Jason Kander said he plans to scale back political travel that had made him a regular presence in Iowa and New Hampshire. | Whitney Curtis/Getty Images Kander sets his sights on city hall instead of the White House

A snapshot of the Democratic Party—and national politics—right now: A guy who lost a Senate race two years ago surprised many people on Monday by jumping into a mayor’s race rather than a 2020 White House run. But he still believes he can and will claim a spot in the national conversation from city hall.

Jason Kander, the former Missouri secretary of state and failed 2016 Senate candidate, officially announced that he’ll be running for Kansas City mayor, becoming the first of potential Democratic White House contenders to pull the plug.


But just because he won’t try to run against President Donald Trump doesn’t mean that he won’t keep talking about him, Kander told POLITICO. He’ll just do it from the perspective of how administration policies are affecting his hometown.

“Everybody with a platform should speak out against those policies when they do” harm, Kander said. “I’m going to continue to speak out.”

Kander said he plans to scale back political travel that had made him a regular presence in Iowa and New Hampshire, but also on college campuses and as far away as Hawaii. He said he’ll give up the leadership of his Let America Vote group if he’s elected.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“One of the things I’ve been talking about, no matter the audience, has been the importance of talking about home,” Kander said after declaring his candidacy with the support of a number of prominent local politicians. “‘Make progress where you’re from’ — this is clearly me following that very same mantra.”

Kansas City Mayor Sly James is term limited, and the election is next year. There’s a much clearer path to victory for Kander in that race than in a crowded Democratic field for president, and Kander can still leverage his new political celebrity and nationwide network of supporters and donors that he had built up.

“While running Let America Vote, I was also considering the best way to serve, and I was flattered by all the ideas people had for me,” Kander said.

“I decided to run for mayor because I love Kansas City and I think the best thing I can do with my time is to help the city,” Kander said.

Kander isn’t the only possible long shot who won’t be taking a shot for the White House.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, who is retiring from Congress, announced over the weekend that he won’t be pursuing the issue candidacy around immigration reform that he’d floated. Instead, he will move to Puerto Rico to push for more attention to issues facing the island, where recovery from last year’s hurricanes continues.

