CNN writer and data analyst Harry Enten continued CNN’s obsession with identity politics on Thursday when he warned Democrats against backing “white male” 2020 presidential candidates and sending them to compete against President Donald Trump.
Enten (shown above right), who also served as a senior political writer at FiveThirtyEight, addressed the issue of “white male” Democratic presidential contenders for at least the second time this week.
CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota played the identity politics card on Monday on “New Day” when she directly asked outgoing Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) whether “this is the right time” for a “white guy” like him to run.
“Is it time to have somebody of color and a woman and somebody younger? Or somebody more Establishment?” Camerota asked Hickenlooper. “But as a white guy, are you trying to calculate whether or not this is the right time for you?”
Enten continued that theme on Thursday when he presented his “2020 Power Rankings for Potential Dem Contenders,” as the CNN chyron described it on “New Day.”
Enten said he used his “secret sauce” to come up with the ranking.
Said CNN anchor John Berman (above left) to Enten, “2020 is now. Who is in the best position to challenge Donald Trump? … Give us your top 10 list. This is based on polling and money and also reporting political activity behind the scenes.”
Enten listed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) as number 10, noting that she “has a number of things going for her.”
“She has the large New York media market. She has the most anti-Trump record of any United States senator. She’s a woman, and keep in mind that women won in record numbers in 2018 Democratic primaries,” Enten said.
Number nine was Julián Castro (D), a former secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Obama administration.
Castro, a Latino from Texas, announced on Wednesday he is exploring a presidential run in 2020.
“He’s a Latino, he was in the Obama administration, he ran HUD. He’s an interesting character, but you know, I think in the year of the woman I am a little suspect of having too many men in the upper tier,” Enten said ominously.
Related: CNN’s Camerota Wonders if It’s Appropriate for White Guys to Run in 2020
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was in eighth place. His strength, said Enten, is that he hails from a key Midwest state that Trump carried in 2016.
But Brown as a nominee, according to Enten, would have some serious baggage.
“I will point out, though, [that he’s] another white male. I am very suspect of that this year going into a Democratic primary with women doing well, and the African-American base of the Democratic Party,” Enten said. “I am not sure it’s the time to nominate a white man.”
After listing Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former Vice President Joe Biden (D), and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) — Enten finally came to his top choice.
“[Sen.] Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) remains our number one,” Enten said. “Look — she is in California. She has the big media market. She could appeal to African-American voters. She has a very progressive record and she sort of checks off two boxes, African-Americans and women who were nominated in 2020.”
Check out Enten’s ranking in the video below:
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