Now that we have officially passed the midterms, the 2020 presidential election is on the horizon.  Since President Trump will be the incumbent, only the Democrats and third parties will be holding primary elections.  It seems with every election, the campaigns are beginning sooner and sooner, and it seems that trend will continue with this election.  This effect will most likely be exacerbated because regardless of your own politics, the Trump administration has been plagued by scandals and investigations.  Even before the election, there was pushback against James Comey’s announcement of the reopening of the investigation into Hillary Clinton because many cited that as the nail in her campaign’s coffin.  Then there was the issue of the popular vote. In short, the Trump administration has been rife with controversy from the beginning. It only follows that many Democrats have been itching for their chance to challenge President Trump and replace him in office.  This has so far proven to be true as a cascade of Democrats have announced their candidacy or hinted at it. I would like to take this post to look at who has announced candidacy, who might, and how they all differ.

 

Confirmed Candidates:

 

1) Elizabeth Warren

 

Elizabeth Warren is 69 year old Massachusetts senator.  Before being a Senator, she was a schoolteacher and law professor.  She represents a fairly progressive liberal and intends to build her campaign on income inequality and economic disparities.  Response to Warren’s announcement has been loud because polls have shown her to have low favorability ratings and because conservatives including President Trump himself have attacked her in the past.  The Atlantic offers a different interpretation of this pushback, but I’ll let you read about that from them.  Many are citing her controversial claims of Native American heritage which she tried to substantiate with a DNA test as being one of her major obstacles to winning over mainstream Democratic approval.  However, as a well-known and progressive Democrat, she stands as a strong candidate to run against Trump in 2020.

 

 

2) Julian Castro

Julian Castro is a 44 year old prior Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2014-2017).  He stands at opposition to President Trump’s anti-immigration policies as a 2nd generation American immigrant.  He stands at an interesting cross-section of socio-economic background, being raised by a single mother, while also having attended Stanford and Harvard.  Castro’s best chance of winning the nomination is to continue riding pushback to Trump’s controversial immigration policies. I would personally be surprised if a man with the last name Castro were able to overcome the stigma of that name in America and win DNC backing.  Read more about his platform on his campaign website here.

 

3) Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand is a 52 year old senator from New York.  She is a former lawyer and much of her work in Congress has been related to combating sexual assault, especially in the military and at colleges.  Her main contingent is going to be strongly feminist Democrats who see sexual equality as a top concern for the upcoming election. A big concern for Gillibrand, and many of the other female candidates, must be to separate herself from the shadow of Hillary Clinton.  If she really wants a solid chance at winning, she needs to advertise a platform where she represents more than just a woman for president. This New York Times page compiles their reporting on Gillibrand.  

 

4) Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is a 54 year old California senator.  She formerly served as the state District Attorney. As the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, she can ride the same wave as Castro.  She has become a more well-known Democrat since Trump’s election because she is one of the most outspoken Trump opponents, attacking him and challenging his nominations.  She serves on several key Congressional committees including the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Governmental Affairs Committee. Harris has a history of strong liberal legislation as a congresswoman and a liberal agenda as District Attorney.  She has fought for higher minimum wages, tax cuts for the middle class, and correcting high rent. As an attorney she fought to get money for Californians who were in foreclosure after the Great Recession, defended consumers against big companies, attacked predatory for-profit colleges, and worked against big polluters.  Harris seems to fit in a nice position to represent a wide swath of Democrats and in my eyes has a good chance at a Democratic nomination. Here is her campaign website.

 

Other announced candidates include: West Virginia state senator Richard Ojeda, businessman Andrew Yang, Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and former Maryland congressman John Delaney.

 

The list will surely not stop there.  More and more Democrats seem to be throwing their hats in the ring.  For a substantial list of potential runners, check out this amazing article from the Guardian, where a lot of the information for this post was obtained.  Some strong contenders listed in the article who have not announced yet include Joe Biden, Cory Booker, and Beto O’Rourke.  Oh and I can’t forget to include the everpresent Bernie Sanders, who I’m not sure will ever give up on being president.

 

So if you’re a registered Democrat, I encourage you to really look into all these people and keep up with your favorite because there will be no shortage of choices and you want to be informed going into the primary polls.  If you’re not a democrat, definitely look at some of the top contenders. These are the people potentially running against President Trump in 2020. I’m not a huge fan of the party system, so I would encourage you to at least get familiar with those candidates across the aisle; you never know, you might agree on more than you expect.