By I’ve heard several people talk about the Democratic National Committee endorsing or putting forward Presidential candidates for 2020. After controversies in 2016 over Clinton’s broad support among Democratic Party leaders, distrust in Democratic Party institutions is understandable.
However, this particular fear is misplaced. The DNC does not endorse in Presidential primaries. It is a neutral arbiter.
That being said, 2016 was obviously messy. There was no endorsement or formal, institutional support for Clinton’s campaign. DNC leaders (most notably, Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz) had longstanding ties to Clinton and many privately supported her. But the DNC did not take any formal actions to support Clinton prior to her nomination. There were accusations of bias in the creation of the original debate schedule, but I do not believe there is any evidence they were specifically scheduled to favor Clinton.
The clear preference of Democratic leaders and officeholders for Clinton clearly damaged the DNC’s reputation. But even then, the DNC did not formally support CLinton in the primary. It will not support anyone in the 2020 field either.
There are, of course, more establishment candidates. Establishment candidates are those like Hillary Clinton with strong ties to party leaders and institutions. Clinton was endorsed by most of Congress before the Iowa Caucuses. Her primary rival, Bernie Sanders, was backed by only one Senator. Mitt Romney in 2012 and both Al Gore and George Bush in 2000 are other examples of candidates who locked down early establishment support.
None of the 2020 candidates quite fit that mold, though some come closer than others. Joe Biden, as a former Vice President and multi-term Senator, is the clearest example. However, though most Democratic party leaders would find Biden an acceptable nominee, he’s currently only been endorsed by three Senators.
Other candidates, such as Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris, are also perceived to be more establishment-friendly, but even they have only a handful of endorsements at this stage.
If one of these candidates emerges from the early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina) with momentum, elected Democrats may jump on a bandwagon for that candidate (like with Barack Obama in 2008). However, the DNC will still not endorse.
There will certainly be more establishment friendly candidates in the 2020 race. But it’s important to be accurate and informed so we don’t encourage conspiracies and misinformation. The DNC is miles away from being a perfect (or even good) organization, but they’ve so far been striving to be an inclusive, even-handed arbiter in 2020. They won’t be endorsing anyone until the nomination is settled.
Breakdown Politics 