Governor Who?

[brooklynite]

Politico

Steve Bullock, John Hickenlooper and Jay Inslee are respected two-term Democratic governors, with proven records of accomplishment.

In this presidential primary season, that counts for next to nothing.

Bullock, the Montana governor, got shut out of the first debate. Inslee, the Washington governor, hasn’t cracked 2 percent in a national poll. Colorado’s Hickenlooper has hit even harder times — his senior staffers urged him to drop out of the race last month.

The three governors in the 23-candidate field are mired at the bottom of national polls for any number of reasons, though one reason appears to stand out more distinctly than the rest: Donald Trump.

[Demit]

1. Shame about Inslee.

I'd like him to stay in it as long as he can. His message is important.

[Trumpocalypse]

2. Any relation to Doctor Who? ;-)

[MineralMan]

3. Very few Governors are well-known outside of their states.

Montana? Who thinks about Montana when it comes to national politics? The same goes for Colorado, really. Washington, as well. Neither those states, nor their Governors make news regularly.

So, there's no real national name recognition, which is the first barrier a presidential primary candidate has to face. While all three are well-respected in their own states, they are all unknown nationally, really.

There are many barriers in the way of any presidential primary candidate, but name recognition is one of the highest ones.

[dsc]

4. Colorado has been very forward thinking in many areas

they passed gun control legislation, legalized marijuana, just banned conversion therapy for youth, had a climate change plan passed. They really should be studied nationally.

[MineralMan]

5. That's true, but my point remains. Nobody heard about them on

a national basis. Presidential elections are not about what should have been. They're about what has been in the national news.

Most people never heard of any of those Governors before this year. Many still don't recognize their names. That is an enormous barrier to success in a presidential primary.

It is what it is.