My original intent was to title this installment The Miscellaneous because today’s three (Julian Castro, Eric Holder and Terry McAuliffe) possible candidates defied categorization into any of the other groups. Then I discovered a common denominator: They all come from a specific power player/wing of the Democratic Party and could very well be a surrogate of a past first family. Let’s explore.  

If the Democrats have had “royal families” over the past few decades they are the Clintons and the Obamas. With Hillary’s 2016 upset loss and the #me too movement the Clinton’s aren’t the mass market hits they once were but they still have one hell of a rolodex and can raise huge dollars especially with the older Democratic establishment. Today when it comes to mass appeal there is no Democratic substitute for the Obamas. Both couples are power players in Democratic politics and have immense clout!

Julian Castro was Barack Obama’s HUD Secretary and before that he was a member of the House of Representatives from Texas. As of this writing he is on the record saying that he is seriously considering a run. (I expect he has made his final decision public by the publishing date of this article.) He has stayed in good graces with the Obamas and there is no doubt in my mind that if he became the nominee they would work hard for him. What makes him particularly interesting is that he appears to be well liked by the Clintons. He was rumored to have been on Hillary’s short list for vice president in 2016. I highly doubt it will, but if it becomes an internal surrogate war Castro is the perfect compromise candidate.

Eric Holder was Obama’s Attorney General. Every indication at this writing is that he is also entertaining the possibility of running. Since returning to private practice his outside passion has been redistricting. He is an intelligent and polished guy who can make a convincing argument while remaining a perfect gentleman. Since he has never run for public office the big question with him is what kind of campaigner he would be. We may just find out.

Terry McAuliffe rounds out today’s discussion. He is the textbook Clinton Man! He was the co-chair of Bill’s 1996 campaign, Bill’s handpicked Democratic National Committee Chair from 2001 to 2005 and the chair of Hillary’s 2008 campaign. He also held elected office as Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. (Virginia limits its Governors to a single four-year term.) I’ve always viewed McAuliffe as more of a political operative than an office holder but if the Clintons want a loyal surrogate McAuliffe would have to be their first phone call.

I don’t anticipate it boiling down to a Clinton-Obama battle fought with surrogates but these three would be prime candidates for the “gladiators”. Today’s is the shortest article in the series. Yesterday was Christmas and I’m certain you have a lot of other things to do.

Please note: This article was written well in advance of publishing in order to accommodate my holiday travel and grandpa time schedule.

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