Kamala Harris just signaled that she’s running for President in 2020

| 9:21 pm EDT August 30, 2017
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The 2020 presidential race is a long, long way away. We haven’t even yet reached the handful of major elections in November 2017, let alone the deluge of midterm elections in November 2018. With Donald Trump melting down, it’s not even clear who will occupy the office of president by the time the 2020 race kicks off. Nonetheless, Democratic Senator Kamala Harris sent a clear signal today that she’s planning to run for president.

This evening Kamala Harris tweeted the following major policy announcement: “I intend to co-sponsor the Medicare for All bill because it’s just the right thing to do.” (link). This is an allusion to the fabled single-payer health care system which allows uninsured individuals under the age of sixty-five to buy into Medicare instead of having to buy into a private health insurance plan. Let’s be clear here. There is no chance that Harris’ legislation will get anywhere in the current Republican Congress. But that’s not why she’s introducing it.

This Medicare for All bill, which will fail in Republican hands, will give Kamala Harris a platform upon which to base her 2020 campaign for president. This allows her to begin pushing the single-payer conversation now, and it will allow her to campaign on it when the time comes. Moreover, this allows Harris to expand her reach and popularity among various segments on the left.

Moments after Kamala Harris announced her support for single-payer, Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted “Thank you Kamala Harris for your support. Let’s make health care a right, not a privilege.” Now that he’s publicly praised her for her stand on the issue, if the two of them end up running against each other in the 2020 Democratic primary race, it’ll make it harder for him to attack her on health care. This could also be an attempt on the part of Harris at winning over Sanders and convincing him not to run. But as of today there’s little question that she’s planning to run. Now let’s get back to the midterms.