With the 2020 election approaching, one question is present in the mind of voters: who will be the Democratic nominee?
At the time of this article’s writing, one of the most speculated possibilities is Joe Biden.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is obviously considering running; Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Obama’s former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro have announced their plans to run, and Maryland Representative John Delaney announced his campaign back in 2017.
There is some speculation that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will run again, though this is not as certain, and neither have officially declared anything. So what does this all mean for Democrats? Are any of these prospects good? Can they beat Trump?
First and foremost, I want to start with a warning to people who think Trump will utterly demolish any competition: that’s exactly what people thought about Trump vs Hillary.
Hillary was seen as a shoo-in and had mainstream media, Hollywood celebrities, many Democratic politicians, roughly $1 billion from her campaign and affiliates, and she still lost.
Come 2020, Trump will have his avid supporters, partisan Republican support, and the advantage of being the current president. Despite the president’s major wins and talk of how his supporters will get tired of winning, 2016 proves that nothing is ever a given.
That said, two of the most noteworthy names, Biden and Warren, are terrible picks for the nominee. Joe Biden carries the baggage of the Obama administration, and Elizabeth Warren has become a living meme after her Native American claims, DNA test and her Instagram Live video.
Delaney, Gabbard and Castro do not have as much baggage, but also not as much name recognition—though that may not be a bad thing.
And then there’s the issue of what the Democratic National Committee will do. It’s proven that they stabbed Sanders in the back in order to make Clinton the nominee. Will they learn from their past mistakes, or will they steal the nomination in favor of an establishment candidate? If they do, this will probably hurt them just as it did in 2016, with disenfranchised voters going to support other candidates in protest.
There’s still a while before the 2020 election, and there are no doubt many more politicians who will announce a run on both sides in the year to come. However, none of the current declared and likely candidates bode well for the Democrats.
If they wish to have a chance at retaking the presidency, they need a candidate who is truly in touch with lower and middle-class Americans, who doesn’t have a whole repertoire of bad history and baggage, and actually allow the candidate to have a fair run.
