March 12th, 2019

Congresswoman Debra Haaland
400 Gold Avenue SW
Suite 680
Albuquerque, NM 87102

SENT VIA EMAIL

Dear Congresswoman Debra Haaland,

We would like to express our congratulations to you on your election as one of the first Native American women in the United States Congress!

We know you appreciate how important it is for American democracy to be truly inclusive. We are among the 26 million independent voters who were excluded from voting in the 2016 presidential primaries. In New Mexico 19% of Native American registered voters are independents. Among the grouping of voters who self-identify as independents nationally 30% are African American voters, 41% are Hispanic voters and over 50% are young voters.

On behalf of independent voters, we write to ask you to make another important stand for inclusion, by calling on the Democratic Party to open its 2020 presidential primaries to independent voters. Independent voters, who were 30% of the electorate in the 2018 midterms, played a key role in electing Democrats to a majority in the House. Independents are determining the outcome of national elections. We believe that it is time for the Democratic Party to open its presidential primaries to independent voters.

The Democratic Party in New Mexico—as well as nationally—has the authority to open its presidential primaries to independents.

In 2016 the Democratic Party in four states—California, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota—exercised their authority and opened their presidential primaries to independents. At the time that the Oklahoma Democratic Party opened its primary to independent voters, the DP State Chairman Mark Hammons said, “Today Oklahoma Democrats from across Oklahoma came together for a historic vote to allow Independent voters access to Democratic Primary ballots in Oklahoma. Democrats have opened their arms in allowing Independent voters access to have a voice in deciding candidates before they are chosen for them.”

It is critical to give all voters, including independents, full and equal voting rights in America. This political reform is not only important for independents; it is vital for a qualitative reinvigoration of American democracy into a political process that is really inclusive from the bottom up.

Dr. Jessie Fields is an activist with Independent Voting, the largest organization of independents nationally. We, the additional signers, are independent voters and activists in New Mexico. The President of Independent Voting, Jackie Salit, has authored a letter (attached) to DNC Chairman Tom Perez, which more than 950 independent leaders and activists from all 50 states have also signed. Independents and leaders of our movement would love to meet with you to discuss this issue and the important role of independent voters in American politics.

We hope you will play a leadership role in this historic endeavor.

Sincerely Yours,

Dr. Jessie Fields
417 Fifth Avenue, Ste. 811
New York, NY 10016

Tisha Le Rose
13501 McCall Court NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123

Gordon Hill
4386 Kachina Canyon Road
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88011

Joseph Patton
1403 Latigo Lane
Roswell, New Mexico 88201

Susan Sehi-Smith
204 Hermosa Drive NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108

Dear Mr. Weld,

I am the chair of VIVA, Virginia Independent Voters Association, and a leader with Independent Voting, the largest organization of independent voters in the country.  I applaud your courageous and timely decision to enter the Republican Presidential Primary race.  We see unique opportunities to collaborate on election reform issues and hope you are willing to meet with Independent Voting’s President, Jackie Salit, to discuss them.

Your record as a true Independent speaks for itself, but what really interests me about your campaign is your explicit reference to Independent votes in states where the GOP allows us to participate in their primaries because expanding the number of states with open primaries is our goal.  In the fall of 2018, Independent Voting launched Eyes on 2020, a campaign to accomplish just that. I serve on the campaign’s cabinet.

Jackie Salit recently wrote Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez asking him to endorse opening his party’s primaries in states where they are still closed.  Almost 1000 Independent activists from all 50 states signed that letter.  In parallel with our contacts at the national level, we are contacting the chairmen of both parties in all closed primary states.  Our strategy is to appeal to all (challenger) candidates’ interest in expanding the voter pool beyond committed partisans – the “opening” you referred to in the Bloomberg Television interview.

While we do not expect Democrats in every state to welcome Independents, we do believe they will seriously consider the option.  It is far less likely that Republicans will like the idea, but together we may be able to help them see that this election is about far more than keeping or installing a party member in the White House; it’s about restoring Americans’ faith in our electoral system.  Framed this way, Republicans have far more at stake.  With or without open primaries, the Democrats are giving voice to anti-Trump sentiment and there is plenty of competition.  Closed Republican primaries will only confirm all but the most loyal GOP voters’ suspicions that the party has sold its soul.

Please reply to me at [email protected] or 202-693-7122 (work phone) with an indication of your availability to discuss this further with Jackie and me.  Thank you!

Sincerely,

Steve Richardson
Independent Voting “Eyes on 2020” Cabinet

Steve Richardson of the Virginia Independent Voter Alliance and member of the Eyes on 2020 Presidential Candidate Cabinet Outreach team got to the heart of the matter in a letter he sent to former Governor William Weld, who announced the formation of an exploratory committee for the Republican presidential nomination several weeks ago.  Steve brought Weld up to speed on the Eyes on 2020 campaign including the letter to Perez and wrote:

“While we do not expect Democrats in every state to welcome Independents, we do believe they will seriously consider the option.  It is far less likely that Republicans will like the idea, but together we may be able to help them see that this election is about far more than keeping or installing a party member in the White House; it’s about restoring Americans’ faith in our electoral system.  Framed this way, Republicans have far more at stake.  With or without open primaries, the Democrats are giving voice to anti-Trump sentiment and there is plenty of competition.  Closed Republican primaries will only confirm all but the most loyal GOP voters’ suspicions that the party has sold its soul.”  Full letter here.

* * *

Cabinet member Dr. Jessie Fields organized a group of New Mexico indies to send a letter to newly elected Congresswoman Debra Haaland, one of the first Native American women to be elected to Congress.

