Former President Obama and those close to him are reportedly encouraging former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick to run for president in 2020.

Former President Obama and those close to him are reportedly encouraging former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick to run for president in 2020. 
According to a recent Politico report, Obama, a close friend of Patrick, “counts him among the very small group of people whom he thinks has actual political talent—has privately encouraged him to think about it, among others.” 
Inner circle supporters are also said to include campaign strategist David Axelrod, adviser Valerie Jarrett, and David Simas, who has worked under both Obama and Patrick.
As one former White House source told Politico, “If you were to poll 100 notable Obama alumni, the only two people who would win that 2020 straw poll right now are [Joe] Biden and Patrick.” 
While the former vice president is often listed as a top contender in the next presidential race, Patrick appears to face a more uphill battle. 
In a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll from late December, more than half the Democrats and Independents who were surveyed had never heard of Patrick, but, of those who had, “10% would be excited; 15% against the idea.” (3,1,1)(3,5,1)
Meanwhile, a Business Insider list in May of 16 potential Democratic candidates included a range of people from politicians like Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren to entrepreneurs like Mark Cuban and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg but not Patrick. 
A recent op-ed in Slate also questioned the principle of having Patrick, currently a managing director at Bain Capital, representing Democrats when parts of the party have increasingly become skeptical of wealthy people in finance. 
In response to the speculation, Patrick said in a Politico podcast, “I’m trying to think about how to be helpful, because I care about the country, and I’m a patriot first. It’s way, way too soon to be making plans for 2020. So I’ll just leave it at that.”