Democratic donors are in bed-wetting mode over their primary candidates. Polls have shown no candidate decisively beating Trump in swing states. In response, a whole bunch of saviors are looking at late entries into the race. Spare me. 

First came billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He’s a moderate who’s been an independent, a Republican and now a Democrat. The only faction of the Democratic Party clamoring for a billionaire to jump into the race are the money men from Wall Street. They can give him a lot of cash but since Bloomberg’s a billionaire, that’s not really helpful. He can own a lot of advertising, but as Trump proved, we’re past the era where flashy ads make the difference in presidential contests. 

Then, former Attorney General Eric Holder says he’s looking at getting into the race. Holder has been active in ending the extreme gerrymandering that’s led to Republican minority rule in too many states. It’s a worthy cause. He should stick to it. I suspect Holder has far less name recognition than he believes and I also suspect he thinks black voters in the South will flock to him. I think he’s wrong. Black voters seem very comfortable with Biden right now and Holder would have to introduce himself to a lot of people in a short amount of time. Black voters in the South only moved to Obama after his win in Iowa. I don’t see Holder picking up Iowa or New Hampshire at this late date. 

Yesterday, former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick leaked that he’s considering a run. Everything I said about Holder holds true, except much lower name recognition. At least Holder can say that he’s been fighting for fair maps. Patrick hasn’t done squat for the base since he left office. 

All this handwringing among the Democratic donor class is tiring. None of these proposed candidates would have more appeal in the those swing states than the candidates in the field now. Trump’s support in states like North Carolina is far more about Trump than any single Democrat. The candidates in the field all have their strengths and their weaknesses. There’s no such thing as the perfect candidate that donors want. 

If they feel they need a centrist candidate besides Biden or Buttigieg, they need to collectively get behind one already in the field. Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro, Michael Bennet or Steve Bullock would all make stronger candidates than the ones who’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting to be summoned by the donor class. There’s a learning curve to presidential races and Holder, Bloomberg and Patrick aren’t even on it right now. 

We’re a year out from the presidential election. Democrats have a strong field of candidates. Every one of them will need to make adjustments if they become the nominee. Biden will need to get better on his feet. Warren will need to moderate some of her positions. Buttigieg will need to look more accessible and less cerebral. There’s nothing particularly inspiring about the three candidates looking at a late entry. Their biggest strength is that we don’t yet know their weaknesses—but you better believe they have them.