Each week I curate a set of “Top Notes” of media coverage on the 2020 presidential elections. Read it to keep up to date on latest developments.
– Sarah Lyons, Director of Communications, Independent Voting

Shultz – A Fox News townhall w/ Shultz hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum is scheduled for April 4 in Kansas City, Missouri. Schultz’s town hall next month will be Fox News’ first of the 2020 cycle, and it comes weeks after the Democratic National Committee rejected its request to host a Democratic primary debate, citing its ties to Trump. (Fox News, 3/19/19)

• Backlash – The former Starbucks chairman and his band of true believers are convinced — and getting more unblinkingly convinced by the day — that the anger is conveniently packaged proof that they’re paving the right path. By now, Schultz’s pre-campaign team has been growing for months. He consulted with D.C. veterans like former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley and former Defense Secretary Bob Gates, both ex-Starbucks board members, before making his exploration public, and his political payroll now includes — in addition to Chiarelli, Schmidt, Burton, and Strimple — GOP operative Brooks Kochvar, who’s managing the effort, and longtime PR pro Tucker Warren and former D.C. journalist Erin McPike for the press side. Schultz’s aides are sketching out a path for the months ahead that includes meetings with voters and business owners all over the country, and studying target states — including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas — where they think he has a chance to make waves.  (NY Mag, 3/15/19)“The reaction we got from the extremes is proof positive that we’ve struck a chord,” Greg Strimple,a Republican pollster who does Schultz’s public-opinion work, toldNew York “That sounds really basic, but I think it’s true: we go out there, Howard says on 60 Minutes he’s thinking of running for president, and the world becomes unglued. How can that one sentence unglue the whole political establishment of the most powerful country on earth? It tells me we’re onto something.” (Vanity Fair, 3/15/19)

Buttegieg – Buttigieg entered Sunday’s CNN town hall as a longshot — sitting at 1% in Iowa and New Hampshire, recent polls have shown. At the close of the hour-long town hall on Sunday — his first extended appearance with a national television audience — Democrats were saying they wanted to hear more from the former Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan veteran. Buttigieg’s hit the 65,000-donor threshold to qualify for the first presidential debate in June.

• Morning Joe – “Mika and I have been overwhelmed by the reaction @PeteButtigieg got after being on the show,”tweeted “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough following “Mayor Pete’s” appearance on the program earlier this week. “The only other time in twelve years that we heard from as many people about a guest was after @BarackObama appeared on Morning Joe.” (MSNBC, 3/20/19)
  • Scarborough: Let’s start with your ideology first. Would you say you’re more liberal or less liberal than AOC, Nancy Pelosi..where are you on the ideological spectrum.
  • Buttegieg: I pretty consider myself a pretty strong progressive but I also don’t consider the left-center spectrum the most useful way look at our politics right now because I think it’s gotten jumbled up by the current president and the pace of change.
  • Scarborough: So, do you consider yourself more of a centrist?
  • Buttegieg: Again, I don’t find these labels very helpful but I would consider myself more of a progressive than a centrist.  Look in South Bend, I wouldn’t be able to govern effectively if I couldn’t work well with independents and Republicans.  But, I didn’t do it by pretending to be more conservative than I am.  I actually don’t believe that the best way to reach independents today is thru ideological centrism.  I mean mathematically, look at the numbers in my county and its very clear that are a lot of people who voted for Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Mike Pence and me. Which indicates that voters, especially voters in the heartland where I come from, don’t necessarily make their decisions by just lining everybody up on an ideological spectrum and then looking for the dot that’s closest to where they are
• Exchange with Howard Schultz – Schultz apologized (to Buttigieg and Gabbard) Thursday after claiming he spent more time with the military than any other 2020 contender.

O’Rourke –  Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, according to his campaign, surpassing Bernie Sanders and every other 2020 Democrat who has disclosed their figures. O’Rourke’s campaign announced Monday that he had taken in $6,136,763 in online contributions in the day after declaring his candidacy Thursday morning. (NBC, 3/18/19).   O’Rourke will be very busy this week — with stops in Wisconsin (Sunday), Michigan (Monday), Ohio (Monday), Pennsylvania (Tuesday), New Hampshire and, this coming weekend, South Carolina.

• Early Fundraising Comparison: Sanders beat expectations and stunned observers by raising a then-record-setting $5.9 million in his first 24 hours as a candidate last month. Among other Democratic candidates, Sen. Kamala Harris of California collected $1.5 million, which was seen as an impressive haul. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota raised $1 million in 48 hours, as did former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. It took Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington 72 hours to raise more than $1 million, but that still surpassed expectations. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts raised at least $300,000 on New Year’s Eve, her first partial day in the race, according to filings from the online donation clearinghouse ActBlue. But her campaign declined to disclose their complete one-day fundraising picture.

Booker / O’Rourke – Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman, suggested this weekend that they would pick a woman as their vice president if they won the nomination. “It would be very difficult not to select a woman, with so many extraordinary women who are running right now,” Mr. O’Rourke told reporters in Iowa on Saturday night. But, he noted, “first, I would have to win, and this is as open as it’s ever been.”  Mr. Booker told voters in New Hampshire that he was “confident” the party would “make history” with their nominee. “No matter what — I’m looking you in the eye and saying this — there will be a woman on the ticket,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s in the vice president’s position or the president’s position, but if I have my way, there will be a woman on the ticket.” (NYT, 3/19/19)

Sanders – Campaign announced Friday it will be the first major presidential campaign to have a unionized workforce, as party activists push Democratic candidates to mirror their progressive platforms within their own campaigns. Over the past week, a majority of the staff’s bargaining unit employees designated United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 to represent them. The campaign stayed neutral during organizing efforts and voluntarily recognized the union once a majority of staffers signed union cards, according to both the campaign and the union. (Politico, 3/15/19)

Warren – It is not surprising that Warren has jumped out to an early lead in the ideas primary. The main theme in her life, both professional and personal, has been economic opportunity. Her theory of political change has been shaped by two experiences — one failure and one success. As a professor in the 1990s, she served on a federal bankruptcy commission and fought against legal changes that favored banks over borrowers. The fight went on for a decade, and Warren’s side lost. The defeat left her believing that a technocratic legislative debate — “the inside game,” as she calls it — almost always favors industry lobbyists. The success came during the Obama administration, when she pushed for an agency to protect consumers against banks’ misbehavior. The idea was new. It was also simple enough for voters to understand. She hawked it on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.” This time, Warren’s side won. Trump has since constrained the agency, but it still exists and is still doing good. (NYT, 3/15/19)

