BILLINGS- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will make another trip to Iowa next week as he continues to consider a run for president in 2020.
The Iowa political news website Starting Linereports Bullock has at least one staffer in place now on the ground in Iowa.
Megan Simpson will be the Iowa-based organizing director for Bullock’s political action committee Big Sky Values, which he is using to raise money.
Simpson is a native of Iowa, a frequent destination for budding presidential candidates because it holds the nation’s first caucus, and has helped with several Montana Democratic campaigns.
Bullock is officially traveling to Iowa to attend a National Governor’s Association event.
Bullock has not announced whether he’s running for president in 2020 but has already made several trips to Iowa.
He has previously said he will not decide on his political future until after the 2019 Montana Legislature concludes on May 1.
Many Democrats are also hoping Bullock considers a run for Senate in 2020. That reportedly includes U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
According to the website Politico, Schumer met with Bullock last month to talk about a run for Senate. According to the report, Bullock was not interested.
Bullock is considered a longshot for the presidential race. If he were to run, he would join another governor, Jay Inslee of Washington, who announced his candidacy Friday. Inslee said he intends to make combating climate change the central rationale for his campaign.
In his announcement video, Inslee highlighted his decades-long focus on climate change and compared tackling the issue to President John F. Kennedy’s focus on going to the moon.
“We’re the first generation to feel the sting of climate change. And we’re the last that can do something about it,” Inslee added. “We can do this. Join our movement. This is our moment.”
He will headquarter his campaign in Seattle, making his campaign the only 2020 operation to date to be based on the West Coast. He will follow up Friday’s announcement with a trip to Iowa and Nevada in the coming days, an adviser added.
Like Bullock, Inslee has served as head of the Democratic Governors Association.
