My Take on the Current Democrat Presidential Candidates

As of September 20, there are 19 Democrats running for the 2020 presidential election. However, only 10 of these candidates qualified for the third Democratic debate in September, so that’s who I’m talking about – sorry to the other 9 candidates.

Right now, I am very partial to the Texas native, Beto O’Rourke. His race for Senate last fall was jaw-dropping. Despite his loss, the mere fact he was only 2% behind Ted Cuz was an accomplishment. With that, I know I have to still keep my options open for the democratic nominee –  it is only September of 2019.

Let’s start off with the forerunner for a lot of polls: Joe Biden. Personally, he’s not my favorite candidate. The rumors about him inappropriately touching people grosses me out, and sometimes he is hesitant to support important policies. However, during the most recent debate, he got a lot of heat for his age – which is uncalled for. Age is not what makes a strong leader – policy and action does. His campaign ads of health care being “personal” to him is touching, but isn’t health care personal to everyone? With all this being said, I would not be surprised to see him get the nomination. Right now, we have an extremist in the White House, so Biden’s persona of being a “moderate” could benefit him in America’s current political climate. 

Next, let’s move on to Elizabeth Warren. Honestly, I kind of like her; she’s spunky. Her experience working in the school system, within a public school and a university, gives her an edge that many other candidates don’t have – experience working and living in the middle and lower class. No, Warren was never homeless, but she also knows the struggle of many working class families. 

Now for Bernie Sanders – sweet Bernie. I love Bernie. I think he’s an adorable old man, and I adore many of his policies. However, I don’t know his America is ready for his socialist policies. I love them, but going from Trump to Sanders is a HUGE jump, and I don’t know if America could do it. That being said, even if Bernie doesn’t get the nomination, he keeps a lot of the other candidates on their toes. Bernie is always coming around the corner and bringing something new to the pot – I just worry his identity as a socialist will hurt him in the long run. America still struggles to understand the difference between the select socialist policies that Bernie wants and the socialist and oppression government that Americans tie with communism and socialism. 

Kamala Harris seems like a big phony to me. She has changed so many of her policies and ideas, and I don’t know if she was elected to office, that she would continue to follow through on the policies she proposes right now. I think if Harris thought she could get the Republican vote, or even thought an Independent stood a chance on the debate stage, she would switch sides without batting an eye. Now that may be a little harsh, but her mix-matched voting history worries me.

Andrew Yang is an odd duck. His plan to give $1,000 to 10 families for a year seems like a cool gimmick, but it also seems like a way he is trying to buy voters. It’s just a bit shady to me. I know he doesn’t always get the same amount of talking time on the debate stage, but even when he does get speaking time, he says things like: “well, since I’m Asian, I know a lot of doctors.” He might be a great guy, but there are other people simply farther along in their campaign than him, and I think that’ll be what kills it for him.

Cory Booker: I like him. I don’t really have anything bad to say about him. I think his ideas are great and his diverseness is great – and much needed for the White House. However, I don’t know if he’ll be able to get up there and continue to fight for the nomination with so many other candidates wanting the same thing.

Pete Buttigieg is a sweet guy. I love the idea of voting a gay man into the Presidency, but I’m scared that one fact about him identifying as gay will make some Americans not vote for him. I’m extremely ready for a LGBTQ+ President, but unfortunately, I don’t know if American voters could do it this election season.  

Julián Castro: this guy is bold. At the beginning of the debate in June, Castro really bothered me. I thought he was full of himself and that he was a little more arrogant than he needed to be. However, I do not really see that in him now, and I am starting to become fond of his boldness. He is out there, and he is not afraid to call out his other Republican or Democratic opponents. 

Amy Klobuchar just seems weird to me. I want to like her. I want to support the female candidates, but she just does not have a lot going for her. She reminds me of an old person trying to fit in with all the young people – it just doesn’t work. 

Lastly, let’s talk about Beto O’Rourke. His grass roots campaign never ceases to amaze me; I just hope it is enough to keep him going up in the polls. I have always considered Beto to be a man of the people, and even when he was young (just serving on city council) he spoke out for policies he still advocates for today. During his race for Senate, a lot of his Democractic colleagues called him out on interviewing with Fox News (a notorious conservative news channel). However, Beto knew it was important for him to get his name out there on even conservative news channels because that is what a lot of Americans watch. Without going on Fox News and other conservative channels, there’s no way to even get your name out there to those voters – and Beto understands that. 

I would not be shocked if Joe Biden got the nomination. With that though, I hope he picks a really progressive or liberal running mate. Biden running with O’Rourke as his Vice President would go far places. Each of them pulls in from different voter fields, and together, they could rack up a lot of voters. Will that happen? I don’t know. All I know for sure is that I am ready to get Trump out of the White House.