• Wants to abolish the Electoral College “I believe we need a constitutional amendment that protects the right to vote for every American citizen and makes sure that vote gets counted,” Warren said. “We need to put some federal muscle behind that, and we need to repeal every one of the voter suppression laws that is out there.” States have already started to take matters into their own hands. Warren also said a constitutional amendment should deal with voter suppression in the United States, which disproportionately affects low-income communities of color, and that she would create a group to study the implementation of reparations for the descendants of slaves. (VICE, 3/19/19)

Gillibrand – Officially announced her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic nomination on Sunday with a campaign video titled “Brave Wins.” Gillibrand, who announced an exploratory committee in January and has visited a number of key early voter states, is the 14th Democrat and the 6th woman to enter the race. Her announcement video singled out President Trump for using fear to pit people against one another, and argued that American bravery can help the country achieve progressive proposals like universal health care, paid family leave for all and a Green New Deal.

Castro – Visited Charleston to tour the site for the International African American Museum. This is his first visit to South Carolina since declaring his candidacy for president. The International African American Museum will break ground in August 2019 at Gadsden’s Wharf, in Downtown, Charleston.

Weld – I’m basically a lifelong Republican who always tended toward the liberty side of the Republican family. When I re-registered as a Republican, after three years as a Libertarian, I was not rejoining the Know Nothing wing of the Republican Party, which is the Trump wing. The Whig Party, when it split in half in the 1850s, the pro-slavery wing became the Know Nothing Party, and the other wing is the party that elected Abraham Lincoln four years later. I rejoined what I hope is the party of Lincoln. (Rolling Stone, 3/15/19)

• Weld was recently asked what he thought about Ranked Choice Voting as a structural reform. “I loveRanked Choice Voting. It actually made a difference: my candidate lost in one of the Maine House districts because of ranked choice voting. Which is after everyone’s first choice is counted, you go and look at the second choice votes and the Democrat – I was for the Republican – the Democrat won that race in Maine, based on getting more second-choice votes. I lived in Cambridge Massachusetts for 25 years, which has proportional representation, which is very close to the same thing.”
• On third parties / Shultz: “I hope they have a more prominent role. I’m not one to throw cold water on idea of third parties or says that Howard Schultz is crazy to run as a third party. He’s a pro biz Dem and if he comes from a third party, that’s better than not being heard at all.” Weld was interviewed on March 9th at the “Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater” as part of the “Conversations about America’s Future” series sponsored by South by Southwest and the Texas Tribune. You can watch the whole interview at the Texas Tribune’s website here. Wait through the short ad and intro screen. The Ranked Choice Voting question comes right at minute 25:00. (Texas Tribune, 3/15/19)

Hickenlooper – Said Wednesday that he would suspend the death penalty if he were elected to the White House. Hickenlooper, who officially launched his presidential campaign earlier this month, said the death penalty “makes no sense” during a CNN presidential town hall in Atlanta. “It’s expensive, it prolongs misery, and the worst thing, it is random. Depending on where that crime occurs and, in many cases, whether the killer is African American or Latino, that has a lot to do with who gets tried on a death penalty charge,” he said. “The random injustice of that is something this country should never stand for.” (The Hill, 3/21/19)

Harris – Praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for halting the death penalty in the Golden State. “As a career law enforcement official, I have opposed the death penalty because it is immoral, discriminatory, ineffective, and a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars,” Harris said. “The symbol of our justice system is a woman with a blindfold. It is supposed to treat all equally, but the application of the death penalty – a final and irreversible punishment – has been proven to be unequally applied.”

Hogan – Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a popular Republican governor in a blue state, isn’t ruling out a challenge to Mr. Trump but has yet to announce any intention to do so. (CBS, 3/15/19)

Mike Gravel – The two-term former Democratic senator from Alaska who left elected office in 1981, is running for president. Kind of. Late Tuesday night, a Gravel exploratory committee filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. The filing was the brainchild of teenagers — but they had the senator’s blessing. Gravel and the teens are an odd match at first glance. But the students said they were attracted to Gravel after hearing about the senator on “Chapo Trap House,” a left-leaning podcast. The organizers said they were drawn to Gravel’s beliefs on foreign policy specifically, as well as the promotion of direct democracy initiatives by the senator who famously read the Pentagon Papers into the congressional record. (Politico, 3/20/19)

Popular Vote – Colorado has joined 11 other states and the District of Columbia in pushing legislation that will require their electoral votes to be assigned to whichever presidential candidate wins the nationwide popular vote. On Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed the popular vote bill into law. However, the law will only take effect if enough states adopt it. Collectively, states representing at least 270 Electoral College votes — the amount required to win the presidency — need to sign on to the legislation; the states that have adopted the bill so far represent 181. (Think Progress, 3/16/19)

Nevada Caucus – Nevada Democrats proposed extensive changes to their 2020 caucus on Wednesday, recommending in-person early voting and a way for voters to caucus absentee as a way for the process to be more open to Democrats. The plan includes long-held proposals, like hosting caucus sites on the Las Vegas Strip for hospitality workers and offering bilingual preference cards in English and Spanish. It also adds new proposals, such as a four day in-person voting period for those unable to caucus on February 22, a two-day virtual caucus for those Democrats who can’t participate at all in person and adding Tagalog to the list of languages offered in caucus locations. (CNN, 3/20/19)

# # #

Independent voters in Washington state responded strongly to a bill sent from the legislature to Gov. Jay Inslee requiring voters to affiliate with a political party in order to participate in the state’s 2020 Presidential primary.

Their letter reads:

March 12, 2019

VIA FACSIMILIE: 360-753-4110

Governor Jay Inslee
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Dear Governor Inslee,

We the undersigned are independent voters. We urge you to veto SB 5273 concerning the presidential primary.

While the bill seeks to make Washington’s presidential primary more impactful, it would force independent voters to align with a political party in order to participate in the election. This is unacceptable. Since the presidential primaries are taxpayer-funded elections, all voters, regardless of affiliation, should be allowed to participate.

