The second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla. June 27, 2019 (Mike Segar/Reuters) The current format serves the networks, but not the voters or candidates. If you’re a Republican, so far the 2020 Democratic debates look like they’ll be a hoot. Front-runners and top-tier candidates share a crowded stage with

Sen. Bernie Sanders participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, April 24, 2019. (Loren Elliott/Reuters) Trump’s Democratic rivals don’t seem especially forthcoming about who they are. An epidemic of false identities, massaged résumés, and warped ancestries has broken out among the current Democratic presidential primary candidates. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.)

Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath supporters at an election-night party in Richmond, Ky., November 6, 2018. (John Sommers II/Reuters) Kentucky Democrat Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot and failed 2018 House candidate, announced her bid this week to unseat Mitch McConnell in 2020. Within 24 hours, she posted an eye-popping fundraising haul of $2.5

Tom Steyer, a hedge fund manager and a prominent Democratic fundraiser who has mounted a high-profile advertising campaign advocating the impeachment of President Donald Trump, holds a news conference to announce plans for his political future, in Washington, D.C., January 8, 2018. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Making the click-through worthwhile: Tom Steyer, the billionaire and useful idiot

Tom Steyer, founder of NextGen Climate, speaks during the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Calif., June 1, 2019. (Stephen Lam/Reuters) Billionaire Tom Steyer announced Tuesday that he will join the crowded field vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and promised to commit at least $100 million of his personal fortune to the campaign.

Former presidential candidate Ross Perot gestures during the presidential debate at Michigan State University, October 19, 1992. (Andy Clark/Reuters) A long, long time ago — so long ago, I can’t find it in the NR archives — our old friend Jonah Goldberg wrote that someone could write a good book on how in the short

President Donald Trump attends a campaign kick-off rally in Orlando, Fla., June 18, 2019. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) Acknowledge Trump’s achievements and help him win reelection. Then roll out a new party, not as a spoiler but as support for conservative principles.   The debate on the prospects for post-Trump conservatism has recently focused on the tactical

President Donald Trump talks to reporters in Morristown, N.J., July 7, 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) For a century, the market’s performance has been a reliable indicator of an incumbent president’s chances of keeping the White House. Though there are still over 450 days to go until the 2020 presidential election, the pundit class is all abuzz

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Joe Biden Wants to Resurrect the Individual Mandate Reports CNBC: Joe Biden, former vice president and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, said Friday he would bring back the individual mandate, the

Rep. Justin Amash speaks at CPAC 2013 (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) It’s not at all clear. He could hurt Democrats in some states. Now that Representative Justin Amash has left the Republican party, he’ll be getting some calls asking whether he plans to run for president in 2020. Never Trumpers and consultants and left-wing billionaires will be

Sen. Kamala Harris speaks during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Many Democrats striving to replace Donald Trump are, while execrating him, paying him the sincerest form of flattery: imitation. If California senator Kamala Harris is elected president in 2020 and reelected in

Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters following the 2016 presidential election in Manhattan, November 9, 2016. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) She’ll never be president, but she’s made history nonetheless. The consensus view on the right is that Hillary Clinton was a primary reason for Donald Trump’s success in 2016. But not all conservatives agree about why that was.

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Making busing an issue again is a strategic and a policy mistake by the Democrats. Senator Kamala Harris demonstrated rare skill during the debate — managing to shiv Joe Biden

Sen. Cory Booker speaks during the first Democratic presidential debate in Miami, Fla., June 26, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) The Democratic candidates are campaigning like mad to promise the most free stuff to voters. Senator Cory Booker has unveiled his “baby bonds” plan to give federal money to every newborn child to begin a fund that

Pete Buttigieg delivers remarks on foreign policy and national security in Bloomington, Ind., June 11, 2019. (John Sommers/Reuters) Southbend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday proposed the creation of new voluntary-service programs to combat climate change and increasing rates of mental-health issues, among other objectives. The plan, released by Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, calls for the

Sen. Elizabeth Warren greets supporters in Manchester, N.H., June 14, 2019. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) Nearly all of them are running so hard to the left that the successful nominee will never be able to appear moderate. Presidential candidates from both parties usually sound hard-core in the primaries to appeal to their progressive or conservative bases. But

On Sunday, Kamala Harris expressed support for new, federally mandated busing policies. “I support busing. Listen, the schools of America are as segregated, if not more segregated, today than when I was in elementary school,” Harris said. “Where states fail to do their duty to ensure equality of all … Read More

Joe Biden speaks at an event at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, June 11, 2019. (Jordan Gale/Reuters) Earlier this week, new polls from CNN and Quinnipiac showed former vice president Joe Biden slipping from his unquestionable status as frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary, weakened by what many consider to have been a

Sen. Kamala Harris talks with MSNBC host Chris Matthews after the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) She promises to scare away white suburban voters such as those who backed Democrats in 2018. Busing? We’re really going to talk about busing? In 2019? What

Sen. Kamala Harris speaks during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Perhaps Kamala Harris’s favorite tagline during last week’s debate was that, when it comes to questions of policy, “we have to think about how this affects real people.” That might sound grounded

Former Vice President Joe Biden gestures during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) A new poll from Quinnipiac University out this afternoon shows former vice president Joe Biden clinging to a slim lead over California senator Kamala Harris in the Democratic presidential primary

Senator Cory Booker (left) and former representative Beto O’Rourke (right) listen as Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks at the first Democratic presidential debate in Miami, Fla., June 26, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Open borders, student-loan forgiveness, Iranian nuke deal — and that’s just for starters If you watched either or both of the two Democratic-party presidential-candidate debates,

Former vice president Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Senator Kamala Harris during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates’ debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) A new CNN poll out this afternoon shows that former vice president Joe Biden has suffered a setback in his campaign for president, dropping

Author Marianne Williamson and former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) The new-age guru-turned-long-shot presidential contender has led a wild, colorful, controversial life. One: Marianne Williamson told New York Jewish Week late last year that “had she received a

Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks at the SC Democratic Convention in Columbia, S.C., June 22, 2019. (Randall Hill/Reuters) Southbend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg raised $24.8 million over the last three months, the campaign announced Monday, an impressive total that will likely cement the small town mayor’s status as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination. The

It would tax even the prodigious powers of the late novelist Tom Wolfe to create a more poignant political scene than a bright, young, white mayor of a small city, who is an upstart presidential candidate and progressive darling, getting yelled at by black residents during a town hall. The mayor, of course, is …

It would tax even the prodigious powers of the late novelist Tom Wolfe to create a more poignant political scene than a bright, young, white mayor of a small city, who is an upstart presidential candidate and progressive darling, getting yelled at by black residents during a town hall. The mayor, of course, is …

It’s hard to know how to weigh in on this controversy, since the definition of “busing” is itself uncertain; since it’s hard to tell what Joe Biden means to say now, let alone what he meant to say decades ago; and since the criticism of him by his political opponents is so likely to be

The short version: Elizabeth Warren treaded water, Cory Booker and Julian Castro found their grooves, Bill de Blasio vented his anger and may have created some buzz, Beto O’Rourke had a terrible night, and everybody else on the bottom stayed on the bottom. Everyone expected Elizabeth Warren to be the big … Read More

Joe Biden speaks at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition convention in Chicago, Ill., June 28, 2019. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters) Can he survive the left-wing drift of the Democrats? Joe Biden has led the national polls in the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination since last year. He’s ahead in the first three contests, also, with leads ranging