Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign is quickly picking up steam but he is not out of the woods just yet. While it is no secret President Donald Trump has been the center of political controversy for quite some time, that doesn’t mean he will be easy to beat in the November election.
In fact, members of the Senate Democratic Caucus Senate are quietly expressing concern about the possibility of Trump being re-elected in November. With the battle for the Democratic nomination intensifying, party infighting is a growing concern.
Over the course of the next five months, Democratic candidates will work rigorously to advocate their proposed plans for office all while discrediting each other’s stance. Many Senate Democrats fear a reprise of the 2016 election may be imminent.
“If the Democrats are not united, then a strategy of winning the Electoral College could work for the president,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said. “The calendar is: We could be doing this in July. And there could be hard feelings afterward. You saw that in 2016. We were not as united as we needed to be. So I worry about that.”
Although former Vice President Joe Biden (D) has ranked relatively well in the preliminary polls, leading among Democratic candidates, even his numbers have shown signs of fluctuation over the last couple of months.
Another growing concern is Trump’s approval rating and campaign funding. Despite the ongoing impeachment inquiry, the embattled president has managed to maintain his approval rating as his campaign continues to raise and spend campaign funds at an accelerated rate.
“I hear comments all the time that after what’s happened in the first two primaries we only have a 50-50 chance. It’s not looking good,” an anonymous Democratic senator told The Hill about the presidential race.
The senator went on to note that concerns are “reflective of not just the candidacies but of how Trump is raising all this money and how he’s really focused.”
In the first week of February, Trump had a 49% job approval rating which is the highest he has received in a Gallup poll since taking office. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) admitted that things Trump’s ratings are better than Democrats expected.
“I think it’s not that things aren’t going well for Democrats, I don’t think that’s the case. I think things are going better for Donald Trump than expected,” he said.
The fight for the presidency will be an uphill battle until the final vote is cast in November.