Tag: Democrats

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Which Presidential Candidates Recognized Bi-Visibility Day?

Since 1999, September 23 has been recognized as Bi Visibility Day which highlights the history and achievements of the bisexual community as well as the challenges of biphobia and bisexual erasure. According to the Williams Institute, studies indicate that approximately 50 percent of people who identify as either gay, lesbian or bisexual, identify as bisexual, making the bisexual population the single largest group within the LGBTQ community. But bisexual people are often excluded from LGBTQ spaces and are invisible to each other which can make the journey of living authentically incredibly daunting. Several Democratic presidential candidates took to social media throughout the day to affirm the bisexual community and acknowledge some of the challenges they face. Check out the messages from former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro and businessman Tom Steyer.

Interestingly, Sen. Bernie Sanders and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who both skipped the GLAAD-sponsored LGBTQ Forum in Iowa last week due to ‘scheduling conflicts,’ did not seem to acknowledge Bi-Visibility Day in their social media. More ‘scheduling conflicts?’ For more information about bisexuality, visit the Human Rights Campaign’s website here.  

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DNC Increases Debate Requirements Again

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris with former Vice President Joe Biden

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris with former Vice President Joe Biden The Democratic National Committee has upped the requirements to qualify for the November primary debates, but the jump this time isn’t as steep as the last increase. According to the New York Times candidates will need to have received donations from at least 165,000 individual donors (up from 130,000) and must meet one of two polling requirements. They must either receive 3 percent support (up from 2 percent) in four national or early-state polls conducted by qualifying pollsters, or 5 percent support in two polls in the four early states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Eligible polls must be released between September 13 and midnight seven days before the debate.

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Tune In Tonight For The Presidential Candidate Forum On LGBTQ Issues

The 2020 Democratic candidates will answer LGBTQ-specific questions tonight in Iowa at the GLAAD-sponsored #LGBTQforum

The 2020 Democratic candidates will answer LGBTQ-specific questions tonight in Iowa at the GLAAD-sponsored #LGBTQforum For the first time, the 2020 candidates will have an opportunity tonight to hear directly from LGBTQ voters to address the issues affecting our lives. GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, will co-host the first Presidential Candidate Forum on LGBTQ issues to take place during the 2020 election cycle tonight. Co-sponsored by GLAAD, One Iowa, The Gazette, and The Advocate, the LGBTQ Forum will be livestreamed on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, ABCNews.com, and NBC News from Coe College’s Sinclair Auditorium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Follow the hashtag #LGBTQForum on Twitter.

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Mayor Pete’s Coming Out Story Takes Center Stage At Debate

As the first openly gay Democratic candidate with a credible chance at winning the White House, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, has already made a historic mark on the 2020 presidential election cycle. But at the close of the third Democratic debate last night, all ten candidates onstage were asked to relate a story of resilience from their lives. In a moment that was as poignant as it was personal, the 37-year-old shared his own coming out story.

As a military officer service under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and as an elected official in the state of Indiana when Mike Pence was governor, at a certain point, when it came to professional setbacks, I had to wonder whether just acknowledging who I was was going to be the ultimate career-ending professional setback.

I came back from the deployment and realized you only get to live one life. I was not interested in not knowing what it was like to be in love any longer.

So I just came out.

I had no idea what kind of professional setback it would be, especially because, inconveniently, it was an election year in my socially conservative community.

What happened was that when I trusted voters to judge me based on the job that I did for them, they decided to trust me, and reelected me with 80% of the vote.

What I learned was that trust can be reciprocated and that part of how you can win – and deserve to win – is to know what’s worth more to you than winning. And I think what’s what we need in the presidency right now: we have to know what we are about.

And this election is not about any of us up here. It is not about this president, even though it’s hard to talk of anything else some days.

It’s about the people who trust us with their lives; the kid wondering if we’re actually going to make their school safer when they’ve learned active shooter drills before they’ve learned to read; a generation wondering if we will actually get the job done on climate change.

And if we hold to that, then it doesn’t matter what happens to each of us professionally. Together, we will win a better era for our country.

While it’s not news that Buttigieg came out during his campaign for a second term as mayor, what IS news is for an openly gay presidential candidate to relate his own coming out journey to millions while standing shoulder to shoulder with his peers. Many in the Twitterverse, from LGBTQ advocates to gay veterans, acknowledged the importance of the moment:

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Poll: Warren Takes 11 Point Lead In Iowa

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

The latest Iowa Starting Line-Change Research poll shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has opened up an 11 point lead in the Iowa Caucus.

