Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., will "most likely" be the person Democrats pick as their 2020 presidential nominee, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday, but he believes South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg may also be a "dangerous opponent" against President Donald Trump.
"She's very articulate and I think a likable person, and I think that she represents a new generation in a way that [Joe] Biden and [Bernie] Sanders are going to work very hard to be able to match," Gingrich told CBS News. He added that Harris' California base and her personal likability as the assets that will make her a serious contender,
Both Biden and Sanders have more national name recognition, but the Democratic Party now stands too far left to pick either one, Gingrich added.
"It's also [open] to newer faces in a way that I think Sanders has a hard time coping with," said Gingrich.
Buttigieg, though, may also post a challenge, said Gingrich, while comparing him to former President Jimmy Carter.
"He's from the Midwest, he's a mayor of a small town, he has no particular public record, he can be like [former President] Jimmy Carter used to be, a Rorschach test of you (can) paint on him what you want," Gingrich said.
However, he said he thinks Buttigieg, whose poll numbers have been steadily climbing, "probably has a hard time getting through the process."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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