# The Democratic Front Runner for 2020 Presidential race is: **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 28, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921 "2018-06-28T15:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/101 "2018-07-07T07:29:01Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > The field is weak, otherwise, a retired politician nearly 76 years old would not be the front-runner over those actually servicing in office. > > As for Trump himself, one of this greatest strengths is that blinder types underestimate his resolve, ability to campaign on the road, get his message across, and take a political punch from the media. He has a vision, communicates it and sticks to his message whether you agree with him or not. No, he’s a rank amateur who was able to beat a weak field to gain the GOP nomination, given that its biggest stars were literally a) yet another Bush and b) a first-term US Senator–with a foreign father–who wasn’t even born in this country. And the left were yelling at the deaf ears of Democrats for months not to nominate Hillary but to pick an actual viable candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/102 "2018-07-07T13:15:07Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > No, he’s a rank amateur who was able to beat a weak field to gain the GOP nomination, given that its biggest stars were literally a) yet another Bush and b) a first-term US Senator–with a foreign father–who wasn’t even born in this country. > > And the left were yelling at the deaf ears of Democrats for months not to nominate Hillary but to pick an actual viable candidate. Beating Jeb Bush who had a lot of money raised, popular senators, and a governor from a large state like Kasich from Ohio was impressive. Keep calling Trump a rank amateur, one of the best things to be in politics or in life is underestimated. Trump’s ability to stay focused on his message, to quote someone on the Bill Maher show reminded him of Dick Cheney. He speaks well to crowds and can throw or take a political punch as well as anyone. If the left was yelling at deaf ears of the Democrats for months to consider someone else besides Clinton, logic says these people would be in line for 2020. Who are they and where are they? Sanders and Biden are old. The reality is the Democrats are fragmented. If you go by the news they seem to be focusing more on the treatment of illegal aliens who crossed the border and confronting people in public that work for Trump. Sure that’s going to help them on election day. NOT. What are they doing for the people on Mainstreet?. I don’t see any headlines here. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/103 "2018-07-07T13:15:47Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > No, he’s a rank amateur who was able to beat a weak field to gain the GOP nomination, given that its biggest stars were literally a) yet another Bush and b) a first-term US Senator–with a foreign father–who wasn’t even born in this country. > > And the left were yelling at the deaf ears of Democrats for months not to nominate Hillary but to pick an actual viable candidate. You’re partially correct. That large Republican field helped Trump because of the weird delegate allocation rules for Republican primaries. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/primaries/explaining-the-presidential-primary-process/?noredirect=on](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/primaries/explaining-the-presidential-primary-process/?noredirect=on) The Republican rules allowing winner take all and winner take more were designed to quickly narrow down the field. In many states, Trump won with a small plurality with all the not Trumps splitting delegates among themselves. The other candidates were expecting Trump to either implode or else just quit, thus they didn’t start dropping out as quickly as they ordinarily would. And, of course, you had grifters like Ben Carson who was really only running to sell books and increase his presence on the speaking circuit. Those ‘deaf ears’ that the Bernie Bros were yelling at were actually the huge majority of Democratic voters who preferred Clinton to Sanders. They certainly did yell, but Hillary voters understood that Bernie would have been stomped like Dukakis should he be the nominee. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/104 "2018-07-19T20:51:32Z")
[Here’s CNN’s analysis of top 2020 Front runners:](https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/19/politics/2020-democrats-rankings/index.html) 1. Joe Biden - Awesome, but too old. 2. Elizabeth Warren - She’s a woman. Nope. 3. Kamala Harris - see above 4. Kirstin Gillibrand - see above 5. Bernie Sanders - (spits out coffee, bills CNN for new laptop) 6. Eric Holder - Looks like Obama. Nope. 7. Steve Bullock - Meh. 8. Cory Booker Looks like Obama or a sportscaster. Nope. 9. Mitch Landrieu - Who?? 10. Sherrod Brown - Who dis?? Dems have to have an incredible candidate who is a better celebrity than the Orange Turd. A woman? After last time?? Over the beloved racist/Russian apprentice? Forget that. Sanders is a joke, even if he gets the nom, it’s a burnt Sienna landslide. Reason I dissed Corey and Eric is exactly what any potential deplorable will think when they see darker skin that isn’t orange. So far for me, it’s Biden, who better have THE BEST running mate due to age. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/105 "2018-07-21T20:52:34Z")