Warren scored 28% support from likely Iowa Caucus-goers in the poll.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) were tied for second with 17 percent each.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg came in fourth at 13 percent and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has the backing of 8 percent.

Both Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) garnered 3% of caucus-goers’ support.

The remaining candidates received 2 percent or less.

(image via Starting Line/Change Research)

That’s quite a change from the last Starting Line-Change Research poll from May when Warren was in the middle of the pack in 4th place.

Here’s where things stood then, along with their movement since:

May Poll (change to August):
Joe Biden: 24% (-7)
Bernie Sanders: 24% (-7)
Pete Buttigieg: 14% (-1)
Elizabeth Warren: 12% (+16)
Kamala Harris: 10% (-2)
Beto O’Rourke: 5% (-2)

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Klobuchar Becomes 8th Democratic Candidate To Qualify For Next Debates

Sen. Amy Klobuchar

NBC News reports eight of the current Democratic presidential contenders have qualified for the next round of debates coming up in September.

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is the latest to meet the increased donor threshold her campaign said early Friday morning. She had previously reached the higher polling qualification of polling at least 2 percent in four major surveys.

Pundits predict the current field of Democrats could be cut in half by debate time rolls around.

In addition to Klobuchar, the other seven candidates to qualify are:

• Former Vice President Joe Biden
• New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg
• California Sen. Kamala Harris
• Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
• Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
• Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren

According to NBC News, it may have been what Klobuchar didn’t do in this week’s debate that stood out and that was to avoid attacking her opponents by name or take part in the ‘bloodsport’ that some resorted to.

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Morning Consult Poll Shows Biden Still Leads In Dem Primary Race

On a daily basis, Morning Consult is surveying over 5,000 registered voters across the United States on the 2020 presidential election.

Every Monday, MC shares the latest survey data, offering an in-depth guide to how the race for the Democratic nomination is shaping up.

The below are the results from Democratic primary voters nationwide.

The latest results are based on 16,504 survey interviews conducted between July 8-14, 2019.

As you can see, former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the pack with 32 percent support, with Sen. Bernie Sanders in second place at 19 percent.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) place third and fourth with 14 percent and 13 percent respectively.

And Mayor Pete Buttigieg rounds out the Top 5 at 5 percent.

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Poll: Harris Moves Into 2nd Place In New Hampshire Poll

The latest New Hampshire primary poll conducted by Saint Anselm College shows Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) moving into second place while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) drops to fifth place.

• Former Vice President Joe Biden 21% (-2)
• Sen. Kamala Harris 18% (+11)
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren 17% (+8)
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg 12% (+1)
• Sen. Bernie Sanders 10% (-6)
• Entrepreneur Andrew Yang 5%
• Se. Amy Klobuchar 3% (+1)
• Author Marianne Williamson 2% (new)
• Sen. Cory Booker 1%
• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard 1%
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand 1%

The survey did not include other candidates: former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan, Sen. Michael Bennet, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock.

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Rep. Eric Swalwell Ends 2020 Presidential Campaign

Rep. Eric Swalwell has announced he will end his three-month campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Rep. Eric Swalwell has announced he will end his three-month campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In an email to supporters, Swalwell writes, in part:

I ran for President to win and make a difference in our great country — a difference on issues of the future such as finding cures for our deadliest and most debilitating diseases, taking on the student loan debt crisis, and ending gun violence.

I promised my family, constituents, and supporters that I would always be honest about our chances.

After the first Democratic presidential debate, our polling and fundraising numbers weren’t what we had hoped for, and I no longer see a path forward to the nomination. My presidential campaign ends today, but this also is the start of a new passage for the issues on which our campaign ran.

And then there were…23?

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Recapping Democratic Debate Night 2

Sen.Kamala Harris (L), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (R)

By most political experts’ accounts, the second night of Democratic debates was dominated by a stellar performance by California Sen. Kamala Harris.

Consensus also agrees Mayor Pete Buttigieg scored well as the first openly gay presidential candidate to take to the debate stage.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front-runner in polling, found himself playing defense a surprising amount of time given that this is the first Democratic debate.

Check out these highlights for both via Twitter:

FiveThirtyEight teamed with Morning Consult to determine who ‘won’ the debates:

Among all 20 candidates, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Julián Castro earned the highest scores for their debate performances relative to their favorability rating before they took the stage, according to the voters in our poll.

Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker also rated well, but their scores were more in line with their pre-debate favorability.

Meanwhile, voters didn’t exactly think Beto O’Rourke did badly on Night 1, but his grades were underwhelming given his popularity.

A CNN focus group agreed with the pundits: