The countdown until the Presidential Election has begun! Yes folks, it’s only January of 2019, but we have plenty of people already throwing their hats into the ring to run against incumbent President Trump in the 2020 election. Currently, there are eight people running for the Democratic party with only Donald Trump running as a Republican. He still is eligible for another term as president, so it would be breaking with tradition for a Republican to run against him, but tradition has recently been thrown out the window.
The eight Democrats who have announced their presidential campaigns are Pete Buttgieg, Julián Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang. Kamala Harris is the latest newcomer to the Democrats’ bid for the White House, and she rounds out a truly diverse group. Gabbard, Gillibrand, Harris and Warren have already received a lot of political coverage for their campaigns having been high-profile politicians and strong Democrats in the Trump administration era and previously, but Buttgieg, Fidel, Delaney and Yang in comparison, are political unknowns.
Pete Buttgieg would not only be the youngest president ever if he won at age 37 (JFK, current record holder for youngest president, was 43 years old when he was inaugurated), he’d also be the first openly gay one. Buttgieg, military veteran and mayor South Bend, Indiana, says that he is not running on the basis of his sexuality but he is “mindful of the fact that this just might make it a little easier for the next person who comes along.” Buttgieg’s claim to fame is turning the city of South Bend around, a Rust Belt city hit hard by the closing of the Studebaker car plant. Buttgieg doesn’t have the same recognizability as Harris or Warren, but he believes that “it’s time for a new generation in American leadership.”
Another mayor running for President is Julián Castro. Castro was the mayor of San Antonio and also was Obama’s Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Castro is another young candidate at age 44, and he is of Mexican descent. Castro’s main policy points include universal Pre-K, “Medicare for all” and immigration reform.
John Delaney is comparatively unknown to everyone else on this list. Delaney is a former representative of Maryland who has been in the running since 2017. He is already prepping for the Iowa Caucuses. The Iowa Caucuses are essentially a poll of whom will be the president of the United States, according to Iowans, and they are a big deal. Candidates who do poorly in Iowa often drop out, and the Iowa Caucuses can predict the future president. Delaney is getting a jumpstart by having visited every single county in Iowa. Beyond his travel plans, Delaney plans to support universal healthcare.
Andrew Yang is a 44-year-old entrepreneur who was named Global Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship in 2015 by the Obama administration. His biggest campaign promise has recently generated a lot of buzz for being rather unusual as compared to the standard campaign promises of healthcare, environmental justice, law and order, etc. Yang is vehement supporter of Universal Basic Income payment, a concept known as UBI. Essentially, everyone 18-64 years old would receive a monthly check of $1,000, with no requirements as to what to do with the money. He states that, “The most direct and concrete way for the government to improve your life is to send you a check for $1,000 every month and let you spend it in whatever manner will benefit you the most.”
In theory, a UBI of $12,000 a year would take people out of poverty and grow the economy while still encouraging work and entrepreneurship. Yang believes a UBI is necessary because of the ongoing automation of low-paying, low-qualification jobs. Yang claims that this can be funded by taxing companies that are producing and benefiting from the automation of jobs and this tax could produce hundreds of billions of dollars. While this idea seems radical, it’s been done in Alaska since 1982 to share with permanent residents the state’s oil wealth. Perhaps the allure of free money will be what unites the country.
The 2020 presidential race is still young, so all this information can (and will!) change rapidly. I will be writing articles on everyone who runs for president, so if you enjoyed this article please check back next week for my coverage of Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren’s campaigns and for future articles about anyone else who formally announces their candidacy.