Best for down ballot, to beat Trump? Democratic hopefuls’ spouses make pitch in SC
The political calculations driving the 2020 race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination were top of mind for the candidates’ spouses, who made their pitch to South Carolina Democrats just hours before Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate.
In brief speeches before 150 people gathered for a luncheon in Charleston, the spouses talked about beating President Donald Trump, helping competitive Democrats keep or win seats and more.
Representing their husbands, who are polling in first and second place among S.C. Democratic voters, were Jane Sanders and Jill Biden.
“Every poll since 2016 has shown him defeating Donald Trump,” Jane Sanders said of her husband U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. The self-styled “democratic socialist” from Vermont has a 4.4-percentage-point lead over Trump in a head to head match up, according to an average of national polls tracked by Real Clear Politics.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, still the front-runner in S.C. polls, has almost the same advantage over Trump, according to the national polling average. Biden leads Trump by 4.3 percentage points, according to the RCP average.
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Jill Biden pitched her husband as the best for the ticket overall, saying he would help candidates including U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, the Democrat representing South Carolina’s coastal 1st Congressional District, and U.S. Senate hopeful Jaime Harrison, who faces a tough race against Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
“Joe is a candidate Democrats in every race could run with, not run from, so we can win on the local level too,” she said.
The lineup also included Amy Klobuchar’s husband, John Bessler, Pete Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren’s husband, Bruce Mann, Tom Steyer’s wife Kat Taylor, and Tulsi Gabbard’s husband, Abraham Williams.
Bessler, also made the argument of helping down ballot candidates.
“It’s important to have someone at the top of ticket who can bring people with her,” Bessler said.
Steyer’s spouse Taylor also took a veiled shot at Bernie Sanders, who has become the national front-runner in recent weeks.
“You cannot call Tom a socialist. He knows how ... the economy works and knows how to make (it) work for all Americans,” she said.
