I was thinking about this the other day.
If you do the math, there is really no reason why Eric Garcetti shouldn't run for the U.S Senate seat that is opening up in 2016 with the retirement of Barbara Boxer.
1) He is popular in Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs. He could probably produce 200,000 to 300,000 votes in the area, which would probably be enough to get him past the jungle primary.
2) His popularity in Southern California, combined with his family and their combined pull in politics would make him a powerful counter-balance to Kamala Harris and her support in Northern California.
3) The 2016 election is an off-year for his Mayoral re-election campaign. At this point he faces no credible competition from the field for his job as Mayor in 2017.
4) He would be termed out of his job as Mayor in 2021. He could probably stay in the U.S. Senate for more than 20 years if he gets elected.
5) He has an intangible quality of likeability. Very few people hate him. He doesn't have a lot of enemies.
But, the main reason he should run? Republican voters!
If no Republican survives the jungle primary....(and at this point that is looking like a real possibility) then GOP voters are going to be looking for a sane, logical alternative to Kamala Harris.
6) For GOP voters, Eric Garcetti looks like Barry Goldwater if the other name on the ballot is Kamala Harris.
Trust me on this one. Garcetti should run.
