Howard Schultz says he'll ditch independent campaign if Democrats nominate a centrist

(Image credit: Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

published 15 February 2019

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will gladly walk away from the 2020 presidential race if Democrats nominate a centrist, he told The Washington Post on Thursday.

Schultz said he plans on spending the next few months exploring a campaign, and told the Post that internal polling suggests should he run as an independent, he's competitive in a three-way race with President Trump and a liberal Democrat, like Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) or Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). "I would reassess the situation if the numbers change as a result of a centrist Democrat winning the nomination," Schultz said.

One reason he would run as an independent is because he believes Democrats will likely nominate someone considered to be "far-left," and he's critical of moves like expanding Medicare to replace private insurance and increasing taxes for the ultra-wealthy. Schultz has been accused of trying to spoil the 2020 race, handing Trump a re-election, but he disagrees, saying last week at Purdue University that "no one wants Donald Trump fired more" than he does.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.