Voters in Washington have a long history of refusing to affiliate with a political party and have not registered by political party since the early 20th century. Preventing independents from voting unless they publicly declare an affiliation will negatively affect voter turnout. Nearly 40% of voters in Washington’s 2000 open presidential primary were unaffiliated.

The election of the next President of the United States is the most important exercise of democracy in our nation. In 2016, over 25 million independents across our country were barred from voting in presidential primaries.

This is a moment for Washington to continue to lead the way as it has done in the past in creating open, inclusive, nonpartisan elections. Our state should ensure that the presidential primary is fully democratic.

You owe it to the Washington voters to veto this bill and send it back to the legislature. They can do better.

Signed,

David J. Anderson, Friday Harbor, WA                                                                      C.V. Compton Shaw, Seattle, WA
Ned Witting, Puyallup, WA                                                                                           Janice Lyle, Marysville, WA
Elizabeth Sadewasser, Camas, WA                                                                             Jackie Horton, Silverdale, WA
Teri Raymond, Orient, WA

Cathy L. Stewart, New York, NY
Vice President for National Development, Independent Voting

By Sarah Lyons
March 6, 2019

First published by IVN

Last week, I joined a conference call with a dozen independent voter activists from around the country – all cabinet members of the “Eyes on 2020” campaign sponsored by Independent Voting, who are making a simple demand: Independents want full access to every stage of the 2020 presidential election process in every state.

A recap of activities over the last several weeks was varied and impressive, touching on the many different ways independents are working on what is a civil rights campaign for the 40% of Americans (according to Gallup) who consider themselves independents.

It’s estimated that 25 million independents were excluded from voting in the 2016 presidential primaries. I was one of them, living as I do in a closed primary state. Yet what most people don’t realize is that the power to open or close presidential primaries lies with the political parties, not with state legislatures or state governments. Opening the primaries is a matter of choice for political party organizations, a protected right established by the Supreme Court. Of course, political will is needed, too. Hence, the cabinet and the bee hive of activity it is beginning to build.

Independents have determined the outcome of national elections since 2008 and were 30% of the electorate in the 2018 midterms. And, though we are a long way from knowing the outcome of 2020, a look at the field of presidential candidates and their position on the basic democracy issue of voting rights for independents show how independents impact more than just election results.

Among those who have officially launched their campaigns, or are exploring a presidential run, a half dozen are advocates for open primaries: Bernie Sanders, John Delaney, and Eric Swalwell on the Democratic side, and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and potentially Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on the GOP side.

Add to this list Howard Schultz, who is exploring a possible run as an independent. His position on open primaries is not yet known, but he shares independents’ visceral sense that our political process is broken and places responsibility on both parties. He says they are “consistently not doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged every single day in revenge politics.”

Each of these candidates has taken a different path in coming to recognize and respect America’s independent voters.

Sanders, an independent himself, saw how support from independents and millennials fueled his 2016 candidacy and brought him within inches of a presidential nomination. He spoke out in support of open primaries after the Nevada caucuses and New York primaries – both states he lost, which stalled his campaign’s momentum.

John Delaney, a businessman new to politics when he ran for Congress in 2013, was schooled so strongly by voters in his district about the problems they experienced in Maryland’s elections that he responded by proposing comprehensive national election reform legislation (Open our Democracy Act) that included mandating open primaries.

Eric Swalwell of California ran under the open primary system championed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, dubbed “top two,” and defeated a 40-year incumbent and fellow Democrat in the general election to become one of the youngest members of Congress.

On the GOP side, Bill Weld, who ran in the 2016 elections on the Libertarian ticket with Gary Johnson, was asked why he thought he could replace a sitting president and pointed out that there are 20 states where independent voters can cast ballots in the primaries.

Finally, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who has not ruled out a run, was recently asked by Judy Woodruff if he could change something about the system, what would it be? His first response was open primaries “because in our state the largest growing group are independents – we have about 800,000 – and they can’t vote in primaries.”

Beyond the simple issue of enfranchisement, he noted the added benefit: “you wouldn’t have so much polarization in Congress and the legislatures.”

With regards to Howard Schultz’s independent campaign, should he decide to pursue it, he would bypass the primary process altogether but will invariably be asked about whether the major party primaries should be open to independents.

Independents will be asking these candidates – and all who enter the 2020 race – to lobby their respective parties to open the presidential primaries to independents. Undoubtedly, the road to the 2020 election will have many twists and turns. One essential feature independent voters will have their eyes on is whether we can become partners in American democracy – not just kingmakers for the two party system.

# # #

Sarah Lyons is the Director of Communications at IndependentVoting.org, a national association of independents. She is a native of Oregon and resides in New York City.

Each week I curate a set of “Top Notes” of media coverage on the 2020 presidential elections. Read it to keep up to date on latest developments.
– Sarah Lyons, Director of Communications, Independent Voting

CANDIDATE OVERVIEW:  Recap of candidates currently running / exploring and their positions on various issues (does not include Weld). (Uproxx, 3/4/19)

