Former 2-term governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper (pictured) made it official on Monday. He announced that he is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. That makes 14 people running -- 13 Democrats and 1 Independent (since Bernie Sanders still refuses to join the Democratic Party).Hickenlooper has called himself an "extreme moderate". And in his announcement he said:
“I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done. I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver.”
So, the current total is 14, and that is without Joe Biden, Beto O'Rourke, and Michael Bloomberg -- all of whom are expected to enter the race soon. That would make 17, and it could even grow larger than that.
The first Democratic debate is scheduled for June of this year. To qualify, a candidate must show support in the polls or an ability to raise a significant amount of money. How many will qualify to participate? It will be interesting to see.
Here are the 14 candidates who have officially entered the race:
Senator Kamala Harris (D-California)
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts)
Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey)
Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-New York)
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)
Julian Castro (D-former HUD Secretary under Obama)
John Hickenlooper (D-former governor of Colorado)
Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Washington)
John Delaney (D- former Rep. from Maryland)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-South Bend, Indiana)
Andrew Yang (D-entrepreneur)
Marianne Williamson (D-author)
