Amy Klobuchar 2020 presidential campaign

Amy Klobuchar 2020 presidential campaign
File:Amy Klobuchar 2020 presidential campaign logo.svg
Candidate	Amy Klobuchar U.S. Senator from Minnesota (2007–present) County Attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota (1999–2007)
Affiliation	Democratic Party
Status	Announced: February 10, 2019
Headquarters	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Key people	Justin Buoen (campaign manager) Julia Kennedy (deputy campaign manager) Michael Schultz (national finance director) Rosa Po (policy director) Nathan Nye (digital director) Carlie Waibel (national press secretary) Elise Convy (deputy national finance director) Sam Clark (special advisor) Jeff Blodgett, special advisor Brigit Helgen (senior advisor)
Website
Official website

The Amy Klobuchar 2020 presidential campaign was announced on February 10, 2019. Prior to her announcement, Amy Klobuchar, who represents Minnesota in the United States Senate, had been discussed as a potential candidate for the office.

Justin Buoen is serving as campaign manager.

Background

Klobuchar was described by The New York Times in 2008 and The New Yorker in 2016 as one of the women most likely to become the first female President of the United States.

In January 2019, Klobuchar was reported to be seriously considering entering the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 United States presidential election. Klobuchar placed fourth among Democratic potential candidates in a December 2018 poll of Iowa voters.

On February 5, 2019, Klobuchar announced she would make a "major announcement" on February 10 about a presidential bid. That day, the Iowa Democratic Party announced that Klobuchar would be giving the keynote address at a banquet in Ankeny, Iowa, on February 21. The Washington Post's national columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote that Klobuchar would be a moderate candidate with significant rural policy experience, and would be well positioned in Iowa, which borders Klobuchar's Minnesota. Rubin also wrote that Klobuchar could make an excellent vice-presidential candidate.

Announcement

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Klobuchar announcing her candidacy in Minneapolis on February 10, 2019

Klobuchar held a campaign announcement rally at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis on February 10. Klobuchar's allegedly harsh treatment of her Senate staff received some coverage before her announcement.

Within 48 hours of her announcement, the Klobuchar campaign raised over $1 million, with 95%+ coming from donors who gave less than $100. She said during her announcement that she will not take money from Super PACs.

In the following week, she campaigned in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Rachel Maddow, who has covered Klobuchar for years, had a long interview with her on February 11. George Stephanopoulos also interviewed her on Good Morning America. CNN hosted a town hall event with Klobuchar in New Hampshire on February 18.

Positions

Main article: Political positions of Amy Klobuchar

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Klobuchar campaigning in Wisconsin in February 2019

Senator Klobuchar has pitched herself as moderate and pragmatic, willing to tell voters no when she believes a specific proposal is not in the best interests of the nation.

Agriculture

As a U.S. Senator, Klobuchar has made increasing insurance programs for farmers impacted by severe weather and market fluctuations a priority. Her agriculture concerns have made her interested in trade as well.

Climate change and environmental issues

Klobuchar said during the CNN Town Hall that while she likes the idea of a Green New Deal, it was not realistic. She said it was aspirational to believe all the proposals could be enacted in 10 years and acknowledged that along the way to becoming law, compromises would need to happen.

Klobuchar said that during her first 100 days in office, she would reinstate the Clean Power Plan and gas mileage standards and propose legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure. She also said that on her first day, the U.S. would rejoin the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Consumer protection

In 2018, Klobuchar introduced a bill with Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) with the goal, among other things, of increasing the clarity of online terms of service and requiring more transparency regarding what data companies gather and share. Because of her early focus on consumer safety issues, the New York Times nicknamed her "The Senator of Small Things", to which Klobuchar responded that she does not "view these as small things".

Crime

Klobuchar, like fellow Senator and candidate Kamala Harris, began her career as a prosecutor. Klobuchar is criticized for having been a "tough on crime" prosecutor who took part in the "war on drugs" and increased her county's prison population. These prosecutions disproportionally affected people of color.

Klobuchar, who is from a region with a strong tradition of gun ownership, attended the March for Our Lives and favors "common sense" gun safety legislation such as universal background checks.

Education

Klobuchar does not support free, four-year college for all, saying that while she wished she could make it happen, it was not realistic. Instead, she proposed allowing students to more easily refinance their student loans, making community colleges free, and extending Pell Grants to a wider group of recipients.

Elections

In her announcement speech, Klobuchar said she supported an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC. She also advocated restoring the Voting Rights Act and automatic voter registration for every 18 year old U.S. citizen.

Following Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, she introduced legislation in 2017 in the Senate to bring more online communications under the oversight of election law, with the goal of increasing the transparency of online election advertising. It would also require social media companies to maintain more information on advertisement buyers and who they target. The bill was endorsed by both Facebook and Twitter but failed in the Senate.

Foreign policy

Klobuchar committed to standing with allies and having a clear purpose. She said frontline troops, diplomats, and intelligence officers who risk their lives daily "deserve better than foreign policy by tweet."

