Deval Patrick enters 2020 Democratic presidential race

• The Atlantic reported earlier this week that Patrick may be planning to skip the Iowa caucuses altogether and to focus his efforts on New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The backdrop: Patrick served as Massachusetts' governor from 2007 to 2015. He's previously served in the Clinton administration as the U.S. assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. He is currently working at the private equity firm Bain Capital.

• In 2018, Patrick said he would not run in light of his wife's cancer diagnosis. She has since been given a clean bill of health.

Of note: Patrick has already missed the filing deadlines in both Alabama and Arkansas.

Go deeper:

• 2020 presidential election: Track the candidates
• Hillary Clinton won't rule out running in 2020
• How Deval Patrick's Bain Capital experience could play into 2020