SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - It didn't take long for people to move past the 2018 midterms, even with accusations of election fraud stalling congressional results in North Carolina and a recount set to begin in Maine. Potential Democratic contenders to President Trump are already signaling their intentions to run in 2020, including former VP Joe Biden.
Biden is currently on a tour promoting his new book, and during one of his stops in Missoula, Montana, he said: "I'll be as straight with you as I can. I think I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president."
"The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I've worked on my whole life."
The number one issue that faces Democrats heading into 2020 is reaching middle class voters, particularly in the rust belt where many disenchanted Democrats and independent voters cast a ballot for Donald Trump in 2016 -- tilting the election to his favor. Democrats will need a nominee who can win these voters back.
Biden believes his experience gives him an edge:
"I've been doing this my whole adult life, and the issues that are the most consequential relating to the plight of the middle class and our foreign policy are things that I have -- even my critics would acknowledge, I may not be right but I know a great deal about it."
The former VP says he will make a decision within the next couple of months about a 2020 bid, and he isn't the only one. US Senator Kamala Harris said she will take the holiday to decide. US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard says she is seriously considering how best she can serve the country.
A former chief strategist for Clinton says she will run again, and politicos are watching what politicians like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders will do.
The shortlist of prospective Democratic candidates in 2020 is becoming clearer and we haven't even gotten to 2019. Clearly, people shouldn't expect much of a reprieve from the 2018 midterms to the next presidential election.