Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren made her campaign announcement in New Year’s Eve. This officially kicked off the race for the Democratic nomination a little more than a year before the Iowa caucus, when the first votes are set to be cast, in February 2020. Since then, 23 other candidates have stepped up by launching a campaign, from strong candidates like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to virtually unknowns like Wayne Messam. It’s clearly getting a bit crowded and most of them don’t have a real chance to be nominated. Still, people said the same thing about Donald Trump in 2015 and look where that got us. It’s therefore safe to say every candidate is worth taking a look at. Tuesday night will be the first time about half of these candidates will come face to face, and Wednesday, the other half will debate. Here’s the full list with some quick information on all of them.
Elizabeth Warren
@elizabethwarrenWarren is no moderate. She’s been after Wall Street and big corporations for ages, believing it’s possible to tame America’s economic system and still live in harmony. Like other progressive candidates, she holds that the economy is rigged and wishes to tackle the issue of income inequality.
John Delaney
@johndelaneyDelaney is the early bird, announcing his candidacy back in 2017. This former Maryland congressman has visited all 99 counties in Iowa, wishing to get ahead at the first state of the primary contest. His goal is to appeal to centrists, independents, and moderate Republicans by running on workers’ rights, education, and an infrastructure approach. He tried to pick a fight against Warren and Sanders on the second Democratic debate, and it did not turn at all well for him.
Julián Castro
@juliancastrotxBest known as the Obama Administration Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julián Castro was also mayor of San Antonio, Texas, where he grew up. Castro has launched a bold immigration proposal, a sensible antidote to Trump’s hateful rhetoric that deals with this issue the right way. He’s a central figure in getting the Latino vote and will surely play a major role in the years to come. Is this his moment?
Beto O’Rourke
O’Rourke became known nationwide when he challenged Ted Cruz as a senator for Texas. He has a message and a personality that has been Compared to Obama’s and has a different attitude towards immigration and the binational culture that develops along the border, where he grew up. Beto represents a generational change in the Democratic party which means he’ll be able to get a large part of the millennial vote, yet, he lacks experience and as time goes by the initial excitement seems to have faded away.
@betoorourke
Marianne Williamson
@mariannewillimsonWilliamson is an unlikely candidate and it’s unlikely that she’ll win. She’s a best selling self-help author and ran for US representative in 2014 for California. She supports causes like the HIV/AIDS community, poverty reduction, and female empowerment but so far has found little support. She has proposed to pay $10 billion every year in reparations for slavery, but is clearly not the pragmatic choice for voters. There’s a fat chance that her run will go anywhere.
Michael Bennet
@michaelbennetColorado senator Michael Bennet was appointed to his seat in 2009 after his predecessor went to work for the Obama administration, but he is best known nationwide for a viral video in which he grills Texas senator Ted Cruz for his involvement in the Trump government shutdown last January. When Cruz accused Democrats of keeping the shutdown, Bennet in turn accused him of shedding “crocodile tears” by reminding everyone how Cruz had pushed for a shutdown back in 2013, when Colorado was flooding. Bennet is very outspokenly anti-Trump, but so far hasn’t offered a detailed strategy, it seems complicated for him to be able to outshine some of the strongest, clearest, and more diverse candidates on this list.
Cory Booker
@corybookerHe’s the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, now US Senator who’s impassioned speeches contrast Trump’s rhetoric. As an active social media user, he’s gained nationwide fame. However, he has close ties to Wall Street that a more progressive Democratic party might reject. Booker was stunned by O’Rourke’s use of Spanish on the first debate in June, and then tried to match it… with mixed results.
Amy Klobuchar
@amyklobucharKlobuchar grilled Brett Kavanaugh when allegations of sexual misconduct were raised. She is a former corporate lawyer and is the first woman senator in Minnesota, an office she has won thrice. Her personality is also a sharp contrast to Trump, and her CV might appeal to the rust belt.
Jay Inslee
@jayinsleeThe Washington state governor is running on an environmental platform. The issue is gaining support among the American public, but there’s still plenty of climate deniers, so it’ll be an uphill battle for him.
Bill de Blasio
@billdeblasioWhen New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced his candidacy on Good Morning America last May 15, he found it hard to find supporters among the crowd. Yet, he can boast a progressive record as mayor as well as broad support nationwide, even if he has fierce opponents back home. His flip-flopping on some issues like the Amazon headquarters and marijuana legalization has drawn criticism, which makes his bid kind of a longshot.
Tulsi Gabbard
@tulsigabbardGabbard is a Hawaii congresswoman who fought in Iraq. She’s both the first Hindu and the first Samoan American elected to Congress. Her discourse focuses on war, peace, and the fight against what she has called “radical islam”. However, Gabbard controversially met with Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad and even sided with Vladimir Putin against President Obama on the US role in Syria, which is where criticism will come from.
Tim Ryan
@timryanamericaRyan has plenty of experience in Congress having been serving for eight terms. He even challenged Nancy Pelosi’s Democratic leadership, albeit unsuccessfully. Ryan could potentially attract white blue collar voters Democrats so desperately need, as well as moderates and centrists, but what about minorities?
Kirsten Gillibrand
@kirstengillibrandFormer corporate lawyer and New York congressional representative lead the fight against sexual assault for years, eventually nicknamed the “Me Too Senator” by calling out Trump’s sexism and senator Al Franken’s sexual misconduct. Gillibrand will run on proposals for the middle class. She’s also close to the establishment-style kind of politician. You could even call her the “Hillary” of 2020.
