Democratic 2020 Field Picks Up a Second Joe as Sestak Jumps In

(Bloomberg) -- Former two-term Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania announced this weekend he’s joining the crowded field vying for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination.

The former U.S. Navy admiral, who served in Congress until 2011, previously made two unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Pat Toomey, including a 2016 effort that saw him walking across his state.

“I wore the cloth of the nation for over 31 years in peace and war, from the Vietnam and Cold war eras to Afghanistan and Iraq and the emergence of China,” Sestak, 67, said in an announcement video posted on his website.

With his surprise announcement, Sestak joins a list of more than 20 Democrats, many of them failing to register any significant support in the polls, who are hoping to challenge President Donald Trump for the White House.

Few if any major pollsters have even asked voters about Sestak’s viability as a candidate, weeks after the list of contenders appeared to have been set and just days ahead of the first debates this week. In his announcement, Sestak ascribed his late entry to a recurrence of his daughter’s brain cancer.

Challenged Specter

It wouldn’t be Sestak’s first long-shot run. In 2010, he ran a primary challenge to then-Senator Arlen Specter, who had changed parties to become a Democrat. Sestak prevailed but lost to Toomey in the general election.

Sestak said in his announcement video that he did so because Specter “had humiliated Anita Hill” when she alleged misconduct by Clarence Thomas during the latter’s 1991 confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner in the Democratic field, has faced criticism for his own role in the hearings.

In 2016, Sestak again sought the Democratic nomination so he could mount a re-match with Toomey, but Sestak lost in the primary.

On his website, Sestak called for a public option for Americans seeking health care, a re-engagement with U.S. allies and comprehensive immigration reform.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Brody in Washington at btenerellabr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Mark Niquette, Ros Krasny

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