Breakdown of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates
With the vast number of Democrats who have announced their campaign for President, it can be hard to keep track. Angela Tessitore breaks down each candidate’s platform.
The current political landscape in America is taking on a striking similarity to the 2016 presidential election when 16 Republicans were running for president. The roles are now reversed with 19 Democrats running for president in 2020, and possibly more entering the race with Joe Biden’s expected presidential announcement this week. Here is every Democratic candidate running in 2020 so far.
Kamala Harris
Harris is a current junior senator from California. She previously served as the attorney general of California. Harris aims to focus on helping the American people through universal health care, college loan reform, and tax cuts for middle class families. Her launch speech also touched on criminal justice reform and criticism of the Trump administration’s policies on asylum seekers.
Bernie Sanders
Sanders supports the Green New Deal, which aims to prevent climate change and stimulate the economy through investment in sustainable energy. Sanders also wants to implement tuition free college, universal healthcare, and a full-employment economy similar to Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Elizabeth Warren
Warren is a senior senator from Massachusetts and has served as a special advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created after the 2008 financial crisis. Warren wants to end corruption in Washington by regulating actions of lobbyists. Another focus is rebuilding the middle class by taxing the rich to fund universal childcare and healthcare.
Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg is the first openly gay mayor of South Bend Indiana. Buttigieg stimulated South Bend’s job growth through investment in technology and data industries. His experience as a millennial mayor appeals to young voters and his ability to thrive in the current technology centered job sphere could win over former Trump supporters.
Julián Castro
Castro was the mayor of San Antonio Texas from 2009 until 2014. He then joined Obama’s cabinet, serving as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development until 2017. Castro’s People First Immigration Policy includes establishing a road map for undocumented immigrants and Dreamers to earn citizenship while they work in American communities.
Beto O’rourke
He served in the El Paso city council until 2011, and then moved to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012. In the first 24 hours of O’rourke’s campaign announcement, 6.1 million dollars was raised through online donations. That amount is more than any other 2020 Democratic candidate, showing the strength of O’rourke’s grassroots campaign.
Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a senior senator from Minnesota with desires to reform bipartisan issues such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. She is less focused on far left policies like universal healthcare and college loan reform. Klobuchar is hoping the moderate strategy of reaching across both sides of the political spectrum will gain key votes from former Trump supporters.
Andrew Yang
Yang is an entrepreneur and philanthropist from New York. He is focused on guiding the nation through new technological changes like artificial intelligence and robots, which have strained American jobs. His first priority is to establish Universal Basic Income, which will give 1,000 dollars to every American over 18 years of age. This system will prevent an unprecedented unemployment crisis caused by new technology taking American jobs.
Cory Booker
Booker is a junior senator from New Jersey and former mayor of Newark. He revitalized Newark’s failing economy and decreased crime rates. In 2018, Booker helped to enact the First Step Act, which decreases recidivism through prison and sentencing reform. Booker’s focus is creating an equal opportunity economy by supporting programs that will end racial and social divides among Americans.
John Delaney
Delaney is a State Representative from Maryland and was the first Democrat to announce his bid for the 2020 election. Delaney co- founded two companies and hopes that his experience as a successful entrepreneur will catch the eye of Americans.
Tulsi Gabbard
Gabbard is a congresswoman for Hawaii’s 2nd district and a major in Hawaii’s National Guard. Part of her vision is to to reform gun laws by banning military style assault weapons, end the war in Syria, and fight climate change.
Kirsten Gillibrand
Gillibrand is a junior senator from New York and is known for her anti-Trump sentiment. She prioritizes the rights of women and families through her support of reproductive rights, paid maternity leave, affordable childcare, and $15 minimum wage.
John Hickenlooper
Hickenlooper was the former mayor of Denver and governor of Colorado. He was rated one of the five best big city mayors by Time Magazine. Under his leadership as governor, Colorado jumped from low job opportunities to the number one economy in the country.
Jay Inslee
Inslee is the current governor of Washington, which is a national leader in clean energy usage. He prioritizes the fight against climate change through investment in sustainable energy that will create jobs.
Seth Moulton
Moulton is a state representative from the 6th District of Massachusetts. As as Iraq war veteran, national security is a main priority. He aims to builds relationships with other nations to counter the threat from China and Russia.
Tim Ryan
Ryan is a representative from Ohio’s 13th district, a region that has been affected by the loss of manufacturing jobs. He is using his role as a public figure of Ohio to gain support from people who are struggling in the current economy.
Eric Swalwell
Swalwell is a 38 year old representative from California’s 15th Congressional District. He founded Future Forum, which is a group of young Democrats that focus on issues important to millennials such as climate change, college loan debt, and home ownership. His young age and liberal policies may appeal to young voters.
Marianne Williamson
Williamson is an activist, author, and founder of Project Angel Food that delivers food to people with AIDS and other diseases. She ran for Congress in Los Angeles in 2014, but did not win.
Wayne Messam
Messam is the mayor of Miramar Florida, a city with a fast growing economy. He is mostly unknown outside of southern Florida and is falling behind in campaign funds.
https://www.julianforthefuture.com/
https://corybooker.com/meet-cory/
https://www.johndelaney.com/about/
https://kirstengillibrand.com/
https://timryanforamerica.com/