Shultz

• Ralph Nader on Schultz – “(His) agenda is simply far closer to the GOP’s agenda. He would be better off registering as a Republican and challenging President Trump inside the party primaries, where he would receive massive visibility… Schultz is no revolutionary. Oppose or support him as you wish. But do not demand he stay out or drop out and still call yourself a small-D democrat. Ultimately, it’s the voters’ fundamental right to choose.” (Time, 2/18/19)
• Delaney on Schultz – Delaney – “I think the Schultz thing got a lot of attention because he said he was going to run as in independent. I thought it was actually really interesting how it unfolded. I had a lot of conversations with Democrats about it and they were all very upset that he was going to run as independent. They were upset because they’re worried about losing. What I would say to them all at the time is, “Well, why do you think he’s doing this?” They would all ultimately say, “Well, he thinks there’s a lot of people in the middle.” And I always say, “Well, yeah, so why are we giving up on these people? Why has the Democratic party decided that these people are not our target voters? Why are we not trying to build a big-tent party of moderates, progressives, independents and even some Republicans?” I actually think the whole thing has been a positive for what I’m doing. It’s been a wake-up call for Democrats. You ignore the center at your own peril. The grand center in this country, if you will, the center-left and center-right, is still the largest block of voters in the country. I think that United States of America is basically a purple country. We talk about the congressional districts, the red districts and blue districts and purple districts. The U.S. is just one giant purple district. If you want to win that purple district, you’ve got to capture the center. I think that is gong to be the 2020 election. This isn’t going to be a turn-out election; it’s going to be an old-fashioned persuasion election. You’re actually going to have to sit across the table from people in the middle and convince them that you’re the kind of leader that will represent them and actually do what they want to get done, which is to solve problems and make progress. I think that Schultz has helped focus that conversation. One of the problems is that if you listen to the parties, they will literally tell you the other side is entirely wrong about every single thing they believe. Listen, I think Democrats are more right about policy than Republicans are, which is why I’m a strong Democrat. But I’m not walking around saying every Republican I know is a horrible human being who doesn’t have any good ideas or have anything to contribute to our country. It’s ridiculous. But if you listen to the parties, that’s what they’re basically telling us and there’s really been a vacuum of principled leadership.” (Rolling Stone, 3/5/19)

Hickenlooper – Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said on Monday he’s running for president, casting himself as a can-do uniter who is used to overcoming adversity and accomplishing liberal goals in a politically divided state. “I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done,” Hickenlooper, 66, said in a video announcing his campaign . “I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver.” Hickenlooper is expected to focus heavily on Iowa, where many Coloradans come from and a state where his low-key, genial approach could be potent. In previous trips he’s emphasized his record and how he can bring warring parties together. (AP, 5/4/19)

Inslee – Gov. Jay Inslee entered the 2020 presidential race Friday, launching a longshot campaign with a focused message that he’s the only candidate who would make defeating climate change the nation’s top priority. In a short video announcing his candidacy, Inslee repeats what has become his signature slogan in recent years: “We’re the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we’re the last that can do something about it.” He plans to leave the state for national media interviews, and will campaign in Iowa Tuesday and in Nevada later in the week. Inslee’s national ambitions have been evident for more than a year. He spent 2018 as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, traveling the country to help elect fellow Democrats while making valuable connections with national political donors and operatives. Inslee, 68, is an ex-congressman and state legislator who was elected governor in 2012, defeating then-state Attorney General Rob McKenna. He was re-elected to a second term in 2016, with 54 percent of the vote. (Seattle Post Intelligencer, 3/1/19)

• Inslee is expected to sign bill barring independents from 2020 Prez Primary – A bill moving up the state’s presidential primaryto early March from late May cleared its final legislative hurdle Monday, ensuring Washington voters get a louder voice in determining the Democratic and Republican nominees for president next year. Democrats used their majority in the House to pass legislation which would result in an election March 10, 2020. The bill, which the Senate approved in January, passed on a 54-42 vote. Gov. Jay Inslee, currently one of the Democrats vying for his party’s presidential nomination, is expected to sign it. There is a catch which independent voters are not going to like. Under the bill, if voters want to participate they are going to have to say they are a member of the political party of the candidate they are backing. (Herald Net, 3/5/19)
• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he has raised more than $1 million since launching his Democratic presidential campaign Friday. That’s a notable haul for a governor who starts his campaign less widely known than many of his competitors in a field dominated by senators. Inslee disclosed his mark Monday on MSNBC. He’d already announced that he has contributions from all 50 states. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar raised more than $1 million in her campaign’s first 48 hours. California Sen. Kamala Harris topped $1.5 million in her first 24 hours. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders dwarfed the field with a nearly $6 million haul on his first day. (NBC, 5/5/19)

Harris – Since announcing she was running for president of the United States, California Sen. Kamala Harris has been busy. On Thursday, Feb. 21, she had lunch with the Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia’s Restaurant, the famed soul food eatery in Harlem. Last month, she held a rally in her home state, a CNN town-hall event in Iowa and another town-hall like event in New Hampshire. They discussed criminal justice, voting rights and economic policies—all issues that are of concern to the Black community. (Amsterdam News, 2/28/19)

Warren – In Iowa, Warren underscored her campaign theme that the United States must seek large, structural transformation in government in lieu of incremental changes. The senator wrapped up a six-stop swing through northeast Iowa on Saturday afternoon. “This really is our moment and the need for us to get this right couldn’t be more urgent,” Warren said. “And let me also say I’m going to support our Democratic nominee all the way.” (DesMoines Register, 3/2/19)

Sanders – Needing to distinguish himself within a crowded field of Democrats, Bernie Sanders launched his 2020 presidential campaign Saturday near the Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood where he grew up in a quest to add a personal narrative to the liberal economic platform for which he’s known.  Sanders energized his loyal progressive followers with a nearly 40-minute  speech that leaned on a familiar populist message from his 2016 bid – a call to “no longer tolerate the greed of corporate America and the billionaire class.” But there was a heavier dose of biography than three years ago as he rolled out his new bid for the Democratic nomination. Sanders was introduced to the stage by his wife, Jane Sanders, Scott Slawson, president of the Erie, Pennsylvania chapter of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of American, and a trio of black leaders: Democratic South Carolina state Rep. Terry Alexander, Democratic Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, and social justice activist Shaun King. The three each painted Sanders as a lifelong fighter for the working class and underprivileged. (USA Today, 3/2/19)

Castro – Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro has said the first thing the United States needs to do is to make sure it is the smartest nation on earth. The way to be the smartest, the former San Antonio mayor and Obama administration housing secretary has been saying in Iowa and other states, is for the nation to start early by investing in pre-K education. Having made Pre-K 4 San Antonio (known as Pre-K 4 SA) happen, Castro pledged at his Jan. 12 speech announcing his 2020 run that as the nation’s chief executive, he would make “pre-K for the USA” happen. Trying to hit that nerve, Castro told the Democratic crowd at the Story County Soup Supper Fundraiser in Ames, Iowa on Feb. 24, “We’re good in investing in things — in roads, in bridges, in airports, in stadiums, but not oftentimes investing in people.” (NBC, 3/1/19))

