Walsh 2020?

Up until now, when you’ve heard news about the upcoming 2020 presidential election, it’s probably been about the Democratic primary. In recent weeks, the pool of twenty Democrats all vying to be the candidate to face off against Trump in 2020 has been winnowed down in preparation for the next round of debates, which will occur later in September. Meanwhile, however, someone else is also throwing his hat into the ring to take on Trump: and this time, it’s a Republican. Here, Election Central takes a closer look.

Meet Joe Walsh

Last Sunday, Joe Walsh announced that he would be seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2020 over Donald Trump. So who is Joe Walsh? He’s a conservative radio show host and former Tea Party congressman from Illinois. (He served a single term in the House of Representatives before losing his re-election bid.) Walsh is running against Trump because, according to Walsh, Trump is morally unfit to serve as president and does not represent the majority of conservative voters.

Walsh vs. Trump

Despite calling Trump morally unfit, Walsh himself has a history of making racist, anti-Muslim, and otherwise offensive remarks that have occasionally even caused his radio show to be pulled off of the air. Like the president, Walsh has often attacked former President Obama, questioned Obama’s birth certificate and called the former president a Muslim.

In fact, in this regard, many people see Walsh as being more similar to Trump than opposed to him. Walsh has apologized for these offensive statements and position as part of his campaign interviews. According to Walsh, this series of apologies sets him apart from Trump, because the president has not apologized for a great deal of the offensive remarks he has said as a candidate and while serving as president.

Does He Have a Shot at Winning?

Walsh has not so far set himself apart from Trump as a candidate with a unique and competing set of policy issues. Also Walsh lacks any real message of his own. Because of this, it’s hard to know what he stands for–other than being against Trump. 

However, Walsh does have an interesting message. He represents a growing demographic of Americans who might have voted for Trump in 2016, but have since been turned off by Trump’s offensive comments and behavior. Walsh seeks to stand up for this group, which believes that it’s possible to be conservative without agreeing with Trump. And this might be a smart political strategy, as Trump’s approval ratings continue to fall, even among moderate Republicans.

Walsh admits that he voted for Trump in 2016 because he couldn’t stand Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate. But soon after the election, Walsh realized that–in his estimation–Trump was unqualified for the executive office. This story might strike a chord with many Republican voters. The question, however, is whether or not Joe Walsh is the best candidate to be telling it.

Dig Deeper Walsh is not the only person hoping to wrestle the Republican nomination away from Trump in 2020. Use Internet resources to find out more about William Weld. Write a paragraph about what you learn, as well as what you think about Weld’s chances of winning the nomination over Trump