Following the trail of candidates in the 2020 Dem race

As the 2020 election nears, Democratic voters have a great variety of issues and candidates to consider when making their decision about who they will select to campaign against Donald Trump.

Leaning further to the right on the political spectrum in the Democratic Party are the moderates: Vice President Joe Biden, Howard Schultz, Governor John Hickenlooper, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigeig, Congressman Tim Ryan, and Congressman John Delaney. Joe Biden seems to be the most popular of the faction as of yet. Trailing closely behind is 37 year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg. He is calling to repair damages of climate change and income inequality. Also, Senator Klobuchar of Minnesota has emphasized the necessity for the Democrats to appeal to the blue collar workers of small towns. Moreover, Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper looks to be the candidate to win back swing states. Former CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz will likely run as an independent because of his contempt for radical idealism.

The hope for these moderate Democrats is to flip swing state voters similarly to the 2018 midterms in districts like the Virginia’s 10th and Florida’s 26th by appealing to a coalition of white, women voters that President Trump was able to win in 2016.

“I look forward to seeing how democratic candidates will differentiate themselves from other candidates, and what the results will be, since I will able to vote in this election,” said senior Molly Solomon.

To the left of the moderate candidates stand the establishment liberals, the ideological base of the modern Democratic Party. The candidates comprising the more liberal ideological democratic wing include Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Beto O’Rourke, and Senator Julian Castro. Generally, being at the center of the Democratic Party, these candidates have name recognition, but topping the polls right now is currently the Senator from Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren. She has tried to appeal to the Democratic image of identity politics—political merit based on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Slightly behind Warren in popularity is first-term Senator from California, and the first black woman to run for President, Kamala Harris. In addition to Harris, Cory Booker joins her as one of the only black candidates. Booker is highlighting his criminal justice reform accomplishments with bipartisan legislation like the First-Step Act, while also threatening to fight back against the NRA.

We will pass universal background checks, we will ban assault weapons and close loopholes that allow people who never should have a gun to get one,” said Senator Booker.

The final Senator in this faction is Kirsten Gillibrand, current Senator from our great state of New York. Despite serving in the Senate since 2009, Gillibrand sits low in the early polls, as she tries to center her campaign around women’s rights and her support for the pro-choice movement. She sponsors legislation such as the Women’s Health Protection Act and the FAMILY Act. The two youngest of the liberal establishment faction running for President are former congressman Robert Francis O’Rourke (also known as Beto) and former housing secretary under Barack Obama, Julian Castro, both from Texas. O’Rourke has galvanized an active youth campaign, receiving social media buzz for his fiery speeches encouraging immigrant asylum, while Castro has had little attention, but calls for more dramatic measures, such as decriminalizing the act of illegally crossing the border.

The establishment liberal candidates are looking to reinvigorate the Democratic base by combatting the policies of the Trump administration on mainstream issues like gun control, abortion, immigration and healthcare.

The final faction of Democrats taking on President Trump in 2020 is the far left. These candidates subscribe themselves to ideology out of the mainstream, often pushing for increased government programs. Bernie Sanders, Jay Inslee, Eric Swalwell, and Andrew Yang make up this contingency within the Democratic nominees. The leader within the pack is none other than Senator Bernie Sanders. He believes that every American should have the right to a tuition-free public college, universal healthcare, and a living wage by disproportionately taxing the rich in order to level the playing field for the low-income earners. Sanders and other candidates like Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, have also supported the Green New Deal, proposed by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in order to combat climate change with increased government regulation. In addition to guarantees of a “family-sustaining wage,” tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang believes that every American should have a universal basic income of $1,000. Congressman Eric Swalwell from California has entered the race to promote not only the government regulation of the economy, but also the regulation of the Second Amendment.

These candidates of the modern far left are striving to increase their popularity among the traditional establishment base in order to unite their support with more radical movements.

This race is important as it will determine who will run against President Trump in the upcoming 2020 election.

“I’m excited for when I will be able to vote, so I can help with the important political decisions of the this country,” said freshmen Lucy Barr.

Can these three distinct factions unite to produce a victory to take down Donald Trump, or will it be a repeat of 2016, where Democrats will be asking what went wrong?