Booker – About 500 people came to Reedy Fork Baptist Church on the outskirts of Simpsonville Friday to see and hear from Cory Booker, a U.S. senator from New Jersey who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Booker, who will attend another campaign event in Charleston on Saturday, told reporters after Friday’s event that he intends “to go places where you often don’t see candidates.” (The State, 3/1/19)

New Hampshire

• Sanders – Bernie Sanders is returning to New Hampshire this weekend for the first time as a 2020 White House contender. The Monitorlearned on Tuesday that the independent senator from Vermont will hold an event Sunday at noon at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. This event is free and open to the public. No tickets are required, but anyone interested in attending is asked to RSVP in advance. (Concord Monitor, 3/5/19)

NOT running

• Bloomberg – I’m not running for president, but I am launching a new campaign: Beyond Carbon. I know what it takes to run a winning campaign, and every day when I read the news, I grow more frustrated by the incompetence in the Oval Office. I know we can do better as a country. And I believe I would defeat Donald Trump in a general election. But I am clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning the Democratic nomination in such a crowded field. (Bloomberg, 5/5/19)
• Hillary Clinton definitively declared on Monday “I’m not running” in the 2020 presidential election, again throwing cold water on the still smoldering rumors that she might go for a 2016 rematch against President Donald Trump.  “I’m not running, but I’m going to keep working and speaking and standing up for what I believe,” she said in an interview with News 12, a regional cable news network in New York. “I’m not going anywhere.”
• Merkley – S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon has decided not to enter the increasingly crowded race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination after months of consideration. Merkley, who planned to formally announce his intentions on Tuesday, said in a telephone interview that he decided he would be more effective running for his third term in the Senate than being a candidate for the presidency. He aims to fight anti-democracy moves including voter suppression, gerrymandering and dark money.
• Holder – Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Monday he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, but will work to help the party recapture the White House and make gains in state legislatures ahead of the next round of congressional redistricting.

Celebrity

Mark Cuban – Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban has not ruled out the possibility of a presidential run in 2020, and that it “would take the exact right set of circumstances,” he said in an interview with New York Daily News. Cuban did not answer what the exact circumstances would be for him to run in 2020. However, he isn’t worried about running as an independent. “It’s not a question of reach, that’s the easy part. If you have a message that people want to hear and will grab onto, it doesn’t matter if you’re an independent or in one of the two main parties,” he said.(CBS Local, 5/5/19)

The Eyes on 2020 campaign cabinet is amplifying the letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez by sending it with a personal cover note to Democratic State Chairs and Vice Chairs in their states.

Kirsten Fulda wrote on behalf of Connecticut independents, “In 2016, close to 26 million independents voters could not vote in the presidential primaries. In Connecticut, the Democratic presidential primaries are closed. The Democratic Party of Connecticut has the authority to open these primaries to independent voters.”

Independents for Arizona wrote “I was a registered Republican for over 50 years and have been a registered independent voter for the last 12. I have never been a registered Democrat, although I have voted for as many Democratic candidates as for Republican — probably more during the last 25 years. I urge you to lead the Arizona Democratic Party in allowing independent voters to vote in the 2020 Democratic Preference Election… So, why would you listen to my message? 1. It would help Democrats prevail in 2020 and that would be far better than if Republicans did and 2. It is the right thing to do because we independents are American, too. Jackie Salit’s attached letter to your National Chair underpins all of this better than I could say it.”

Kim Wright, a former independent candidate in Missouri wrote to Jean Peters Baker, the Missouri Democratic Party Chair, “Independent voters in Missouri have enjoyed the opportunity to participate in state-wide primary elections. The number of voters registering as independent continues to increase in Missouri and the nation; and yet, across the country independents are locked out of primary elections. Unfortunately, legislation was introduced this legislative session (HB26) to actually close primary elections in Missouri. We, as independent voters, strongly oppose this introduced legislation. I write to urge you to oppose this legislation as well that would change the culture of elections in Missouri by instituting partisan registration, a closed primary and decreased voter mobility. I also write today about the 2020 presidential primaries. The time has come for presidential primaries to be open to independent voters in all 50 states.”

Tiani Coleman, President of NH Independent Voters asked the DP and RP chairs in her state to take a leadership role nationally since NH primaries are open to independents:  “Will you join us in helping to open up the process in your party across the country?  We know that in New Hampshire, independent voters are valued as voters who contribute to a robust primary process.  Will you add your voice in asking Chairman Perez to make sure presidential primaries are open in all 50 states?”

In addition to Bell, Fulda and Hough, letters to party chairs and vice chairs have been sent by:

•  Jenn Bullock – Independent Pennsylvanians
• Randy Wilson – Independent Voice of California
• Evelyn Dougherty – Massachusetts Coalition of Independent Voters
• Steve Richardson – Virginia Independent Voters Association
• Cathy Stewart / Dr. Jessie Fields – Independent Voting (New York).
• Sue Davies – New Jersey Independent Voters

The cabinet is looking to organize offensives in all 50 states.

