Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had no comment Monday on a New York Times story listing him among possible Democratic leaders that may run for president in 2020.
The article, which was published on Sunday, said Garcetti may consider entering the race and that unnamed “allies” of the mayor “acknowledged that national donors had broached the subject of 2020 but said that was the extent of his attention to the race.”
“We really can’t comment on speculation on tea leaves that other people are reading,” said Yusef Robb, who served as a spokesman for Garcetti’s re-election campaign. “Mayor Garcetti is squarely focused on being chief executive of the greatest city in America.”
Garcetti, who won a second mayoral term in March with 81 percent of the vote, is widely thought to be considering a run for governor of California next year. But the New York Times article marks the first time a major publication has reported he may seek the presidency in 2020.
The New York Times named other Democratic politicians thought to be eyeing a possible run for president, including former Vice President Joe Biden and some members of the Senate, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten E. Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kamala Harris of California.
The newspaper reported that the list of candidates “may ultimately be the largest since 1976, when Democrats lined up after Watergate for a nomination seen as offering a short path to the White House.”
— City News Service