加利福尼亚州民主党众议员罗·坎纳的盟友们正在发起一项努力，为他竞选总统打下基础，一个新成立的“拥护委员会”的领导人向NBC新闻透露。前纽约州民主党众议员贾马尔·鲍曼和进步派策略师诺米基·康斯特担任该组织——“支持罗”——的联合主席，该组织可以向捐款人筹款，并开始为坎纳的总统竞选建立支持，而他仍在考虑2028年的参选计划。
Allies of Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are launching an effort to lay groundwork for him to run for president, the leaders of a new draft committee told NBC News. Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and progressive strategist Nomiki Konst are co-chairs of the group — “Run Ro” — which can raise money from donors and begin building support for a Khanna candidacy while he continues to weigh a 2028 bid.
此举紧随中期选举之后，选民在那次选举中将民主党推上了众议院和参议院的权力宝座，一些知名进步派人士也是大赢家。与此同时，民主党左翼正在寻找一位新的领军人物，能够在独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯（佛蒙特州）在2016年和2020年总统提名竞选中所占据的进步派赛道上参选。“通过现在启动，我们试图确保总统初选辩论从进步民粹主义的角度来界定，”康斯特说。
The move comes in the immediate aftermath of a midterm election in which voters swept Democrats into power in the House and the Senate, with some high-profile progressives among the big winners. It also comes as the party’s left wing looks for a new champion who can run in the progressive lane that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., occupied in the 2016 and 2020 presidential nominating contests. “By launching now, we are trying to ensure that the presidential primary debate is framed from a progressive populist perspective,” Konst said.
可能的坎纳竞选面临着巨大的挑战。历史上只有一人直接从众议院当选总统：俄亥俄州共和党人詹姆斯·加菲尔德，1880年。坎纳是一名五届议员，因推动释放杰弗里·爱泼斯坦档案以及结束对伊朗战争的两党努力而登上头条。尽管如此，他甚至不是考虑参选总统的最著名的众议院进步派人士。这个非正式头衔属于纽约州民主党众议员亚历山德里娅·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯，她尚未表示是否会竞选总统、竞选纽约州参议员或留在众议院。
The challenges facing a possible Khanna candidacy are immense. Only one person was ever elected to the presidency directly from the House: James Garfield, R-Ohio, in 1880. Khanna, a fifth-term lawmaker, has made headlines with bipartisan efforts to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and to end the war in Iran. He is nonetheless not even the most famous House progressive considering a presidential bid. That unofficial title belongs to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who hasn’t yet said whether she will seek the presidency, run for a Senate seat in New York or remain in the House.
“她是我的妹妹，我爱她，”鲍曼谈到奥卡西奥-科尔特斯时说，他在众议院与她结成了密切的盟友。“罗·坎纳展现了我们在这个时刻所需要的工作态度、谦逊和远见。”坎纳曾是桑德斯2020年竞选活动的联合主席，也是全国进步派人士的宠儿。他还在早期初选州奔波了数月。
“She is my sister, and I love her,” Bowman said of Ocasio-Cortez, with whom he shared a close alliance in the House. “Ro Khanna has shown the work ethic, the humility and the vision that we need in this moment.”Khanna, who was a co-chair of Sanders’ 2020 campaign, is also a favorite of progressives around the country. And he has been traveling to early primary states for months.
他毫不掩饰自己的总统野心，许多同事相信他将加入竞选。他在接受NBC新闻采访的声明中欢迎该起草委员会。“我很荣幸，人们鼓励我以全民医保、结束海外战争和对亿万富翁征税的纲领参选，”他说。“美国需要新的新政。我是否参选或支持其他人，将在假期后与家人商定。”康斯特表示，该起草委员会将让她和鲍曼现在就开始组织，这样如果卡纳参选，他就不会落后。
He makes no effort to hide his presidential ambitions, and many of his colleagues believe he will jump into the race. He welcomed the draft committee in a statement to NBC News. “I’m honored that people are encouraging me to run on a platform of Medicare for All, ending foreign wars and taxing the billionaires,” he said. “We need America’s Next New Deal. Whether I run or support someone else is something I will decide with my family after the holidays.”Konst said the draft committee will allow her and Bowman to organize now so Khanna isn’t late to the game if he does run.
“中间派会提前组织和制定策略，”她说。“他们多年来就已安排好捐款人、企业顾问和领导人。吸取以往初选的教训，我们的目标是将进步派的能量引入一个组织和传播我们获胜信息的载体，尽早行动，因为我们不能等待政治形势成熟。”目前尚无候选人进入2028年民主党总统提名的竞选场。
“The centrists organize and strategize early,” she said. “They have their donors, corporate consultants and leaders lined up for years. Building off the lessons of past primaries, our goal is to channel the progressive energy into a vessel for organizing and spreading our winning message early, as we can’t wait for the politics to line up.”No candidate has yet entered the field for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.