To date, we have eight people who say they are running for the 2020 Democratic Party nomination for president. They are:
Elizabeth Warren (U.S. Senator from Massachusetts)
Kamala Harris (U.S. Senator from California)
Kirsten Gillibrand (U.S. Senator from New York)
Julian Castro (Former HUD Secretary in Obama administration from Texas)
Tulsi Gabbard (U.S. House Rep. from Hawaii)
John Delaney (Former U.S. House Rep. from Maryland)
Richard Ojeda (Former State Senator from West Virginia)
Andrew Yang (Former tech executive who now heads an economic development nonprofit)
Are they all viable candidates? No. So far, only Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris have been able to get significant support in any polls. The others cannot seem to get more than 1%. Until they get more than 5%, I will have trouble considering them viable candidates. But they have time to build some support, with the first Democratic debate being about six months away.
There are three more people many expect to declare their candidacy soon -- Cory Booker (U.S. Senator from New Jersey), John Hickenlooper (Former governor of Colorado), and Beto O'Rourke (Former U.S. House Rep. from Texas).
And then there are the two 800 lb. gorillas of presidential politics -- Joe Biden (Former U.S. Senator from Delaware and former Vice-President) and Bernie Sanders (Independent U.S. Senator from Vermont). Neither has declared yet, but both would have significant support if they do decide to run.
Others are also considering a run. Political pundits have predicted a crowded field of candidates running for the Democratic nomination, and it looks like they were right. There will be at least a double-digit number of candidates. It should be interesting.
What will be the most important factor in the race? That's easy. The candidate who wins the nomination will be the one that Democrats think has the best chance to beat Donald Trump.