Kamala Harris
@kamalaharrisThe child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became a prosecutor in Oakland, California, the San Francisco district attorney, and finally California’s attorney general before winning her US Senate seat in California. Harris is similar to Obama in that she proposes a progressive agenda. However, she doesn’t seem to be going as far as Warren or Sanders, who actually propose structural changes to the economic system. In other words, she’s progressive, alright, but is she progressive enough?
Joe Biden
@joebidenA former vice president of the United States and a seven-term senator from Delaware, Biden is killing it at the polls with a 19 point difference between him and Sanders, the runner-up. Biden certainly has more experience than many of the candidates and is viewed a return to normalcy after this whole Trump extravaganzza. He’s affable, and popular among the working class, but he has been under fire for past mistakes that continue to hunt him. Not only has he been accused of sexual misconduct, but past political mistakes may hurt his chances of attracting a diverse millennial base. Biden is a mainstream, moderate white male Democrat and as Bill Maher put it: “isn’t many people’s first choice, but he’s a lot of people’s second choice”. Some questions remain: what if voters don’t want normalcy? What if Trump rocked the system for better and for good? That’s where Bernie Sanders comes in.
Bernie Sanders
@berniesandersIn 2016, self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders was a fringe long-shot, anti-establishment candidate— until he wasn’t. He became a powerful contrast to Trump’s popular but hateful rhetoric and though they agreed that the system was rigged, their visions couldn’t be more contrasting. What once was venom for any politician became the start of a major political revolution within the Democratic Party that ultimately lead to a strong shift towards the left. To many’s surprise, Socialism was well received among the American public and we have Sanders to thank. Without Bernie, we wouldn’t have Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, or Ilhan Omar; other progressives like Elizabeth Warren wouldn’t have been able to propose such bold measures if this shift hadn’t taken place. “Change from the bottom up” is Sanders’ proposal. Democrats don’t seem to have made up their mind on the best strategy to beat Trump, but the question the must answer is this: Is the best way to win the 2020 election a populist far-left rhetoric that will rally the working class against Trump rather than for him? Or will they choose a moderate with the risk of repeating the 2016 mistake called Hillary Clinton?
Andrew Yang
@andrewyang2020Andrew Yang has held no office before. He’s the son of Taiwanese immigrants and a former tech entrepreneur running on two points: universal basic income and protecting Americans from robots taking over their jobs. When it comes to long shots, Yang has the longest of them.
Eric Swalwell
@repswalwellEric Swalwell was one of the youngest people on the race. He is also not running anymore. One of his priorities was gun control as well as interest free federal college loans. But he lacked the resumé and the diverse base. The odds were definitely against him which is why he dropped out in early July, 2019.
Pete Buttigieg
@pete.buttigieg“Mayor Pete” as he is now nicknamed, became known for being the first openly gay mayor of the United States and did it in South Bend, Indiana, a strongly conservative and Republican stronghold. Buttigieg has been called the millennial candidate, but he seems to hold several cards as well: a progressive, Ivy League AND Oxbridge graduate, LGBT friendly, Christian, and a veteran, too. His profile could potentially attract coastal elites and midwesterners, but his youth might play against him.
John Hickenlooper
@johnhickenlooperHickenlooper is Colorado’s former mayor. In such a diverse pool of candidates, he might seem like a run-of-the-mill politician, but he believes that is exactly what America needs to beat Trump. Hickenlooper will appeal to centrists and moderates running on a personal story of reinvention after being laid off.
Wayne Messam
@waynemessamWayne Messam may be unknown but his story is not: he’s the son of a Jamaican immigrant and the first African-American to be elected mayor of Miramar, Florida. Messam believes his personal story is the epitome of the American Dream and his experience in office could be exemplary for what he can achieve countrywide. His platform includes curbing gun violence, cancelling student debt, fighting climate change, and rescinding Trump’s tax cut on corporations. However, his smaller profile and inexperience works against him.
Mike Gravel
@eric_kellyMike Gravel is 88 years old. He doesn’t think he’s going to win, and he doesn’t want to, either. He wants to debate centrists Democrat’s view of economy and just generally deliver blows to Democratic establishment. Though he has a fat chance of getting ahead, he’s by far one of the most interesting candidates of all, carrying a radical agenda that just might be what the country needs right now.
Seth Moulton
@sethmoultonMoulton is a Marine veteran and congressman from Massachusetts who has backed the Green New Deal, which is more than we can say for many of the candidates or any Democrat, for that matter. Moulton is also set on beating Trump, but failed to successfully challenge Pelosi’s leadership. What he’ll most have trouble with is standing out.
Steve Bullock
@governorbullockMontana’s governor and former state attorney general Steve Bullock is determined to campaign on finding common ground with conservatives and still pass progressive laws. He is set on fighting finance laws, which will surely attract people who are serious about tackling corporate money.
With last presidential elections, you would have thought Democrats would have avoided looking silly. You would be wrong. Many candidates on this list perhaps know they won’t win, but are looking to cash in on the exposure. Others may be fully committed to serving as presidents, while others represent opposing views. Some people think like one candidate or the other isn’t the question we should be asking. The question we should be asking is: which of these candidates has the best chance at beating Trump? Stay tuned.
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