Every week I curate a set of “Top Notes” of media coverage on the 2020 presidential elections. Read it to keep up to date on latest developments.
– Sarah Lyons, Director of Communications, Independent Voting

February 15 – February 27, 2019

Eyes on 2020 – (Letter to Editor/ Randy Fricke, CO) The national office of Independent Voters (Independentvoting.org) and a national committee of independent voters has just launched a national campaign called “Eyes On 2020” — a national campaign to open all of the closed Democratic and Republican Party primary elections across America to nonpartisan open primary elections. As part of this national campaign, Western Colorado Independent Voters is holding a public town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 21, at the Glenwood Springs Library in downtown Glenwood Springs to discuss nonpartisan options such as “top two” and “top four” primary elections, as well as ranked-choice voting to be established for the state of Colorado….Our local Democrats and Republicans are good people, but they need to know that their parties can’t own the entire election system. All voters should own our election process and not the Democratic and Republican parties. Also, taxpayers need to stop paying for their primary elections. Why should citizens continue to subsidize these political parties? This should be unconstitutional. (Post Independent / Citizen Telegram, 2/18/19)

Schultz

“The stakes are too high to cross our fingers and hope the Democratic Party nominates a moderate who can win over enough independents and disaffected Republicans, and even fellow Democrats, to defeat Trump next year,” Schultz wrote. “That any opponent can oust Trump, no matter how far to the radical left they are, is a fallacy.” He added: “Those so concerned about a centrist independent being a spoiler should perhaps ask another question: Will the eventual Democratic nominee be the party’s own version of a spoiler?” (Fox News, 1/20/19)

Schultz’s wealth and third-party posturing has led to frequent comparisons to an earlier plutocrat who ran two independent candidacies for president, and won more than 18 percent of the vote in 1992: H. Ross Perot….Perot was without any question a phenomenon who made an indelible impression at the time. The same cannot be said for Schultz. Though he’s been making the media rounds and has a new book on the New York Times best-seller list, it’s still unclear what he stands for other than dislike for Trump and disdain for what he considers a socialist trend among Democrats. (New York Magazine, 2/21/19)

“If you imagine a period in time in 2020 where Howard Schultz is ahead in a three-way race, with multiple paths to 270 electoral votes, and all the commentariat saying, ‘How did you know that would happen?,’ well, the indication was probably at the beginning with the hysterical, overwrought, panicked reaction by vested interests within the political duopoly and in the media class,” Schmidt says. “There’s an enormous constituency in this country that’s just completely unrepresented. There has never been a larger population of moderate voters who generally agree on some of the country’s biggest problems.” (Vanity Fair,1/31/19) )

Naysayers

• Warren Buffet – Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett told CNBC on Monday it would be a “mistake” if former StarbucksCEO Howard Schultz ran for president as an independent against Donald Trump. Buffett weighed in on Schultz’s presidential aspirations after saying he would support Mike Bloomberg if the former New York mayor chose to run in 2020. “I think generally [that] third-party candidates, they’re going to hurt one side or the other, and they’re more likely to hurt the side that they actually favor, because they’re closer to that view and so they pull more people away that would otherwise go with the second-best with that view,” Buffett said. “So I hope no third-party candidate runs,” he added. “I think third-party candidates can thwart, actually, the will of the people.” (CNBC, 2/25/19)
• Robert Reich – the former CEO of Starbucks whose most notable achievement to date has been the Mocha Frappucinno…Schultz, like Trump, it’s all about money and media. Schultz is running because he thinks it will be a hoot – the capstone to his coffee career, the apex of his espresso. But like many other billionaires of America’s New Gilded Age, Schultz doesn’t seem to give a damn about what his political escapades do to America. (Salon, 1/24/19)
• Bernie Sanders – On today’s “CBS This Morning,” newly declared presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wasted no time dismissing one of his potential competitors: former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who recently announced he’s considering a run for president. At the 3:31 mark in the segment above, when “CBS This Morning” co-host John Dickerson brings up Schultz, Sanders immediately shifts into cranky-old-man mode as he paints Schultz as a know-nothing rich dude whose main qualification is that he can afford a lot of advertising: Why are you quoting Howard Schultz? Because he’s a billionaire. There are a lot of people I know personally who work hard for a living, who make forty, fifty thousand dollars a year, who know a lot more about politics than, with all due respect, does Mr. Schultz. But because we have a corrupt political system, anybody who’s a billionaire, who can throw a lot of TV ads on television, suddenly becomes very, very credible. (Ad Age, 2/19/19)
• Eric Swalwell – “Count me in the small group of potential 2020 contenders who could not care less as to whether Howard Schultz runs,” says Eric Swalwell,a California Democratic congressman who spoke as he was traveling to New Hampshire Thursday morning. “I’m not scared one bit by one independent billionaire. We’re going to win based on our candidates and our ideas. And we’re going to have a Democratic president in 2021.” (Vanity Fair, 1/31/19)

Sanders –And while rising stars like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley have siphoned some of his authority over the party’s progressive wing, Mr. Sanders still claims to have spawned a “political revolution” that, true revolution or not, has ignited a generation of young, socialist-leaning voters and reshaped the Democratic Party.He is also partly responsible for the party’s decision last year to overhaul its presidential nomination process, including sharply reducing the influence of superdelegates and increasing the transparency around debates — factors he felt greatly favored Hillary Clinton in 2016…Mr. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in congressional history, a point of pride for him but one of consternation and annoyance for some Democrats who are quick to suggest he does not have the party’s interests at heart. Some Democrats blame him for Mrs. Clinton’s loss in 2016, saying his anti-establishment rhetoric during his campaign inflamed divisions in the party that proved insurmountable. (NYT, 2/19/19)

Weld – Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld said his bid to win the Republican presidential nomination over President Donald Trump will get a boost from independent voters who can cast GOP primary ballots in 20 states. “That is an opening,” he said of the independent voters in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Beyond that, you have to make a case for yourself, and I am in this to win.” Asked if he’s received encouragement from other Republicans, Weld said, “I am not asking people to endorse or get behind me until I have shown I have some traction.” He said he’s getting “a lot” of support by email and that when people speak in favor of his candidacy, they use words like “historic.” (Bloomberg, 2/19/19)

Harris – Kamala Harris touted Medicare for all, an assault weapons ban, and the Green New Deal on her first visit to New Hampshire as a presidential candidate Monday. But the message she emphasized the most to Granite State voters was a simpler one: I’ll be back. “I just want to get this out of the way,” the freshman senator from California said to open up her packed town hall Monday evening in Portsmouth’s South Church. “I intend to compete in New Hampshire. I intend to spend time here. I intend to shake every hand that I possibly can.” (Boston Globe, 2/18/19)

