By Amanda Leonard || Staff Writer
With the 2020 United States presidential election season slightly over a year-and-a-half away, many individuals have announced their intentions to enter the race—or at least made it known that they are considering entry—in the last several weeks.
There have been four official campaign announcements from members of the Democratic party by individuals that have previously held public office. Representative John Delaney of Maryland became the first to do so in July 2017 with an op-ed in the Washington Post. The remaining three: former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and Senator Kamala Harris of California made their official announcements this month.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who was placed on a short list to be Clinton’s running mate in 2016, announced her formation of an exploratory committee to run for president on New Years Eve of last year. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced their own exploratory committee formations earlier this month.
Other declared candidates for the Democratic party include artist Michael E. Arth, conservation scientist Harry Braun, and Venture for America founder Andrew Yang. Former West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda became the first 2020 Democrat to drop out of the presidential race on January 25th.
Exhaustive lists of potential Democratic nominees have been circulating around, and high-profile names such as former Vice President Joe Biden and 2016 Democratic nominee runner-up Bernie Sanders, and Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas are no exception. The New York Times listed Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper as “All But Certain” contenders.
President Donald Trump is currently the only confirmed candidate for president from the Republican Party. His January 26th tweet informed that the Republican National Committee had “voted UNANIMOUSLY yesterday to support [him] the upcoming election, and that re-election “should be easy.” This move was likely an attempt for the Republican Party to deter away potential Trump challengers, amidst the recent and lengthy government shutdown and developments in the Mueller investigation.
Individuals that have recently expressed interest in entering the Republican Party race include Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, and Governor John Kasich of Ohio. CNN reported that Hogan’s name “came up repeatedly — and unprompted — in conversations with committee members and operatives” during the recent Republican National Convention meeting in New Mexico.
Amanda Leonard is a Staff Writer. Her email is aleonar1@fandm.edu