Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick was scheduled to hold a campaign event at Morehouse College but cancelled it after only two people showed up.
Governor @DevalPatrick was supposed to have an event at Morehouse College tonight. An organizer with the college who planned the event told CNN that Patrick cancelled the event when he arrived and learned that he would not have an audience. (Note, two people came, not pictured) pic.twitter.com/CzNjWYcWKJ
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) November 21, 2019
Patrick only announced his candidacy for president last week, and while he was too late to qualify for the most recent debate, he was still able to qualify for the ballot in New Hampshire.
“When I was thinking about it many months ago, one of the questions was: How do you break through in a field this large and this talented without being a celebrity or sensationalist? And I’m none of those things,” Patrick said in an interview with CBS This Morning.
A recent poll released by Pew Research Center reported the sentiments of Democratic voters and unknowingly predicted Patrick's problem. With the poll results showing that more than 80% of Democratic and left-leaning voters were already “enthusiastic” or “satisfied” with the candidate choices they had before Patrick joined the race, it's no wonder his rally attendance was nonexistent.
In our most recent survey, 83% of Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters said they were at least satisfied with the 2020 Democratic field, with 45% describing themselves as enthusiastic. 8% were dissatisfied; 3% were upset. https://t.co/rPfaKFLjqL
— Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) October 23, 2019
To make matters worse for Patrick's campaign viability and lackluster attendance, Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg also hosted their own events at Morehouse that were able to draw much larger crowds.
Both Sanders and Buttigieg introduced funding proposals specifically for HBCUs at their respective stops on the campus.
“I know that Robert Smith did a very great service to some of the students here at Morehouse by paying for your student debt,” Sanders said, referring to the billionaire philanthropist’s pledge earlier this year, at his Morehouse rally. “That is enormously important and we appreciate so much his generosity, and that is exactly what we are going to do for every person who has student debt all over this country!”
Members of the campus organization, New Deal Democrats, told a campaign reporter for ABC News that they were given only given 24 hours’ notice for Patrick's event, and also reported that the event would be rescheduled for a later date.
