Democratic Montana governor Steve Bullock announced a presidential run Tuesday, joining an already crowded 2020 primary field.
"Look, to be honest, I never thought I'd be running for president," the two-term governor said in a Tuesday announcement video, echoing the sentiments of many political observers.
Bullock's announcement video stressed his pro-choice and environmentalist beliefs, his opposition to the Citizens United, and the need to defeat Republican President Donald Trump. "This is the fight of our time. This has been the fight of my career. I am Steve Bullock and I am running for president," he concluded.
Despite his long shot candidacy, Bullock has already qualified for the upcoming Democratic debates by virtue of polling above 1 percent in three separate polls. Bullock is now the 19th candidate to qualify for the debates, inching closer to the twenty-person threshold after which the DNC can begin to cull candidates from appearing on-stage.
Bullock won reelection in Montana in 2016 despite the state voting heavily for Donald Trump. Tweets posted ahead of his announcement suggest that Bullock plans to run heavily on his electability and ability to win states and regions that Democrats have struggled in.
"The way I've governed and I've run is by showing up, by listening, and not just going to places where Democrats are."
True then, true today. pic.twitter.com/IzxLGioeDg
— Steve Bullock (@GovernorBullock) May 13, 2019
A few things about this video:
1. I’m a two-term Governor of a state that Trump won by 20 points.
2. I may have been called a "weird creature from outer space," but I’m actually from Montana.
3. I have a big announcement coming soon.
— Steve Bullock (@GovernorBullock) May 11, 2019
Bullock's greatest obstacle remains name recognition. A Morning Consult poll found 54 percent of Democrats have never heard of the governor, giving him the same recognition as fringe candidate Andrew Yang.