Michelle Obama has made it crystal clear that she is not running for president in 2020. However, she is still a top candidate among Democratic voters — even over people who announced they are running for president.
According to a new poll by the Washington Post, Michelle Obama comes in at sixth among potential and declared Democratic candidates — higher than Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro.
“[Joe] Biden was the person most often chosen, by 9 percent of Democratic-leaning voters, followed by [Kamala] Harris, with 8 percent, each garnering more support than any other named candidate,” the Post reported. “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Trump were named by 4 percent, followed by former congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex.) with 3 percent. Former first lady Michelle Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) each got 2 percent.”
Oprah Winfrey received 1 percent, even though she has also said she is not running for office.
It’s going to be a tough fit for the Democratic nomination but Sen. Kamala Harris certainly has early enthusiasm. On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Harris announced she was running for president.
“The thing about Dr. King that always inspires me is that he was aspirational. He was aspirational like our country is aspirational,” she said on “Good Morning America” about the timing of her announcement. “We know that we’ve not yet reached those ideals. But our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals. So today, the day we celebrate Dr. King, is a very special day for all of us as Americans and I’m honored to be able to make my announcement on the day we commemorate him.”
While many people are excited about Harris’ run, there are questions about her rough history as it relates to criminal justice. As attorney general of San Francisco, she was a major advocate of truancy laws that charged parents a fee for their children being truant and locking up one or both parents if they couldn’t pay.
“A close examination of Harris’s record shows it’s filled with contradictions,” Vox reported. “She pushed for programs that helped people find jobs instead of putting them in prison, but also fought to keep people in prison even after they were proved innocent. She refused to pursue the death penalty against a man who killed a police officer, but also defended California’s death penalty system in court. She implemented training programs to address police officers’ racial biases, but also resisted calls to get her office to investigate certain police shootings.”