The race to see who occupies the White House in 2024 is on!
Democratic, Republican, and Unaffiliated voters in Colorado will have a chance to vote in the March 5 Presidential Primary elections. I’m writing today about the Democratic process, but Republicans also have a primary, and most Unaffiliated voters can choose whether to vote the Republican or Democratic primary ballot.
Remember, major-party Presidential nominations are determined by delegates at national conventions, not by popular vote. In the Colorado primary, delegates will be awarded proportionately to candidates based on the results of the Colorado popular vote. Candidates must reach a threshold of at least 15% of the popular vote to get any delegates. Colorado will send 86 Democratic delegates and 6 alternates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
There will be eight candidates and a “noncommitted” option on the Colorado ballot. However, one candidate (Marianne Williamson) has already suspended her campaign, but it happened after ballots were prepared so she will still be on your ballot. In 2020, most of the candidates actually dropped out between the ballot printing and “Election Day,” so it might be in your best interest to follow the news so you don’t vote for someone who’s not in the race anymore.
Furthermore, it’s not impossible that a candidate who earns delegates from the Colorado primary might not be in the race anymore at the time of the DNC, and if that happens their pledged delegates might decide to vote for a different candidate at or before the DNC.
This will be a mail ballot election, like most elections we’ve done in Colorado since 2013. Unaffiliated voters can vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary, but not both. It is possible for unaffiliated voters to declare that they only want to receive one party’s ballots, but if they haven’t declared, they will receive both ballots and must choose which one to fill out. Anyone who is a registered voter and didn’t receive a ballot much beyond mid-February (I got mine Feb. 14), or lost or damaged their ballot, should contact their local County Clerk’s office to potentially get a new ballot.
I don’t want to go in-depth on how Coloradans can become DNC delegates here, but those who are interested should contact their state or local political party, or do some web sleuthing, to learn more about the process. It’s usually quite competitive, and anyone who hasn’t started campaigning yet probably ought to get going.
I think that covers the basics of how the election will work. Now, on to the candidates! Campaign websites will be linked with the candidate’s names.
President Joseph R. Biden
Joe Biden was elected President of the United States in 2020, and could serve one more four-year term if re-elected in 2024. He earned a law degree in 1969, and began his political career in the U.S. Senate as a Senator from Delaware, starting in 1973 and serving through 2009. He became Vice President under President Obama in 2009, serving for a full eight years. In the Senate, Biden chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he focused on issues including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. He has represented the nation in many areas of the world, between his time in the Senate, as Vice President, and as President. He also chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
It’s widely assumed right now that Vice President Kamala Harris will once again be Biden’s running mate, but there have been times when the running mate changed during the course of a campaign. Running mates will not be listed on the Colorado primary ballot, but will be listed on the general election ballot in November. Harris is an attorney who was elected as a U.S. Senator from California, serving from 2017-2021. She’s also served as City Attorney and District Attorney from San Francisco, as well as Attorney General for the State of California. Of course, she’s been Vice President of the United States since 2021.
To recount the entire Biden record would take more time than I have right now, but I will write more as the November election approaches, assuming he is the Democratic nominee. I’ll supply links to two reviews of his record for the time being – one from Reuters and another directly from the White House. Obviously, always take self-reporting with a big grain of salt, but I think the White House account will provide a list of relevant topics to consider, and anyone with the time can do further research.
Biden White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/therecord/
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips currently represents Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional district, made up of several suburban counties semi-circling the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. He earned a MBA from the University of Minnesota, and spent much of his life post-graduation in the private sector, including as CEO of his family’s company Phillips Distilling, a stint running Talenti Gelato, and founding Penny’s Coffee. He is reasonably wealthy, and has been able to self-fund much of his 2024 run for the White House.
In Congress, Phillips is currently a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and ranking member of its Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. He is also a member of the House Committee on Small Business, a member of several Small Business subcommittees, and a number of caucuses. For a list of his Congressional memberships, see https://phillips.house.gov/committees/
Phillips has said he would consider running on the No Labels ticket if he doesn’t win the Democratic nomination, but only if polling suggests Biden would lose to Trump in the 2024 election, according to this New York Times story.