• Kamala Harris, D-Calif., on Monday distanced herself from democratic socialism when pressed on whether she’ll be able to compete in states like New Hampshire in the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential primary. Harris was asked about her position on the political ideology during her maiden trip to New Hampshire as a candidate, a state where Sen. Bernie Sanders beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 by more than 20 percentage points. “Well, the people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell you I am not a democratic socialist,” Harris told reporters during a campaign stop. (Washington Examiner, 2/18/19)

Booker – Senator Cory Booker continued his swing through New Hampshire Sunday, with three different campaign stops as he focused on a message of unity for the American people, regardless of party. “I’m running for president not just to win an office, but there is a larger campaign for our country. Our nation is a moral moment. We are at a crossroad that’s going to define who we are. We all have to accept the responsibilities that we are framers again. That we have to re-establish the ideals for this country in this generation,” he said. Booker also said the 2020 presidential primary race should not be about President Donald Trump or the democrats, but about the cause of the country, saying you can’t fight a fire with more fire. “People tell me if you’re gonna beat Trump, you gotta bring it,” Booker said. “Well, I believe in bringing it, but not bringing more of what Trump is bringing.”…  he was not the only candidate in the Granite State, which will hold the first primary next year.  New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wrapped up her three-day visit, California Senator Kamala Harris is campaigning there until Monday, and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is heading to Manchester on Monday. (NECN, 2/17/19)

Buttigieg –  He’s got a resume that appears to have been forged in Democratic headquarters’ central casting department: Harvard grad. Rhodes scholar. Millennial. Afghanistan war veteran. Married his boyfriend three years ago. Elected twice in a deep-red state. For the most part, he’s been spending his time in Iowa and New Hampshire. But he came to San Francisco to court donors and make a lunchtime appearance at Postmates, a South of Market on-demand delivery company, where he impressed many of his fellow Millennials by answering questions about artificial intelligence and riffing on the privacy policy in Estonia. (SF Chronicle, 2/25/19 )

Warren – The two senators—Sanders from Vermont, Warren from neighboring Massachusetts—are among the left’s most prominent figures, having built impressive national profiles with sharp criticism of America’s economic system. These and other unabashedly liberal positions have turned them into progressive heroes. But their similarities also mean they’re likely to rely on the same base of voters to lift them to the Democratic nomination—and could find themselves slugging it out sooner rather than later. (Vanity Fair, 2/22/19)

• Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren distanced herself from the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party by saying she was not a socialist in an interview with BuzzFeed News published Thursday. The answer arose after Warren was asked to explain the difference between her and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, a lingering question as Democrats are already discussing potential challengers to President Donald Trump in 2020. Yet Warren seems to have her line when asked to differentiate herself from Sanders. “He’s a socialist,” Warren said, “and I believe in markets.” (The Daily Caller)

Hickenlooper –  Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has hired an Iowa organizer as he considers a 2020 Democratic presidential bid. Hickenlooper’s Leadership PAC hired Ferguson Yacyshyn as an adviser. The onetime Denver mayor, who’s considered a centrist politician, said in mid-February that he will not decide for several more weeks whether to join the crowded 2020 contest. CBS (2/21/19)

O’Rourke – O’Rourke is now on the precipice of running for president with “losing Senate candidate” as the most impressive line on his résumé. It was how he chose to run that campaign last year that sets him apart from his potential Democratic rivals…In political terms, it amounted to a massive bet on a strategy of mobilizing infrequent voters instead of trying to win over dependable ones. …If he stuck to that plan, O’Rourke would never even have to hire a pollster, because he did not really care about moving opinions. There would be no triangulating against his party’s base, no judicious courtship of a relatively small slice of potential party-switchers with views to the right of his. (Politico, 2/22/19)

Klobuch – (Oped, Klobuch as centrist alternative to Schultz) Former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz appears to believe he could perform well in a presidential race with voters turned off by President Donald Trump and those fearful that the Democratic Party has moved too far left. But the independent candidate recently told The Washington Post he would reconsider his quest if a more moderate Democrat, like former vice president Joe Biden or former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, got the party’s nomination. “I would reassess the situation if the numbers change as a result of a centrist Democrat winning the nomination,” he said regarding internal polling suggesting he would be competitive in a three-way race against President Trump and a liberal Democratic candidate. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., might be able to change those numbers. Klobuchar is running for president in 2020, joining a crowded and diverse field of Democratic candidates vying for the nomination. The billionaire is right that there are voters who are looking for a third way; he just might not be the person to lead that path. But the pragmatic Klobuchar could. Her stances appear to be rooted in acknowledging a Democratic electorate interested in big ideas but recognizing some proposals might be too radical to win over independents who backed Trump in 2016. (Mesabi Daily News, 2/19/19)

McAuliffe – Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Sunday he’s inching closer to making a decision on whether or not to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. McAuliffe had previously set a self-imposed deadline of March 31 for announcing his intentions. “I have made hundreds and hundreds of calls across the country, talked to potential staff and, listen, we’re close to making a decision,” McAuliffe said Sunday on “Face the Nation.” Asked whether he was waiting for former Vice President Joe Biden to make his own decision on 2020, McAuliffe said he isn’t, but said he “wants to see where the field is.” McAuliffe is a longtime ally of the Clinton family and served as Virginia’s governor from 2014 to 2018.

• Terry McAuliffe -“I do think we need in this race a progressive governor who was very jobs-oriented, very successful in economic development. They’re not mutually exclusive,” said McAuliffe. “A governor is CEO. We build roads, we fix roads. We do need governors in this race because, you know, we don’t just get to talk all day, we’ve got to to deliver every single day.” (Face the Nation, 2/17/19)

Memoirs – Virtually every candidate entering the massive 2020 presidential field has published a memoir, arguing why he or she is the best person for the job (or, at least, the best person to defeat Donald Trump). But let’s be honest: Some of these books can be a real slog, filled with empty promises, progressive platitudes, and plain bad writing. So we read 10 of them for you — separating the great from the terrible, the middling from the slightly less middling. Here are our takes on the books, ranked from best to worst. (Entertainment, 2/22/19)

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