Supporters of California Gov. Jerry Brown are pushing him to make a 2016 presidential bid. And though Brown hasn't confirmed the rumors, he hasn't explicitly denied them either.
When asked by The Huffington Post, Brown did not have a comment on the presidential rumors, but a representative did reference a statement he made at the California Chamber of Commerce host breakfast in May, during which Brown said "time is kind of running out on that." And polls show Brown could enjoy an easy reelection for governor in 2014.
But some argue that Brown's actions -- particularly his recent fundraising efforts -- suggest otherwise.
“Every move he’s making is the move of a presidential candidate,” said Ralph Nader, a five-time presidential candidate himself, to the Los Angeles Times. “It’s almost a blueprint.”
As KCAL9′s Dave Bryan noted, many political analysts believe a presidential run for Brown would be both unlikely and unsuccessful. But it's also not an impossibility.
"You call late December the holiday season; in the political world we call it the crazy season," he said. "That doesn't mean it can't happen."
Brown, 75, certainly has the experience under his belt. He's twice served as California's governor, and has held a variety of political positions throughout the years, including mayor of Oakland and attorney general of California. Should Brown run for president, it would mark his fourth attempt.
Despite his age and failed former campaigns, Brown seems to have support for the idea of a run.
“Jerry Brown is a rock star in California. I mean, he’s California’s rock star. He’s just risen… once again,” RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of the nation's largest nurses union, told CBS. "Jerry Brown is precisely what America needs. He knows how to govern. He’s not beholden to special interests."
At a fundraiser in Sacramento in June of last year, Vice President Joe Biden said Brown is "the smartest guy in American politics."
Even some journalists seem to be pushing Brown into the ring.
While a Brown campaign would widely be seen as a longshot, the LA Times noted that he could provide relief for Democrats who aren't lining up behind the party's seemingly inevitable candidate: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
While Brown has done nothing to fuel the competition, some would welcome his candidacy as a way to stop what Nader called the “coronation” of Hillary Rodham Clinton by the Democratic Party establishment. Others unhappy with Clinton had their hopes invested in freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who they consider less beholden to Wall Street, but she has vowed not to run in 2016.
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