Marianne Williamson suspended her 2024 Presidential campaign in mid-February, but “unsuspended” the campaign on around Feb. 28. The primary ballot was already printed when she suspended her campaign, so her name is on the ballot.
She is an author, political activist, and self-described “spiritual thought leader.” She has not served in elected office. She is the author of 15 books, four of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Williamson founded Project Angel Food, a non-profit organization that has delivered more than 16 million meals to ill and dying homebound patients since 1989. The group was created to help people suffering from the ravages of HIV/AIDS. In 2004, she co-founded The Peace Alliance and supports the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. She ran as a Democrat in the 2020 Presidential caucus/primary process, but dropped out of the race in early January, before the 2020 Colorado primary.
The next five candidates are people I have never heard of. There have been times where I would have done more research on these candidates, but for the most part they don’t seem to stand a chance in this election, and again for the most part their own websites won’t tell you why they should be President of the United States. But the websites are linked with their name, so feel free to learn more than I’m supplying.
A quick look at Cornejo’s web site did not reveal anything about his qualifications. His policy positions include health care for all, a proposal resembling Universal Basic Income, supporting reproductive rights, and legalization of all recreational drugs.
Lozada describes himself as an entrepreneur and event producer, and I did not see a mention of any governing experience on his website. His policy positions include support for immigration reform, tackling human trafficking, criminal justice and prison reform, and education reform to include what he calls “practical life skills” like investing and entrepreneurship.
Lyons’ website says he has been a Master Plumber & Gas Fitter for over 46 years, and there is no mention of any governing experience. His policy positions include making sure American citizens are taken care of before undocumented immigrants or supplying foreign aid, addressing security threats including cybersecurity from China, becoming energy-independent and addressing climate change, and balancing the budget.
Directly from Palmer’s website, he has “served in executive and leadership positions at multiple organizations, including Microsoft, Kaplan Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a leading impact investor firm, New Markets Venture Partners.” He has no formal governing experience, but claims his professional and board experiences have given him a glimpse into how Washington functions. He earned a MBA from Harvard Business School. Policy positions include reversing the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a ban on assault weapons, a collaborative foreign policy with de-escalation of world hot spots, and streamlining or reforming federal government processes.
A quick look at Perez-Serrato’s website did not reveal anything about his qualifications. His policy positions include calling for a ceasefire in Gaza; ensuring reproductive rights through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution; fostering better economic conditions for students, seniors, and the working class; returning lands to Native Americans and Hawaiians; and enacting a trade embargo against China.
NONCOMMITTED
There will be a “noncommitted” selection on the Democratic primary ballot. If at least 15% of primary voters choose noncommitted, a proportion of Colorado’s DNC delegates roughly equal to the noncommitted primary vote total would be considered unpledged. Unlike some states, Colorado’s noncommitted delegates would need to declare themselves noncommitted on the first vote at the DNC, but if there is a second or later vote, the noncommitted delegates from Colorado could vote for the candidate of their choice at the DNC.
RICHARD’S TAKE
I will vote Biden and I hope you do too. I wish I did not have to remind people what’s at stake in this election, but here goes, like I have done in some form every four years since Bush v. Gore in the year 2000.
Winning the Presidency is not just about a single personality – it also gives the political party of the winner immense political power and benefits many people who share similar political ideologies. Presidential power that should matter to many Americans includes making Supreme Court and federal court nominations, nominating cabinet members and department heads, issuing executive orders, wielding veto power, being the Commander-In-Chief of the American armed forces, and dealing with world affairs and world leaders.
For the political party or people of given ideologies, winning the Presidency provides the power of succession and generally positive results in policy and personnel. If the sitting President should become unable to serve, the Vice President becomes the President, who also then chooses a Vice President, and so on although we all hope none of this happens. The winning political party/ideology is also likely to prefer the way our government would function compared to if a different party is in power, thanks to a wide range of favorable nominations, appointments, and hires.
