In the gigantic 2020 Democratic presidential primary field, there are a few candidates who stand out not because of their strong polling or fundraising, but because so many people wish they would run for Senate in their home states. There’s still time for them to change their minds—but how much time? The Washington Post helpfully provides the dates.
- Beto O’Rourke would have to file for Senate in Texas by Dec. 9 of this year, before any primaries or caucuses are held. And then he’d have to beat M.J. Hegar in a primary.
- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, on the other hand, would likely have until March 2020 to file for Senate. He’s by far the Democrats’ best shot at that seat, though going into it with a whiff of failure from a presidential primary flop might not help him.
- John Hickenlooper has until April 2020 to decide to run for Senate in Colorado, but he’d face a crowded Senate primary and the ship has definitely sailed on that whiff of failure thing.
- Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has a while to decide if he wants to run to keep his seat, though he’s pretty clearly running for EPA chief or something along those lines.
- The members of Congress running for president can probably also run to keep their current seats.
It’s too bad some of these people didn’t just decide to run for Senate to begin with, since that’s where they can be of most help to the nation and the Democratic Party, but they still have time to change course.