Jay Doherty

Even though the 2020 Presidential Election is well over 500 days away, there are already over 20 candidates who’ve announced their candidacy to hold the highest office in the land.

It is fair to say that this election has never been more diverse in terms of gender, backgrounds, and careers. Currently, there are more than 10 current or former members of Congress running for President. Local politics is playing a large role in this election as there are two mayors and two governors running to hold the office. Just like last election season, there is only one businessman running for President, except this time he, like all of the others below is a democrat.

Regardless of who wins in 2020, the leadership of this country certainly impacts everyone, including the Latin community. Read below to learn everyone running for President of The United States in 2020:

The Candidates (in alphabetical order)

Joe Biden

76 Years Old – Former Vice President, Former Senator from Delaware

Former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. announced his candidacy for President of The United States on April 25, 2019. In his announcement video , Biden says we are “in the battle for the soul of this nation”. The former Vice President also remarks that if “we give Donald Trump eight years in The White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation”. Having worked in The White House for eight years, Biden is viewed as legitimate opposition to President Trump.

Biden has run for President twice, making 2020 his third bid for the highest office in the land. The Former Senator from Delaware ran once in 1988 and once more against his former boss and President Barack Obama.

Cory Booker

49 Years Old – New Jersey Senator

Senator Cory Anthony Booker is the 11th democrat to announce his candidacy for office. Serving in congress since 2013, Booker has established a reputation for voting progressively. This record reflects, among many things, his advocacy for social justice and push for reform within federal prisons and crime overall.

Booker has never run for president, although he has held elected office before. Mr. Booker served two terms as mayor of Newark (NJ).

Pete Buttigieg

37 Years Old – South Bend, Indiana Mayor

South Bend Indiana Mayor Peter Paul Montgomery announced his presidential candidacy over a video embedded in an email sent to potential donors and voters. His age, 37, makes him just two years above the requirement to run for the presidency, although he is using his youthfulness as an asset for new ideas; not a liability for attacks regarding lack of experience.

Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate in the race, and also the youngest to ever to run for president. These two things both open Mr. Buttigieg to a whole new demographic, and he hopes to capitalize/campaign on this reality. Buttigieg attended Harvard and continues to serve on The Institute of Politics.

When asked about the politician, freshman Colin Dwyer says “while it is a hope, I think Pete Buttigieg has a good chance of winning the democratic nomination at least, and I think that a level-headed politician like Pete can defeat a fiery rhetoric of President Trump.”

Julián Castro

44 Years Old – Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Julian Castro announced his candidacy for President of The United States in early January to a crowd of supporters in his hometown and former place of work: San Antonio. Castro served five years as the mayor of San Antonio before being nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He has since been replaced by 2016 presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, who has taken over as the head of HUD.

John Delaney

55 Years Old – Former Congressman from Maryland

John Kevin Delaney announced his candidacy in a Washington Post op-ed where he proclaimed “The American people are far greater than the sum of our political parties. It is time for us to rise above our broken politics and renew the spirit that enabled us to achieve the seemingly impossible. This is why I am running for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.”

Tulsi Gabbard

37 Years Old – Congresswoman from Hawaii

Tulsi Gabbard announced her candidacy for president of The United States on January 11, 2019. As the first Hindu member of Congress, Ms. Gabbard has been in politics for 17 years; a pretty long time considering her age of 37. Gabbard has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, and other high-level country leaders. In addition, Ms. Gabbard is a military veteran who possesses strong views against regime change.

When asked about the race as a whole, but with a focus on foreign policy, Latin student Kazi Stanton-Thomas said simply: “All I could possibly say is that Trump should have a hard time being re-elected and I hope he isn’t.”

Kirsten Gillibrand

52 Years Old – United States Senator from New York

Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand officially announced her candidacy for president on March 17, 2019. The New York native currently serves as a U.S. Senator from New York. Historically, Gillibrand has been historically liberal in all of her votes. In the Senate, she has advocated for lowering healthcare costs, decreasing gender equality, and sexual assault within the military.

Kamala Harris

54 Years Old – United States Senator from California

Kamala Devi Harris announced her official candidacy for President of The United States on January 21, 2019: Martin Luther King Day. The Californian continues to serve her first term in the Senate. The lack of experience she presents as she serves alongside long time democrat Nancy Pelosi has been subject to criticism from opponents on both sides of the aisle.

As Senator Harris has been a serious upstander to President Trump, it is inherently  to see what a free thinker would have to say about her political existence. It turns out that free thinker Andrei Nikitovic came to the broad consensus that “for too long we have seen politicians put the interests of themselves or their party over those of the American people. I hope to see a candidate who is not scared to step over party divides, one who will unite the American people”

John Hickenlooper

67 Years Old – Colorado Governor

John Wright Hickenlooper was the 42nd Governor of Colorado and is now in the race for the presidency of The United States. Before becoming governor of the state, Hickenlooper served as the mayor of Colorado’s state capitol: Denver. In an announcement video, Mr. Hickenlooper proclaimed that Washington has failed for too long, and progressive change is what it needs to succeed – a rather generic campaign promise.

