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The Race to Challenge Trump

With 12 candidates already in the 2020 US presidential race, Democrats clearly believe that President Donald Trump is extremely vulnerable. If current trends continue, the next presidential election could be as dramatic and unpredictable as the last one.

STANFORD – With the first debate between Democratic candidates just four months away, the 2020 US presidential campaign is off to an early start. This election will be hugely consequential for the United States, its allies and adversaries, its trading partners, and the global economy. US policy on trade, energy, corporate taxation, debt, defense, climate change, and more is on the line.

It is far too early to predict the eventual Democratic nominee, let alone whether he or she will win the presidency in 2020. But with 12 candidates already in the race, Democrats clearly believe that President Donald Trump is extremely vulnerable (his job-approval rating currently hovers around 44%). An early take on the Democratic field is therefore in order.

Attention so far has focused on the senators: Kamala Harris (California), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), and Bernie Sanders (Vermont). Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to join the race; in early polling, he runs first, and Sanders second. Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and media sensation Beto O’Rourke may also run.

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