20 Democrats who are likely to run in 2020

12. Eric Garcetti

Right now, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is pretty busy, considering the ongoing devastation of the California wildfires and the flood of evacuees moving into and through his city. But when the fires are brought under control and the aftermath is addressed, it may become clear that Garcetti has his eye on a higher office.

While identity politics aren’t necessarily what a candidate needs to become a successful president, the truth is that a noteworthy (or newsworthy) background could be what someone needs to pull ahead in a crowded field. And, if all of the people traveling to Iowa and other battleground states are any indicator, it’s going to be crowded indeed.

Garcetti, for what it’s worth, is the descendant of Mexican and Italian immigrants, including some Jewish family members. He’s the leader of a vast city full of a similarly wide-ranging and diverse set of communities and citizens. He’s got the middle America upbringing with the academic cred (like a Rhodes scholarship) that made people interested in Barack Obama. His family’s more blue-collar past could be useful, given that a fair number of voters might perceive Los Angeles and, by extension, its mayor to be so much a part of the “elite” that he isn’t worth consideration.

Between his story and his progressive politics, will Garcetti grab attention like Obama did in the early 2000s? It’s hard to tell. So far, no one has ever made the jump directly from the mayorship of a city to the presidency. Then again, Los Angeles is one of the nation’s largest and most visible cities. If any mayor nationwide were going to make the list, Garcetti could more easily be one of them.