Billionaire Tom Steyer is toying with the possibility of joining the crowded field of Democratic primary contenders, but for the first time, there are rumors that one of the many second-tier candidates polling in the low single-digits might be about to drop out.
ABC 7 reports that Bay Area Congressman Eric Swalwell is preparing to hold a news conference on Monday where he’s expected to suspend his campaign. The news conference will be held at 4 pm ET (1 pm PT) in Dublin, Calif. Swalwell reportedly cancelled several campaign events last week.
Swalwell, who launched his campaign back in April during an appearance on ‘the Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert, was among the candidates who tried to focus on one issue – in Swalwell’s case, that issue was gun control.
His campaign bragged about having the “most comprehensive” plan for gun control legislation (Swalwell infamously joked that he would ‘nuke’ gun owners if he had the chance).
We have the most comprehensive plan to END gun violence. We will intervene at every stage of a gun’s life to protect your life and the lives of others.
Learn more at https://t.co/2y3XKJqybG pic.twitter.com/AVmNViaKWG
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) July 7, 2019
But Swalwell’s campaign struggled in obscurity right out of the gate, a sign that, for all of the media uproar about gun control in the aftermath of a mass shooting, a slight majority of Americans oppose stricter gun control regulations.
With the bar for participating in this fall’s primary debates even higher than the initial debate, it’s unlikely that Swalwell would even qualify.
The four-term congressman has said that he would still consider running for a fifth term in the House if his presidential campaign doesn’t pan out. He has until December to figure that out.
Many of the more obscure Democratic challengers say that they’re only running to try and have an impact on the Democratic Party platform, like Bernie Sanders did with his breakout 2016 run. But regardless of how much money Swalwell raised (we doubt it was very much at all), we can’t help but wonder: What did Congressman Swalwell accomplish with this whole exercise? And will his decision to drop out inspire other long shot candidates to follow suit?
At least once Swalwell is back on Capitol Hill, he can refocus his energy on peddling conspiracy theories like the notion that President Trump is a Russian agent.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2S4j8ha Tyler Durden