Deval Patrick: 2020 bid ‘on my radar’

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) says that a potential presidential run is “on my radar screen.” 

Patrick, who left office in 2015, said launching a White House bid is a “huge decision,” and he is also still considering staying in the private sphere while helping other Democratic candidates. 

“I am trying to think through 2020, and that’s a decision I’m trying to think through from a personal and family point of view and also whether what I believe is going to be on offer by somebody,” Patrick told Kansas City radio station KCUR. “And if it’s on offer by somebody then maybe what I can do is help that person. But we’ll see.”

Patrick was the first African-American to hold the Massachusetts governorship; his immediate predecessor was former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.  

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Patrick reportedly has support in high places for a potential run, including former Obama advisers David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, who have both privately encouraged him to enter the 2020 race. 

But Patrick also vocalized his frustrations with the party that lost to President Trump, saying 2016 was “less about Donald Trump winning than Democrats and our nominee letting him do so” by not engaging with voters. 

The Democratic presidential primary for the next cycle is expected to be a crowded one.