Swalwell: I ‘do see a path’ to 2020 Democratic nomination

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who is openly considering a 2020 presidential bid, said he does see a path for someone from a younger generation to win the Democratic Party’s nomination, despite a primary field that is projected to be packed with established, high-profile candidates.
“I actually do see a path, I am considering it,” Swalwell, who is 38, said Wednesday in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” adding that he will soon be holding a gun violence town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, with Cameron Kasky, a survivor from the February shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school.
He noted that he will visit New Hampshire after Iowa. Those two states host the first two contests in the 2020 primaries.
{mosads}“Iowa’s first in the nation. I’ll be in New Hampshire this Friday and those states play an important role and I want to continue to listen and learn from those folks and make a decision just after the holidays,” Swalwell said.
He pointed to the influx of younger members of Congress as a sign that he thinks younger candidates could compete for the Democratic nomination.
“I do believe that the country, by sending about 27 new members of Congress who are in their 40s and under, that they embraced in this last midterm election new leadership, new ideas and much importantly, a new confidence.”
It was first reported in November that the California Democrat could throw his hat into the ring, but Swalwell declined to confirm the report, though he and his aides raised eyebrows over their efforts to boost candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire during the midterms.
Should Swalwell run, he would likely face off against a long list of high-profile Democrats, possibly including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).
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