Garcetti: ‘Dems need to be everywhere’

In an interview as he drove away from an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Garcetti pointed to Democratic candidates like Rep.-elect Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), who upset Rep. Steve Russell (R) in a suburban Oklahoma City district, as proof that Democrats can win if they contest historically Republican territory.

{mosads}”There’s no place we didn’t play hard and have a really good foundation for the next election and the one after that,” Garcetti said. “I think Democrats have finally heard loud and clear that you have to fight to win, you have to organize to win.”

“We have to be everywhere, and we have to be organizational. Not people-based,” he said. “It’s not just about always finding the magic candidate, it’s about making sure you have the organization in place.”

Garcetti spent the months before Election Day stumping across the country and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for state Democratic Parties in places like Iowa and New Hampshire, stoking speculation that the second-term mayor is considering a run for the White House in 2020.

On Tuesday, Garcetti told The Hill he would try to reach a decision about running by the end of the year, in order to make a formal announcement in the first quarter of 2019. And he warned that President Trump’s late campaign strategy to focus on immigration and racially tinged advertising is but a preview of what’s to come two years down the road.

“If this is what our commander in chief did when he was trying to fight for the House, imagine what he’ll do when he’s fighting for his political life. We’d better be prepared to get in that trench,” Garcetti said.