Gov. Steve Bullock, who’s been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, has scheduled a campaign event in the early presidential-caucus state of Iowa – but not for himself.
The website Politico first reported Wednesday that Bullock plans to visit Iowa between April 5 and April 7, where he’ll campaign for Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller.
In a statement Wednesday, Bullock, a Democrat, said Miller “has been a hero of mine” since Bullock was in his twenties, for his work on consumer-protection issues.
“I’m fortunate to count Tom as a good friend and am excited to go to Iowa and help him get re-elected,” Bullock said.
Miller has been Iowa’s attorney general for 35 of the last 39 years and is up for re-election this year to a seventh consecutive term.
Bullock, 51, is in his second and final term as Montana governor. He can’t run for re-election in 2020 because of term limits. When asked about his future plans, Bullock has said repeatedly that 2020 is “a long way off,” but doesn’t rule out running for president.
Last year, Bullock also formed a political action committee, the Big Sky Values PAC, that has funded his travels around the country, appearing at various political events and fundraisers. The PAC reported raising about $460,000 last year, including contributions from some prominent New York-based investors.
Iowa holds the first presidential nominating caucuses in the country each election cycle, often in January of the election year.
Politico said Bullock’s trip to Iowa is “the clearest sign yet that he is considering a run at the White House,” because it’s his first political trip to “perhaps the most important state in the primary process.”
