As of April 26, 2019, there are a total of 23 notable candidates officially running for the 2020 presidential election. There are 21 Democratic candidates and 2 Republican candidates up until this point. This election year is going to be very significant, and it’s so important that we the people are aware of who will likely be on our ballots come next November.
Joe Biden (D)
We all know him as our former Democratic vice president who served alongside former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. Now, Joe Biden is a presidential candidate who has challenged President Donald Trump in his campaign. Biden is currently endorsed by more than one U.S. Senator and the only 2020 Democratic candidate to have achieved that thus far. A big part of Biden’s vision is restoring the basic bargain for American workers, using military power responsibly and ending the dominance of big money in our democracy.
Cory Booker (D)
This current New Jersey senator is well known and loved by many Democrats for his positivity and compassion which feeds into optimism. Booker is 49 years old and has served as Senator for five years now. He is signed on as co-sponsor for Medicare for All as well as Green New Deal and also has a strong stance on reforming the criminal justice system, having already proposed a bill in a tweet from March.
Pete Buttigieg (D)
Often referred to as “Mayor Pete,” Buttigieg is a 37-year-old candidate who was born in and is currently mayor of South Bend, Indiana. If elected, he would be the first openly gay president in our nation’s history, as well as the youngest president ever. A few of his stances are concerns about student debt and he supports expanding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Buttigieg also thinks that climate change is a national security threat and supports the Paris climate agreement as well as the Green New Deal.
Julián Castro (D)
The former San Antonio mayor and the youngest cabinet secretary in the Obama administration, Castro is 44 years old and prides his campaign on immigrant roots and American dreams. Castro proposed Prek4SA and with it wants to expand universal pre-K to the entire country. In the education realm, he is also pursuing affordable college for the first two years.
John Delaney (D)
As a former House representative and a politician known for his bipartisan work, Delaney announced his intent to run over a year ago. Delaney proposed the Open Our Democracy Act as a congressman, legislation aimed at establishing Election Day as a federal holiday. This candidate supports providing universal pre-K and creating a universal health care system, but not Medicare for All.
Tulsi Gabbard (D)
This current congresswoman from Hawaii is an Iraq War veteran and one that supported Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primary. Gabbard supports Medicare for All but doesn’t want to eliminate private insurance, and also wants to get rid of tuition and fees at 4-year public colleges and universities.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
Gillibrand is a New York Democratic senator who is known for her positions on policies to protect sexual assault victims and her #MeToo advocacy. She introduced the FAMILY Act, which would create a national paid leave program for all American workers. Having sat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gillibrand also has vocalized her advocacy for strengthening America’s armed services, national security and military readiness.
Mike Gravel (D)
Mike Gravel is a former U.S. senator from Alaska, a marijuana industry executive and an anti-war activist. Gravel wants to create a social wealth fund to distribute taxes from financial transactions and IPOs through a yearly dividend to all American adults. Gravel prides his campaign on making waves for change in this election term and is sure to do just that, having pushed for anti-establishment and getting the United States out of foreign conflicts.
Kamala Harris (D)
A California Senator having served two years and a politician that has dominated the social media conversations, Harris has been in politics for 16 years and is the first senator of Jamaican or Indian ancestry. She has co-sponsored the Green New Deal and wants to reverse Trump’s 2017 tax cuts in order to pay for the LIFT Act, a working and middle-class tax cut. Harris has also planned to give the average teacher a $13,500 salary increase and has declared her support for federally legalizing marijuana.
John Hickenlooper (D)
A Colorado governor, Hickenlooper also served two terms as Denver mayor and highlights his success on his own reinvention by starting a brewery after being laid-off. As Governor, he expanded Medicaid, stood up to the NRA to pass landmark gun safety legislation, brought industry and environmentalists together to reduce methane emissions and established and built an expansive set of workforce development programs. This presidential candidate aims to cut red tape to reduce the cost of doing business and increase compliance with regulations.
Jay Inslee (D)
Inslee is a Washington state governor and a veteran Congress member who is pushing for privacy regulations for the tech industry and new technology in the maritime industry for efficiency. Governor Inslee received support from scientist Bill Nye in his introductory video, which highlights his strong stance on climate change.