Jay Inslee

68 Years Old – Washington Governor

Jay Robert Inslee announced his bid for president via YouTube video on March 1, 2019. Mr. Inslee has been in politics for quite some time. Serving as Washington representative on two separate occasions, Jay Inslee’s House Career combine to form over 15 years in congressional experiences. Right now, Mr. Inslee serves as the Governor of Washington; he has been doing this job since 2013 and runs his campaign in conjunction with his current job in public service.

Amy Klobuchar

58 Years Old – United States Senator from Minnesota

Amy Jean Klobuchar announced her candidacy for President of The United States on February 10, 2019. During a blizzard in Minnesota, the senator announced her bid with no hat, no gloves, no teleprompter; just a coat. Klobuchar is hoping to take back some of the Midwestern swing states by presenting herself as a fellow Midwesterner and continue to promote the progressive values of her campaign.

Wayne Messam

44 Years Old – Mayor of Miramar Florida

Wayne Martin Messam announced his candidacy for President of The United States in early March. He has been mayor for only four years and announced his exploratory committee on March 4. During his time as mayor, he has done general oversight for the city’s happenings. Mr. Messam brings inexperience to the table but is hopeful to advance in the coming weeks.

Messam attended Florida State University and graduated with a degree in management information systems.

Seth Moulton

40 Years Old – United States Representative from Massachusetts

Seth Wilbur Moulton announced his candidacy for President of The United States on April 22, 2019, making him the 19th candidate to officially announce their candidacy. Serving as Massachusetts Congressional Representative in the 6th district since 2015, Moulton has little political experience compared to some of the other candidates on the ballot.

Representative Moulton served four tours in Iraq, and once participated in a televised program where he spoke in front of Iraqi and U.S. Servicemen about the political climate in the region following The United States’ invasion.

Beto O’Rourke

46 Years Old – United States Representative from Texas

Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke announced his candidacy over a video on Twitter On March 14, 2019. The congressman from the 16th District of Texas raised a record high amount of money for campaign funds before losing by just three points to 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz. His fluency in Spanish helped him win in El Paso then, and perhaps it can bolster support now.

Tim Ryan

45 Years Old – United States Representative from Ohio

Timothy John Ryan announced his candidacy for President on April 4, 2019. The congressman from Ohio says on his website “like so many in America’s heartland, I come from a long line of factory workers who helped build our nation into a powerhouse of innovation. But over the last 20 years, failed leadership and broken promises have destroyed the middle-class, forcing our economy into crisis and pushing the American Dream out of reach.”

Bernie Sanders

77 Years Old – United States Senator from Vermont

Bernard Sanders announced his candidacy for the U.S. President on February 19, 2019. Sanders, a political legend is running a second Presidential campaign after he lost the Democratic nomination for The Presidency against Hillary Clinton. Sanders leads in financials at the moment and continues to gather support based off of his democratic socialist views and other far-left political ideologies.

As Sanders is a former Presidential, he is viewed to experience big headway in terms of poll numbers for the 2020 election. On top of this, he has acquired over $20 million in campaign money – more than any other Democratic candidate – which is likely to bolster support nationwide. As junior Savannah Brock remarks, “His base is passionate. When you’re running against Trump, you need enthusiasm. Sanders can attract large populations at his rallies and his supporters trust him. He resonates with Americans because he has a history of fighting for issues Americans care about.”

Eric Swalwell

38 Years Old – United States Representative from California

Eric Michael Swalwell Jr. announced his candidacy for President on April 8, 2019. Swalwell currently serves as California’s Representative for the 15th District. He once served on the House Committee on Homeland Security and has made a name for himself regularly appearing on cable television to discuss Trump, Russia, and politics in general.

Elizabeth Warren

69 Years Old – United States Senator from Massachusetts

Elizabeth Ann Herring Warren announced her exploratory committee for President on December 31, 2019. Ms. Warren announced via video and campaigned on states she will need to win over in the primary even without the initial privacy proposals most candidates lay out initially.

She attended law school at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey; the state her opponent Cory Booker served as mayor in for many years.

Marianne Williamson

66 Years Old – Spiritual Teacher

Marianne Deborah Williamson announced her bid for the presidency on January 29, 2019, at a town hall that she held. Ms. Williamson is the first self-proclaimed (or any) spiritual teacher to run for President. The main boost of her notability comes from her frequent appearances on Oprah Winfrey show.

Andrew Yang

44 Years Old – Entrepreneur

Andrew Yang announced his bid for the presidency very early in November of 2017. Campaigning heavily on financial reform and government related distribution of wealth, Mr. Yang seems to focus on only one area of policy. This seems to be a trend in presidential candidates; Jay Inslee seems to do the same thing only instead of money, it’s climate.

Remarking generally, Ari Ellis said, in relation to the concept of an outsider running for President that: I think that there are way too many people running at this point to truly determine who will win the election. One the primary takes place, I think that there will be a much clearer choice for many people.”

Ultimately, Ari is correct in saying that the primaries will determine who will win, and people will undoubtedly have the ability to create more conclusive determinations as to who will become The President. Once Americans have this determination in their minds, people will be able to come to a decisive consensus on who will be the 46th president of The United States of America.