Democrats love Steve Bullock. They just want him to run for the Senate instead.

Steve Bullock.
(Image credit: Jim Urquhart/iStock)

Democrats really don't want Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D) to run for president, Politico reports. But it's not because they don't like the guy.

On the contrary, Bullock, who announced his 2020 bid on Tuesday, is largely respected nationwide and seemingly has some bipartisan appeal — he is, after all, a popular Democratic governor of a patently red state. But his path toward the presidency in an overly crowded Democratic field is still regarded as a major long shot. Instead, Democrats want him to shift his talents toward the Senate.

They think he can challenge Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and help flip the Senate. "This is the one that could change the game," Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said, regarding a hypothetical Senate race between Bullock and Daines.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But Bullock has long dismissed calls from the likes of prominent Democrats such as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to enter the legislative conversation, reportedly fancying himself an executive. Simply put, he doesn't want to do it. That's not an uncommon problem facing the Democrats right now, either. Similar efforts to convince Stacey Abrams, John Hickenlooper, and Beto O'Rourke to challenge for Senate seats in Georgia, Colorado, and Texas, respectively have also failed, with the latter two joining Bullock in launching presidential bids, and Abrams considering one, as well.

"I get it, Senate recruitment is hard these days," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told Politico. "But I think by winning back the Senate we can start to make it work again."

The party will reportedly wait and see if Bullock's campaign fizzles out and try, once again, to get him to join the ranks on Capitol Hill. Read more at Politico.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.