Courtesy: NBC News
Amy Klobuchar (D)
Klobuchar is a former corporate lawyer, a Minnesota senator and a politician who has earned her respect from many far-left Democrats while questioning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Klobuchar has proposed new measures to make it easier for small and mid-sized U.S. businesses to export goods worldwide. Her website states that she’s running because of the opportunity that the nation can be governed by and those that are “willing to stand up and say that people matter.”
Wayne Messam (D)
A Florida State University graduate and the first African American mayor of Miramar introduces important issues that he is passionate about changing in his introduction video. These include senior citizens who can’t afford their medication, climate change and students with crippling student loan debts. Messam proposes canceling the U.S.’s $1.5 trillion in student debt and also wants to rescind Trump’s tax cut on corporations and the wealthy.
Seth Moulton (D)
A former Marine and current congressman from Massachusetts has promised to tackle patriotism back from Republicans, cut weapons programs that the U.S. doesn’t need, stop Russian cyber-hacking and restore America’s moral authority. Moulton is backing the Green New Deal as a genesis of new “green jobs” in America.
Beto O’Rourke (D)
O’Rourke is a 14-year politician who is recently well known for his 2018 campaign against U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. He announced his presidential bid with an upbeat video highlighting his multicultural background and his charisma. Last year during his Senate run, his economic proposals were focused on reducing inequality. His campaign website focuses on a ton of different issues including healthcare, education, equality, criminal justice reform, climate change, foreign policy and more.
Tim Ryan (D)
Having eight years in Congress under his belt, Ryan has been a vocal advocate of union labor, renewable energy and single-payer healthcare. His platform is based on wanting to revitalize American manufacturing, public education and support struggling U.S. veterans. Ryan has talked about being pro-business and pro-fracking and is hopeful to create jobs in electric vehicle manufacturing and other green industries.
Bernie Sanders (I)
Americans know Bernie Sanders as the Brooklyn-born, democratic, socialist that ran in the 2016 election with a strong stance on socialist issues. Sanders is now running for president with similar goals, hoping to make public college tuition-free, increase Social Security benefits and make corporate America more union-friendly. He also highlights fighting for women’s, disability and LGBTQ rights as well as empowering the people of Puerto Rico by repairing damages from natural disasters.
Eric Swalwell (D)
A representative from California’s 15th Congressional District, Swalwell’s policy proposals include a national and mandatory buyback of military-style semi-automatic assault weapons. He also proposes to have all Americans provided healthcare guarantee as well as creating a public investment in finding cures to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, ALS and cancer.
Donald Trump (R)
Our current President of the United States, Donald Trump, filed to run for re-election in 2020 in January of 2017 before he was sworn in for his first term. He has established his platform as keeping promises on issues such as economy and jobs, immigration, foreign policy and national security and defense. Trump’s 2020 campaign emphasizes the progress he has made in protecting the American homeland, promoting fair and reciprocal trade, and rebuilding our military.
Elizabeth Warren (D)
Warren is a U.S. senator from Massachusetts who gained a big-time following from Democrats when she spearheaded congressional oversight of the financial industry bailout. Her campaign promises to restore the U.S. to a place where people can succeed if they “work hard and play by the rules.” Warren proposes a “wealth tax” of 2% on citizens with a net worth of $50 million and 3% over $1 billion, which is designed to raise $2.75 trillion over a decade.
Bill Weld (R)
This former Massachusetts governor challenged President Donald Trump with his presidential bid announcement. He supports more liberal social issues and ran in 2016, but on the Libertarian presidential ticket. Weld supports the legalization of marijuana, domestic partnership rights, abortion rights as well as rejoining the Paris climate agreement.
Marianne Williamson (D)
Williamson is a best-selling author of 12 books on spirituality, a spiritual advisor to Oprah Winfrey and previously ran for U.S. Representative of California in 2014 as an independent. She is also an active supporter of the HIV/AIDS community, poverty reduction and female empowerment. Williamson proposes to pay $10 billion in slavery reparations every year for 10 years to the African American community. Some of her other stances include issues like criminal justice reform, food safety and supporting veterans.
Andrew Yang (D)
Yang began his presidential campaign in November of 2018 based on a strong passion of protecting Americans from job-stealing new technologies. One of his biggest ideas for the economy is to send a $1,000 monthly check to every American over 18 so they can pay their bills as these technologies increasingly become America’s new norm. Yang also supports Medicare for All and wants to move to a new form of capitalism, called Human Capitalism, that is geared towards maximizing human well-being and fulfillment.