My favorite for the primary is still Beto. I also like some of the others running a lot (Inslee, Harris, Warren) and will of course vote in the general for any of the current Democrats running vs. Trump.
My reasons for Beto are 1) I think he has the best chance to expand the electoral college playing field and after the recent Wisconsin Supreme Ct loss, it scares me to be so dependent on Wisconsin. 2) Issues 3) Likeability/charisma/It-factor
I lived in Texas until mid 2018 and I’ve never seen or expected anything like Beto in Texas in 2018. He completely turned conventional wisdom on its head. He really changed minds and votes in the traditionally red educated suburbs as well as energizing the base and driving turnout in an non-presidential election. I think he can beat Trump in Texas and I don’t currently think any other candidate has a chance. And even though he is not Hispanic, I’m hopeful that his background in the border city of El Paso, strong leadership in countering Trump on immigration, and fluency in Spanish will at least be a positive factor in other potential electoral college stages such as Arizona and Florida. And I’m hopeful that his likeability will be a positive in all states to those voters who aren’t hardened partisans and instead just tune to vote for President.
For the issues—I really don’t like how the MSM has decided on their frame for Beto as not talking issues when throughout his senate campaign and during his presidential campaign, he has answered hundreds of questions on almost every issue at his campaign events. His answer on the kneeling NFL did go viral during his senate campaign and is an example of his answering from the heart and not the politically expedient answer. He has been a leader among the presidential candidates on countering Trump on immigration and the wall. The general campaign is going to get ugly , and Trump is going to try to make it about racism and scary immigrants. Beto’s NFL response and immigration/wall responses have shown Beto can go toe to toe with Trump on Trump’s favorite issues, all while still keeping a positive, “we go high” attitude.
There was a barrage of attacks when he announced because Beto didn’t have detailed policy positions written out on his website (ignoring his verbal responses to questions). But Warren really is the only candidate who has done this and the people attacking on this don’t seem to be her supporters but rather angry supporters of other candidates who I think seem to speak more in generalities than Beto. After seeing the MSM completely ignore Hillary’s detailed written policy platforms and doing the same to Warren, I am ok with all of the other candidates, including Beto, who are laying out a vision, interspersed with details. This is more of the President’s job anyway.
And on most other issues, most of the candidates seem fairly similar in overall goals. There is the Medicare for All vs. Medicare for America debate --I really don’t want this diary to turn in a nasty back and forth on this, my view is that universal healthcare is the goal and as evidenced by the successful health care systems around the world, there are multiple ways to get there, so I assume all of us who want universal healthcare in whichever form are allies in a world where Republicans want to destroy the ACA. If I had to pick between Medicare for All and Medicare for America, I personally think Medicare for America makes more sense (hence I am aligned with Beto), but again, this isn’t a diary to hash out this debate (there have been plenty of others and gosh, some have gotten mean).
And I personally find Beto very likeable. I know likeability is subjective so I won’t say more other than it will be important to have a candidate that many people find likeable as a counterpoint to Trump in the general.
In the comments, if you want to just say horrible things about Beto, please instead write a diary about what you like about your candidate of choice and perhaps write a diary of horrible things about Trump. Friendly fire helps no one.