Bernie,” he continued.
Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) have all announced their 2020 bids. Former Vice President Joe Biden has not jumped into the race officially but is telling supporters he will get in.
O’Rourke entered the race last week and is already sparking controversy after he said in a Vanity Fair interview that he was “just born to be in it.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), another 2020 contender, referenced the line during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” while on the campaign trail in Iowa.
“I have a lot of respect for Beto and it’s great to have some Texas in this race,” Klobuchar told NBC host Chuck Todd. “I wasn’t born to run for office, but I am running.”
O’Connell told Hill.TV that O’Rourke nevertheless poses a “true threat” to some left-leaning candidates like Sanders.
“Clearly Bernie sees Beto as a true threat, they seem to be fighting over the same turf based on how I’m watching the opposition research within the Democratic Party,” he said.
While O’Connell said the Texan shouldn’t be written off as a contender, he predicted that O’Rourke would instead likely be the running mate of the eventual nominee.
“When someone raises $6 million in 24 hours, I can’t sneeze my nose at them,” the strategist said, referring to O’Rourke’s massive fundraising haul that came from more than 128,000 donors.
“I see Beto going off most likely being the VP nominee when you start looking at the age difference,” he added.
—Tess Bonn
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