A Guide to the 2020 Candidates if You Don’t Know Shit About Politics

OK, OK. We know there’s a ton of us out there who really want to get informed about today’s politics (and more specifically the 2020 candidates), but frankly, we’re college students and a lot of us are too busy to even breath, much less keep up with the constant chaos that is modern politics. So for the people who want to be able to sound intellectual while talking to their Maxwell friends, this one’s for you.

Democrats

Michael Bennet (D): Bennet is a Colorado Senator who has won reelection twice, and is a moderate with a background as the superintendent of Denver Public Schools. Bennet focuses on health care, election security, raising the minimum wage to $12/hour, supporting broad paid family and medical leave plans, and fixing student debt. He also called for modernizing the economy by stimulating fields such as artificial intelligence and increasing infrastructure spending. Also, you should watch the viral video of Bennet ranting to Ted Cruz during the government shutdown. Really, go watch it.

Joe Biden (D): Not only an SU Law School alum (Go Orange!), but former vice president and Delaware senator. Biden focuses on a populist economic agenda focused on income inequality and workers’ rights; but rather than just taxing the super-rich, Biden took a more moderate position, calling for “higher taxes on the rich and on investment income, along with more generous tax credits for the middle class”, according to the New York Times. He also emphasizes restoring America’s global stance and increasing economic protections for low- income workers.. However, his views on abortion have been inconsistent in the past, as well as some of his past stances on the 1994 crime bill and opposition to school busing during desegregation efforts in the ‘70s. Having experience as VP to Obama definitely placed Biden at the forefront of the democratic election, but previous policy stances, handsiness, and unstable performance in the first debate leaves areas of vulnerability for the candidate. (He’s also ran for president twice before with no luck.)

Cory Booker (D): Booker is a New Jersey Senator who was previously the mayor of Newark. He focuses on criminal justice reform, marijuana legalization, and Medicare for All. The social- media savvy ex-mayor’s aims to uplift and inspire voters. He also supports a government-run savings program named “baby bonds” to combat inequality.

Steve Bullock (D): Governor of Montana, Bullock says he will be able to win as a red-state Democrat and “get things done across the aisle”, according to The Atlantic. He focuses on campaign-finance reform. He emphasizes campaign finance reform, and reducing economic inequality.

Pete Buttigieg (D): The openly gay, millennial, Afghanistan veteran mayor of South Bend, Indiana has garnered a lot of popularity in the previous months. Mayor Pete appeals to many millenials, and the New York Times notes his “Obamaesque demeanor”, emphasizing climate change and economic opportunity. He wants to reach midwestern voters who left the Democratic party in the 2016 election.

Julián Castro (D): Castro was the mayor of San Antonio, and also served as secretary of housing and urban development under Obama from 2014-2017. He emphasizes his Hispanic-immigrant roots and has been labeled as the next big thing in Democratic politics. He focuses on overhauling the immigration system and educational policies like universal pre-kindergarten

John Delaney (D): Delaney is a former four-term congressman from Maryland, who presents himself as a centrist problem-solver. Whether he’ll be able to stand out in the upcoming months is unclear. Delaney focuses on a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, antitrust policies, universal healthcare, and a national AI strategy.

Tulsi Gabbard (D): Gabbard has represented Hawaii in the House of Representatives since 2013. Gabbard, who previously served in Iraq, says her central issue is “war and peace”, which the New York Times relabelled as a noninterventionist foreign policy.

Kamala Harris (D): Harris was a former district attorney and state attorney general, and is known for grilling Trump administration officials. Harris is trying to appeal to a wide-range of Democratic voters, and has put up impressive fundraising numbers and put up a strong performance in the first debate. She supported middle-class tax cut legislation, and is a very big advocate for liberal civil rights.

Amy Klobuchar (D): As a senator from Minnesota, Klobuchar looks to win back Democratic voters in the midwest that she says have been forgotten in past elections. The Atlantic describes her as “progressive, but not aggressively so” who may have widespread appeal. Her exchanges with Justice Brett Kavanaugh garnered a lot of attention, and has focused on combating the opioid addiction.

Wayne Messam (D): The young Floridian mayor utilizes a lot of rhetoric about the fading American dream. He is a son of immigrants, and his platform focuses on education costs and gun control.

Beto O’Rourke (D): The former three-term congressman from El Paso was virtually unknown before his failed campaign Senator Ted Cruz for Cruz’s Senate seat. After the El Paso shooting, he changed his strategy and focused heavily on gun control. Whether he gains more momentum in the upcoming months is unclear. He focuses on immigration reform, marijuana legalization and rural hospital access.

Tim Ryan (D): Ryan is a part of the House of Representatives, and is not afraid to criticize Democratic leadership. Ryan’s platform is concentrated on labor and the fate of manufacturing, including trade deals, unions rights, and workforce development.

Bernie Sanders (I): Sanders hit the political world as well as social media by storm, and the democratic socialist direct his campaign at redistributing wealth, combating inequality and expanding the social safety net.

Joe Sestak (D): Sestak won a swing congressional seat in the 2006 Democratic wave election, but many officials have written off Sestak as he tried and failed twice to win Senate spot. Sestak focuses on American foreign policy and the military, as he was a former vice admiral.

Tom Steyer (D): A retired hedge-funder from California, Steyer dedicated much of his money into political advocacy for climate change. He is the founder of Need to Impeach, which promotes efforts against Trump’s impeachment, and has been using this foundation to force his opponents to publicize their stances on Trump’s impeachment.

Elizabeth Warren (D): Warren was a senator from Massachusetts since 2013, was previously a Harvard Law School professor helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and wrote a book on middle-class incomes, according to the New York Times. Her campaign revolves around inequality, and proposed an ultra-millionaire tax on those worth over $50 million, as well as an overhaul on housing policies.

Marianne Williamson (D): Inspirational author and speaker Williamson dedicates her presidential campaign “to this search of higher wisdom”. She focuses on the moral direction of the country and repairing democratic foundations and values. She proposed $100 billion in reparations for slavery and money funded toward economic and educational projects.

Andrew Yang (D): Yang is an entrepreneur who created Manhattan Prep, a test-preparation company, and venture for America, who helps advance start-up companies. He is best known for his idea of universal basic income, which would give $1,000 a month to every American adult.

Republicans

Donald Trump (R): Trump is going for his second term in the 2020 election, and despite low approval ratings overall, he remains very popular with Republicans. His platform revolves around immigration, building the wall renegotiating international deals and withdrawing American troops from overseas.

Mark Sanford (R): Sanford was governor of South Carolina between 2003 and 2011, as well as a US representative. An outspoken critic of Trump, the fiscal conservative looks to reform the Republican party and fix the nation’s debt. He admits he can’t win the nomination, but says that his message and its idea are more important than the nomination itself.

Bill Weld (R): Former Justice Department Official, former Massachusetts governor, and 2016’s Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, Weld also criticizes Trump for being “unstable”. While not very popular in general nor with the GOP, his logo is really amazing. Weld favors fiscal restraint, free trade and moderate immigration reform.

Joe Walsh (R): The Tea Party congressman from Illinois has repeatedly attacked Trump even though he used to back him. Walsh now says Trump is “insufficiently conservative and too deferential to Russia”, according to the New York Times. While it’s unlikely he will win the nomination, he wants to reduce the national debt, restrict executive power, and defeat Trump.