Four Key Updates On The 2020 Presidential Race
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In late March, 16 Democratic Party politicians and public figures had officially launched primary campaigns for the 2020 presidential election (as had one Republican). Now, in early May, six additional Democrats have announced primary campaigns. Here are four key updates on the many people who hope to replace Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.
Two high-polling Democratic candidates have formally announced their campaigns
Earlier this year, Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, formed an exploratory committee to determine whether he should run for president. Even before he formally announced his candidacy, polls showed that he would receive 11 percent of votes in a Democratic primary, behind solely Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Buttigieg formally launched his campaign on April 14th.
Nearly a month later, Buttigieg’s polling has slipped slightly, to 10 percent. In these polls, Biden has retained his strong lead with a whopping 38 percent. Biden had yet to announce his campaign or even an exploratory committee when the first polls were taken, but as of April 25th, the former Vice President is officially in the race. Despite Biden’s popularity among Democratic voters, many people believe he has much to apologize for before he can be considered a serious candidate.
Elizabeth Warren is making strides
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced her campaign on February 7th. In the time since, she has grown in popularity, now polling second among Democratic voters, even ahead of Bernie Sanders. Despite her second-place polling, her 12 percent of the potential vote pales in comparison to Biden’s 38 percent. However, in recent surveys of Democrats, 19 percent said Warren’s policy ideas are strongest among the candidates, and only slightly more respondents — 23 percent — said the same of Biden.
Five more Democrats have announced campaigns
Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH) announced his presidential campaign on April 4th. Ryan is best known for his work on the House Appropriations Committee, through which he made strides for women’s rights and provided federal aid to a crumbling fire department in his state.
Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska, announced his presidential campaign on April 8th. The famously anti-war candidate’s presidential run comes after three New York teenagers reached out and encouraged him to run. Gravel has given these teens oversight of his Twitter.
Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced his presidential campaign on April 8th. Swalwell is perhaps best known for his intense stances on gun control — as president, he would mandate a nationwide ban and buyback program on semi-automatic assault weapons.
Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) launched his presidential campaign on April 22nd. Moulton is best known for leading a group of House representatives in a failed attempt to remove Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) announced his presidential campaign on May 2nd. Bennet’s announcement makes him the seventh Senator running for president, although he may well be the senator least likely to clinch the nomination.
The first Democratic debates are June 26th and 27th
Since there are so many Democratic candidates, there will be two nights of primary debates. Some candidates might not qualify for the debates — as of late April, three candidates meet neither the polling nor the donor minimum to be invited to the debates. Although meeting only one of the two is required to qualify, only nine of the 22 Democratic candidates qualify for on both polling and donor numbers.
Who are you considering voting for in the Democratic primaries? Let us know in the comments!