With 24 Democratic candidates and 2 Republicans, plus any third party candidates worth considering, there’s currently an overload of politics being thrown at Americans. The rest of the 2019 political calendar for the United States includes debates, debates and more debates. Then, in February 2020, the primaries and caucuses begin. As candidates drop out, grain traction or stay out of the spotlight completely, there’s a lot to consider in the coming months. Let this be an exhaustive resource for everything there is to know about the 2020 presidential race.
Important Dates
There’s plenty of debates scheduled for 2019, so that means plenty of chances to learn about the wide pool of candidates. Two sets of debates already took place in June and July, but there’s more to come from the Democratic party. The next debate will be on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, taking place over two days to account for the large number of Democrats. There will be another Democratic debate each month until the end of the year, but there is no news on debates from the Republican party.
After the debates, the next big dates are the primaries and caucuses that will determine what candidates will end up on the ballot in November. In a primary, voters participate in a statewide voting process where they cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates. In a caucus, voters participate in local gatherings where they discuss with a small group which candidate to support, and from there, a delegate is sent to a nominating convention. Both practices determine which candidates continue to run, and the first set of primaries and caucuses are the most important.
The first caucus of the 2020 election will be in Iowa on Feb. 3, and the first primary will be in New Hampshire on Feb. 11. The first set of results will set the tone for the voting that will continue until June of next year with the last caucus on June 6 and the last primary on June 16. March 3 is an important part of this process, also known as Super Tuesday, because 14 states have primaries on the same day. Once each state and territory has held a primary or caucus, the pool of candidates will shrink and the race can continue to the next step.
The Democratic National Convention will take place from July 13-16, and the Republican National Convention will take place from Aug. 24-27. At these events, each party will select their nominee for President, culminating in more debates next fall between the final candidates. Ultimately, the most important date of the 2020 presidential race is that of the actual election, which is set to take place on Nov. 3, 2020.
Republican Candidates
The two Republican candidates are easily expected and yet surprising at the same time. Trump surprised everyone when he filed for reelection the same week as his inauguration, and Weld raised eyebrows with his campaign due to his history running for Vice President alongside
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in 2016. Either way, both men are vying for the Republican nomination. Here are the candidates and their main issues.
Donald Trump—Current President. Main issues include stricter immigration laws, renegotiating international deals and overturning more Obama policies.
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William Weld—Former governor of Massachusetts and former Justice Department official. Main issues include conservative economic reform, moderate immigration reform and legalization of marijuana.
Democratic Candidates
There’s no denying that the current President has some opponents. The amount of people
running for the Democratic nomination is a testament to the desire to end Trump’s time in office,
and that number continues to grow. One candidate was so zealous that he announced his run
back in 2017, and others are just now joining the race. Whether their fight is old or new, these
candidates all want to see a change in the nation’s capital. Here are the candidates and their
main issues.
Michael Bennet—Senator from Colorado. Main issues include an increase in infrastructure spending, comprehensive immigration reform and modernization of the economy through fields such as artificial intelligence.
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Joe Biden—Former Vice President and former senator from Delaware. Main issues include raising minimum wage, improving debt-relief programs for students and building on Obama administration policies.
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Cory Booker—Senator from New Jersey. Main issues include taxing the wealthy, criminal justice reform and instituting stricter gun laws.
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Steve Bullock—Governor of Montana. Main issues include prioritizing campaign finance reform, reducing economic inequality and instituting an assault weapons ban.
Pete Buttigieg—Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Main issues include progressive policies on climate change, economic opportunity and his unique identity in this race as a millennial.
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Julián Castro—Former housing secretary and former mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Main issues include medicare for all, immigration reform and universal preschool.
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Bill de Blasio—Mayor of New York City. Main issues include universal preschool, lower crime rates and economic reform.
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John Delaney—Former congressman from Maryland. Main issues include universal healthcare, gun reform and conservative immigration reform.
Tulsi Gabbard—Congresswoman from Hawaii. Main issues include removal of United States military intervention overseas, gun reform and support of the Green New Deal.
Kirsten Gillibrand—Senator from New York. Main issues include gender equality, immigration reform and healthcare reform.
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Kamala Harris—Senator from California. Main issues include civil rights, healthcare reform and a tax cut for middle class low-income Americans.
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Jay Inslee—Governor of Washington State. Main issues include avid support of the Green New Deal, raising the minimum wage and gun reform.
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Amy Klobuchar—Senator from Minnesota. Main issues include support of gun control, combating the opioid crisis and improving infrastructure plans.
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Wayne Messam—Mayor of Miramar, Florida. Main issues include canceling student debt, gun reform and building off of the Affordable Care Act.
Seth Moulton—Congressman from Massachusetts. Main issues include a new approach to national security, expansion of healthcare coverage and raising the minimum wage.
Beto O’Rourke—Former congressman from Texas. Main issues include immigration reform, legalization of marijuana and better access to healthcare in rural areas.
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Tim Ryan—Congressman from Ohio. Main issues include student debt-relief, refiguring trade deals and union rights.
Bernie Sanders—Senator from Vermont. Main issues include free college tuition, medicare for all and raising taxes on the wealthy.
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Joe Sestak—Former congressman from Pennsylvania. Main issues include gun reform, combating climate change and taxing the wealthy.
Tom Steyer—Hedge fund manager and political activist. Main issues include immigration reform, taxing the wealthy and gun reform.
Elizabeth Warren—Senator from Massachusetts. Main issues include income inequality, free college tuition and supports policies to combat climate change.
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Marianne Williamson—Self help author. Main issues include paying billions in reparations for slavery, raising the minimum wage and taxing the wealthy.
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Andrew Yang—Former tech executive and entrepreneur. Main issues include universal basic income, medicare for all and advances in the tech field.
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As anyone can see, there’s a lot to take in, regarding this election. From debates that have yet to happen, campaign events around the country and voting results starting early next year, American politics are on a nonstop track until next November. Use this guide to stay afloat in this ever growing sea of information.
Edited by Julissa Ramirez.