Thoughts on Tulsi as someone who didn't vote for her.

Who am I?

I'm a suburban voter who supported Biden in the primary.

Why am I writing this?

While I was dismissive of candidate Gabbard during the primary, the events of COVID-19 has somewhat changed my mind about her. Particularly when she called the Trump administration to stop flights from Japan and South Korea on Mar 7th as they (along with Italy) were rapidly becoming the new epicenters. A good leader can see the danger ahead, and can make tough, though not the most popular decisions (South Korea and Japan are critical allies of the U.S.). After all, making quick decisions that can save lives is what we elected the president to do.

In contrast, a bad leader stumbles from one mistake to the next, and can't see dangers even though they are right in front of him.

Why should my voice matter?

I think a lot of Dem voters (me included) were just looking for a more stable leadership compared to Trump. We live in suburbs that swung heavily to Dems during the last house election because we don't like what Trump is doing. And, to be frank, we turned out heavily against Sanders because we believe he is too far left. Sander ran twice, and he lost twice. The country is not on board with his policy proposals. At least not yet. On the other hand, if I can see that Ms. Gabbard can become a good leader, so can others. We can be convinced to support Ms. Gabbard in the future.

Also, I did correctly predict that Ms. Gabbard would endorse Biden when much of this sub thought she would endorse Sanders.

How could Tulsi do better in the next presidential campaign?

I think it's been clear now that endorsements matter. Jim Clyburn's endorsement (along with a few others) snowballed into unstoppable momentum for Joe Biden. Unless demographics change drastically, it would be paramount for Tulsi to be on good terms with influential members in the party. And, yes, this would mean Tulsi has to do political favors for these politicians.

Also, while anti-war is a good message that a large portion of Americans (including me) agree with, it is not a winning issue. Because when voters head to the polls, war is probably 5th, or 6th issue on their mind. Making anti-war front and center won't win the election. This is the opposite of gun voters, who are very energized, and are largely, single-issue voters (that's why they are powerful).

What should Tulsi go from here?

If it's Ms. Gabbard's intention to seek presidency someday, then she should eventually build up a bigger national profile. A governor -> senator route could work, so could a cabinet position in Biden's administration to build up name-recognition, and eventually become a senator or some sort.

I wish Ms. Gabbard the best of luck in her future.