The paragraph above to me is the most relevant and powerful rebuttal to “but Biden is old.” And it’s undeniable – he’s old now, plus the high-stress job ages people badly. But thanks to our long-standing established systems, if a Democrat wins the Presidency a Democrat would take over if there were any problems. Citizens who are left-centrist or farther to the left would also reap benefits from like-minded government officials, laws or policies they support, and basic governmental direction. I’m not suggesting perfection, just that there would be general prevailing benefits to winning and serious disadvantages to losing.
So, I’m hoping everyone will think long and hard before letting “but he’s old” become the “but, her emails” of 2024. I hate to be morbid like this, but I’m honestly saying there would be benefits to Biden winning in 2024 even if he dies in office. One of the biggest would be avoiding four more years of Trump, who on top of all the other junk we went through with him from 2017 to 2021 just said he might not defend certain NATO allies against attacks from Russia! Meanwhile, Biden has actually beaten Trump in a nationwide general election, and it’s late February 2024 – so there’s relatively very little time for another candidate to do the zillions of things it will take to run and win – and unless I’m really missing something nobody knows who this person might be anyway.
I will give Biden credit for a number of major advances during his first term. This would include: steering the nation forward after the horrific Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection; continuing to manage the pandemic response after the shock we felt in 2020; good major bills including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and American Rescue Plan; working to bring inflation rates back down even though federal stimulus money could have been seen as a contributing factor to inflation (I’ll save “greedflation” for another post); and very good American job increase numbers since the pandemic.
There are concerns about Biden, and some of them are not unfounded. The U.S. is embroiled in serious world conflict, even though some of it is as part of proxy wars where we’re providing various types of support but not troops. Parts of our nation also face deep domestic challenges over issues such as housing and homelessness, the environment, climate change, public health, crime, southern border security, cybersecurity and more.
But I would take the “he’s behind in the polls” criticisms with a big grain of salt, for a few key reasons. First, not every poll has him behind (check this recent story about a poll from Quinnipiac, a reputable source). Second, the election will be decided in a handful of Electoral College battleground states, not nationwide results; and “generic Democrat” polling results – however positive – are subject to change once opponents can start trashing an actual real-life candidate.
The only other candidate with actual federal governing experience is Rep. Dean Phillips. I mean no disrespect here, but there are plenty of other members of Congress and probably some state Governors with far deeper qualifications than Phillips who could have stepped up. Probably many of them considered running but decided a challenge to Biden this year wouldn’t have been worth it. I don’t look at Phillips as “president-ready” now, I’m not sure he’s a future front-runner either, but I’m glad someone who’s served in the federal government and has some national security experience is on this year’s ballot to give us someone serious to consider. Still, if Biden does not wind up as the actual nominee, and the Democrats have to establish a new candidate via the DNC, I don’t have strong feelings that Phillips would necessarily be the new nominee just because he’s running now.
None of the other candidates on the Colorado ballot in my opinion have resumes showing they’re anywhere close to ready to be President. I’ll give honorable mention to Jason Michael Palmer as someone who perhaps could be a real asset at another level of government immediately, and might want to think about gaining experience in, say, the House before making another Presidential run. Williamson has run for President before, but the campaign did not really go anywhere and she’s never governed at any level at all. Frankly, I’d be very surprised if any of the current candidates beyond Biden and maybe Dean Phillips wind up earning delegates in any state, and delegates are really what we’re voting for here. Protest votes or single-issue votes are completely legal, but I fail to see what good casting a protest vote will do in this election. Of course, you do you.
The “noncommitted” option is very commonly available in elections or assemblies that apportion delegates. It’s a legitimate choice to me if you’re truly undecided or can’t support anyone on the list of candidates, but I won’t recommend doing it this time and I just don’t think it’s as cool as some social media jockeys are seeming to suggest. A strong noncommitted showing in Colorado might send a signal of weak support for a sitting President who we very probably need to prevent another four years of Trump in the White House. It just happened to Republican candidate Nikki Haley in Nevada, and it was sort of an embarrassment for her campaign to lose badly to a choice Nevada called “none of these candidates.”
But no matter your choice, I hope you will vote, and if nothing else there will be only one choice to make on your ballot so it won’t take a lot of work!