Healthcare

While Klobuchar has pushed for reductions in healthcare costs, she has not called for an overhaul of the entire system like other 2020 candidates. She has not supported the Medicare-for All plan proposed by 2016 candidate and 2020 candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). She does, however, support a path to universal healthcare, believing a good first step would be a public option, allowing Americans to opt-in to government-run health insurance instead of finding private plans. During the CNN Town Hall, Klobuchar stated that Medicare-for-All "could be a possibility in the future", but she was looking for solutions "that will work now". She said her priorities would be expanding Medicare and Medicaid, improving the ACA, and creating a public option.

During her time in the Senate, Klobuchar has repeatedly pushed for ways to lower the costs of prescription drugs. She has introduced legislation encouraging the development of cheaper, generic versions of name-brand drugs. She has also supported allowing Medicare to directly negotiate the prices of drugs with pharmaceutical companies.

Immigration

Klobuchar voted for the 2013 Senate immigration reform bill and still supports comprehensive immigration reform.

National debt

Klobuchar has cited her concern with the growing national debt as one of her main reasons for opposing proposals such as Medicare-for-All and free college. She said during a CNN Town Hall that she doesn't "want to leave that on the shoulders" of the next generation and specifically called out the Trump Administration for allowing the national debt to grow.

Social issues

During her announcement speech, Klobuchar pushed back on hate and fear mongering, saying

We may come from different places. We may pray in different ways. We may look different, love different, but we all live in the same country of shared dreams.

Technology

During her announcement speech, Klobuchar pushed for strengthening the U.S.'s cyber security and guaranteeing net neutrality nationwide. She also said that by 2022, every U.S. household should be connected to the internet.

Trade

Klobuchar has urged President Trump to quickly renegotiate trade deals and end Chinese tariffs that hurt the agriculture industry in the U.S. She supported Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.

Endorsements

List of political endorsements

U.S. Executive Branch officials Walter Mondale, former Vice President of the United States (1977-1981); former U.S. Senator from Minnesota (1964-1976); Democratic nominee for President in 1984 Gordon Giffin, former United States Ambassador to Canada (1997-2001) Samuel D. Heins, former United States Ambassador to Norway (2016-2017) Samuel L. Kaplan, former United States Ambassador to Morocco (2009-2013) Azita Raji, former United States Ambassador to Sweden (2016-2017) Andy Slavitt, former acting Administrator of the CMS (2015–2017) U.S. Senators Tina Smith, U.S. Senator from Minnesota since 2018 U.S. Representatives Angie Craig, U.S. Representative from MN-02 since 2019 Dean Phillips, U.S. Representative from MN-03 since 2019 Governors Roy Barnes, former Governor of Georgia (1999-2003); former member of the Georgia Senate (1974-1990) and Georgia House of Representatives (1992-1998) Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota since 2019; former U.S. Representative from MN-01 (2007–2019) Statewide officials Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota since 2019 Julie Blaha, State Auditor of Minnesota since 2019 Jennifer Brunner, former Ohio Secretary of State (2007-2011) State legislators Jason Isaacson, Minnesota State Senator from District 42 since 2017 Melisa Franzen, Minnesota State Senator from District 49 since 2013 Matt Klein, Minnesota State Senator from District 52 since 2017 Susan Kent, Minnesota State Senator from District 53 since 2013 Karla Bigham, Minnesota State Senator from District 54 since 2018 Sandy Pappas, Minnesota State Senator from District 65 since 1991; candidate for Mayor of Saint Paul in 1997 Carly Melin, former Minnesota State Representative from District 6A (2011–2017) Jennifer Schultz, Minnesota State Representative from District 7A since 2015 Jeff Brand, Minnesota State Representative from District 19A since 2019 Kelly Morrison, Minnesota State Representative from District 33B since 2019 Kristin Bahner, Minnesota State Representative from District 34B since 2019 Connie Bernardy, Minnesota State Representative from District 41A since 2013 and 2001–2006 Zack Stephenson, Minnesota State Representative from District 36A since 2019 Ryan Winkler, Minnesota State Representative from District 46A since 2019 and 2007–2015; Majority Leader since 2019 Heather Edelson, Minnesota State Representative from District 49A since 2019 Michael Howard, Minnesota State Representative from District 50A since 2019 Erin Maye Quade, former Minnesota State Representative from District 57A (2017–2019) John Lesch, Minnesota State Representative from District 66B since 2003 Jodi Emerson, Wisconsin State Assemblywoman from District 91 since 2019 Local officials Emily Larson, Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota since 2016 Jacob Frey, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018 Democratic Party figures Donald Fowler, former National Chair of the Democratic National Committee (1995-1997) and former Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party (1971-1980) Andy McGuire, former Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party (2015-2017) and candidate for Governor of Iowa during the 2018 election Individuals John Bessler, attorney and academic; Klobuchar's husband Jim Klobuchar, journalist, author, columnist, and travel guide; Klobuchar's father Sounds of Blackness, vocal and instrumental ensemble

External links

• Official website