Melissa Harris-Perry says current slate of Dem presidential nominees look like ‘losers’

Former TV host Melissa Harris-Perry says the current slate of Democratic presidential candidates don’t stand a chance against President Trump in the 2020 election, citing the president remains extremely popular with his conservative base.

“At the moment there is no candidate on the Democratic side who is strong candidate over and against Trump,” Harris-Perry told Hill.TV co-hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on Wednesday.

“The current slate looks like losers to me,” she added.

There are dozens of Democrats who are currently considering whether to take on Trump and the GOP. The potential list runs the gamut, including everyone from veteran lawmakers like Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to political outsiders like Stormy Daniels’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti.

Then there’s Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who became a breakout star during the midterm election cycle after putting up a surprisingly tough fight against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). While the El Paso congressman ultimately lost his Senate bid, he gained significant national recognition and has been floated as a potential frontrunner in the Democratic field for 2020.

But for now, Harris-Perry said the current lineup of Democratic hopefuls remains lackluster, and she predicts that Trump is likely to win another four years in office .

“Trump is extremely popular with his base – he’s unpopular among Democrats, obviously – but he’s extremely popular with enough people in the right number of states,” she said.

Trump has been aggressively campaigning for reelection ever since he took office.

Trump first filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) just hours after he was inaugurated, according to CBS News. He later made the formal announcement in February and has been on the campaign trail ever since.

Still, Harris-Perris warned that the political landscape could look a little different in the next four years, pointing to unexpectedly close races in key swing states like Florida. Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (D) conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis after losing by almost one percentage point.  

She also pointed the state’s move to restore voting rights to more than one million former felons.

Thanks to the passage of Amendment 4, former convicted felonies can now vote in Florida, but the amendment excludes those convicted of murder or sex offenses. 

This could nevertheless have a significant impact on the nation’s third-largest state, where a disproportionally large number of minorities remain incarcerated. In 2016, almost 18 percent of potential black voters in Florida couldn’t vote due to their felony record even though they had finished their prison sentences. 

“Florida is always a crucial state in presidential elections – everyone is in Iowa but everyone’s about to start spending some time in Florida as well because that’s going to be crucial.”

– Tess Bonn