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Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar Solidifies 2020 Presidential Credentials With Re-Election Win

By Terrence Smith
Published on: 23:30 PST, Nov 6, 2018

After a big win on Tuesday, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is looking like a potential frontrunner for the Democratic nominee in the coming 2020 presidential elections. Klobuchar won her race for re-election after getting 60.4 percent of the vote, solidifying the contender’s home state credentials, according to reports from Business Insider.

Klobuchar secured her third consecutive term in the Senate after she defeated her Republican opponent Jim Newberger, who received 36.1 percent of the vote, according to returns from the Associated Press.

While Klobuchar’s heavy margin of victory is impressive and unlikely to be matched in most other Senate races, it actually signals a minor drop in her numbers after the Minnesota senator secured 65.3 percent of the vote when she secured re-election in 2012. Her Republican opponent Kurt Bills received only 30.6 percent of the vote.

One noticeable aspect of Klobuchar’s victory isn’t about how much she won by, but more so where she won. When the results rolled in, it was revealed that Klobuchar had secured the majority of Minnesota’s rural counties, illustrating Klobuchar’s appeal amongst a blue-collar base that leaned toward Trump in 2016. Journalist Josh Barro pointed out her success, as well as pointing out her status as a true threat to Trump, in a tweet, saying, “I have a tip for Democrats who would like to not just beat Trump in 2020 but bury him.”

Klobuchar didn’t pull any punches in her victory speech, making clear that her victory came as a result of the people of Minnesota refuting the politics of President Trump. Klobuchar said, “Minnesotans voted our dreams and not our fears. We voted for common sense and not blistering words. We voted for getting things done and not gamesmanship. And we voted for substance instead of subtweets. We voted for the way politics can be, should be, and with your help, will be.”

While the 2018 midterms saw some disappointment for some young candidates that have been touted as the future of the Democratic party, Klobuchar’s undeniable success has to put her in the conversation for 2020.

While her name recognition may not be at the same level as her peers, a recent Axios poll revealed that not only would Klobuchar defeat Trump in a hypothetical election by a nine-point margin, she would perform better than other potential Democratic candidates in 2020 such as Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, as covered by the Inquisitr. In the poll that measured Trump’s chances against potential female Democratic candidates in 2020, the only women that performed better were California Senator Kamala Harris, along with the unlikely candidates Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

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