At the Politico/AARP event in Los Angeles last week, some time was spent on speculating if a Californian might be successful capturing the White House in 2020. While a handful of Californians are considering a run, getting the most attention from the political experts were Kamala Harris and, yes, Jerry Brown.

California Republican Party chairman Jim Brulte acknowledged that Harris was the candidate he worried about. “She is intelligent, she is articulate and she is very personable,” Brulte said. He also said, strategically she was not making the mistake of over-exposing herself on television cable shows while building a campaign infrastructure.

“I actually think she could be a real threat to any Democrat running for president,” Brulte said.

The Republican chairman dismissed Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti as someone who could not make the leap from the mayor’s office to the White House, noting that a Los Angeles mayor has never even been elected governor of California.

However, there is a scenario in which Garcetti could undermine a Harris campaign.

California has an early presidential primary scheduled for March of 2020—early enough that a large field of Democratic candidates may still be alive in the contest. If both Garcetti and Harris are active at the time, and Garcetti draws a strong vote from Southern California, it is possible that Harris might not be able to capture the primary in her home state. That could be a blow to her ambitions.

At the Politico/AARP event, Lt. Gov. and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom dismissed the idea of running for president if he is successful in the governor’s race. However, he made it clear that if Jerry Brown were two to three years younger he would be a prime candidate for president based on his record in California. Newsom even suggested that Brown could be a compromise candidate—just “a phone call away” according to Newsom in a close, locked convention.

The idea of a Brown candidacy for president is not outlandish. There have been political leaders older than Brown, 82 at the next presidential election, who have lead their countries.

Brown has the political chops to connect with the now diverging wings of the Democratic Party. His age shouldn’t be a problem for the Democrats who argue for young blood in party leadership for many of those activists are behind septuagenarian Bernie Sanders.

Brown would also have the advantage, according to Newsom, of having the ability to get under Donald Trump’s skin.

Sure, Brown will have to put up the shields against attacks from liberal quarters that don’t like his position on fracking or certain budget positions but he has been able to withstand those attacks in California.

And there is a clear temptation for Brown if he were elected president—overcoming the naysayers and seeing to it that there are more federal funds for his high-speed rail.

The big question for Brown is would he want to take on the grueling effort of a presidential campaign? He ‘d probably prefer to follow Newsom’s suggested strategy of sitting by the phone and waiting for that call.