The race for the 2020 presidential nomination of the Democratic Party has begun. There haven't been any "official" declarations, but three candidates have now made it clear they are running. The first two were Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro of Texas. Those two candidates didn't make waves, because (at least for now) most people don't consider them to have much of a chance.
But now the first heavyweight has tossed a hat in the ring. It is Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who announced she had formed an exploratory committee (which would allow her to start raising funds). She is a candidate that most people believe actually has a decent chance of winning the nomination.
I think we can expect more people declaring now. Others who want to run will not want Warren to line up too many voters and donors before they start fighting for their share.
You may think it's too early to be thinking about 2020. After all, it's a little more than a year before the first primaries/caucuses begin. But with a field of candidates that's expected to be large, a candidate needs all the time they can get to make themselves known to voters and to line up as many donors as possible.
The race has begun!