Biden is educated, intelligent, personable and experienced. Biden is the ideal relief after Trump. Running mate - Julian Castro. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/106 "2018-07-21T21:28:05Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Those ‘deaf ears’ that the Bernie Bros were yelling at were actually the huge majority of Democratic voters who preferred Clinton to Sanders. They certainly did yell, but Hillary voters understood that Bernie would have been stomped like Dukakis should he be the nominee. Well, the Sanders Supporters did get what they wanted: That _Female_ didn’t get elected. As for his electability, consider this: He’s a long-time politician from a region not representative of the country as whole, who caucuses with a party he holds himself out as being ideologically distinct from, and purer than, and who has a massive Internet fanbase centered on Reddit. Quick: Am I talking about Sanders or Ron Paul? The Purity Ponies sat out 2016 and we got Trump. They’ll never admit culpability for that one. Pointless to try to make them, really. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/107 "2018-07-21T21:33:23Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > … I think a return to that sixties idea, ‘don’t trust anyone over 40’, should be shifted to 35, and could be an easy sell these days. Nitpick. I remember the Sixties. The Sixties were a friend of mine. It was ‘Don’t trust anyone over _30_.’ > [@Silver\_lining](#): > > 78 is old. A major difference from Trump who was 70 years old when sworn in. Trump is a tireless type, who doesn’t sleep a lot and has a lot of energy, always up for a tussle if needed. I also tend to omit the emoticon. You and I both should be more cautious and always include some sort of smiley-face for comments like this; otherwise [Poe’s Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law) strikes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/108 "2018-07-21T21:37:51Z")
Truly, Trump is always up for a tussle when one is needed. Also, up for a tussle when what is needed is calm deliberation and sober reflection. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/109 "2018-07-21T22:04:22Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > … A woman? After last time?? … It should be noted that, _last time_, **a woman** got several million votes more than a pussy-grabber. Gender is far from a disqualifier. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/110 "2018-07-21T22:04:47Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Well, the Sanders Supporters did get what they wanted: That _Female_ didn’t get elected. > > As for his electability, consider this: He’s a long-time politician from a region not representative of the country as whole, who caucuses with a party he holds himself out as being ideologically distinct from, and purer than, and who has a massive Internet fanbase centered on Reddit. Quick: Am I talking about Sanders or Ron Paul? > > The Purity Ponies sat out 2016 and we got Trump. They’ll never admit culpability for that one. Pointless to try to make them, really. VT is very diverse. There are at least 3 kinds of white people who live there! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/111 "2018-07-21T22:28:01Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Well, the Sanders Supporters did get what they wanted: That _Female_ didn’t get elected. > > As for his electability, consider this: He’s a long-time politician from a region not representative of the country as whole, who caucuses with a party he holds himself out as being ideologically distinct from, and purer than, and who has a massive Internet fanbase centered on Reddit. Quick: Am I talking about Sanders or Ron Paul? > > The Purity Ponies sat out 2016 and we got Trump. They’ll never admit culpability for that one. Pointless to try to make them, really. I’m hoping that with legal weed in more places the Democrats can pick up a few voters who threw their votes away on the Libertarians solely on the single issue of marijuana. And, yes, I think that too many Sanders supporters isolated themselves in Daily Kos and the Bernie subreddit and that helped fuel the endless conspiracy theories every time Bernie lost a primary. That Bernie subreddit spewed more anti-Clinton poison than a love child of Karl Rove and Lee Atwater. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/112 "2018-07-21T23:47:04Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It should be noted that, _last time_, **a woman** got several million votes more than a pussy-grabber. Gender is far from a disqualifier. Of course gender is a disqualifier… now. How many times have we heard “bitch” when referring to Hillary? Remember that a lot of the Trump votes were just against Hillary, not necessarily FOR trump douche. I’ve heard and read all about the emails and Benghazi saying a woman can’t keep her mouth shut, so of course she shared classified emails. All the same a they still believe after 11 (?) investigations into Benghazi and no charges filed, she’s still guilty of something. Heck, look at all the backlash other women in government get. Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren, even Gabby Giffords getting backlash from a current SC Senator. The 'pubs say offensive shit about women in government all the time, hardly ever apologize (if ever), and are fully supported by the sexist CIC. I’d have to say all the orange lovers would all around prefer white men only in government. So to beat the orange fuckwad, it’s gotta be a guy this time around. If a woman is the Dem nominee, all trump has to do is make sexist complaints about her and the base will return to re-elect him, electorally. And as you pointed out, HRC won the popular vote. (I’m one of them) I’d LOVE to be within ear-shot of Capt. Bone Spurs. I’d constantly say “Hillary got more votes than you” in singsong. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/113 "2018-07-22T01:45:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, the Sanders Supporters did get what they wanted: That Female didn’t get elected. That’s mostly _not_ what the Sanders Supporters wanted. It’s what the Russian bots who pretended to be Sanders Supporters wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/114 "2018-07-22T01:51:52Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Of course gender is a disqualifier… now. > > How many times have we heard “bitch” when referring to Hillary? Remember that a lot of the Trump votes were just against Hillary, not necessarily FOR trump douche. I’ve heard and read all about the emails and Benghazi saying a woman can’t keep her mouth shut, so of course she shared classified emails. All the same a they still believe after 11 (?) investigations into Benghazi and no charges filed, she’s still guilty of something. > > Heck, look at all the backlash other women in government get. Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren, even Gabby Giffords getting backlash from a current SC Senator. The 'pubs say offensive shit about women in government all the time, hardly ever apologize (if ever), and are fully supported by the sexist CIC. > > I’d have to say all the orange lovers would all around prefer white men only in government. So to beat the orange fuckwad, it’s gotta be a guy this time around. If a woman is the Dem nominee, all trump has to do is make sexist complaints about her and the base will return to re-elect him, electorally. > > And as you pointed out, HRC won the popular vote. (I’m one of them) I’d LOVE to be within ear-shot of Capt. Bone Spurs. I’d constantly say “Hillary got more votes than you” in singsong. 😃 I agree with every word you wrote, sadly. Well said. A lot can change in 2 years, and I do expect a lot of Democratic women to enter government at the mid-terms. Yay, yay, YAAAYYYY!!! But you nailed it with what you said about a woman running for the presidency in 2020. I hate it, but it’s true. Gotta get back in the game if we are to continue the progress made under Obama and to vindicate Hillary. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/115 "2018-07-22T02:13:04Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I agree with every word you wrote, sadly. Well said. > > A lot can change in 2 years, and I do expect a lot of Democratic women to enter government at the mid-terms. Yay, yay, YAAAYYYY!!! But you nailed it with what you said about a woman running for the presidency in 2020. I hate it, but it’s true. > > Gotta get back in the game if we are to continue the progress made under Obama and to vindicate Hillary. [I raised this topic last August.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=834250) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/116 "2018-07-22T02:18:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [I raised this topic last August.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=834250) And I agreed with you last August. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/117 "2018-07-22T03:09:06Z")
I think y’all’re learning the wrong lesson here. Get some nuance. Don’t run a woman who’s mainly known by her husband’s accomplishments and _mistake_ that for feminism. Hillary isn’t a Samantha Power or a Kathleen Sibelius. Don’t dismiss ideological voters and bank on massive African-American (racialized) support _while_ running a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Hillary is not now, never has been, and never will be Barack Obama let alone Jesse Jackson. Don’t mistake the wife of a man who squeaked into the White House with pluralities at the state level, as much of your own base abandoned him for Perot, for a generally beloved national institution. Hillary was _not_ the return of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. You can run a woman. That \*particular \*woman had a harder time than you imagined, because you didn’t pay attention to the details of history, and you thought she would coast. And she still did pretty well. She held pretty close in the Industrial Midwest If you nominate a decent candidate who happens to be a woman–and maybe Amy Klobuchar, Tammy Duckworth, or Tammy Baldwin would be that, I don’t know–you have a shot. It’ll be work. Aren’t Democrats always talking about how they aren’t slackers like the GOP, how they show up and do the work? Do the work. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/118 "2018-07-22T03:29:01Z")
Give me someone charismatic and inspiring with a vision we can rally around. Man woman Black white Indian Hispanic … don’t care. But they have to be able to both orate and to think fast on their feet without tripping over them or putting them in mouth. Up Trump’s backside though is acceptable. The next two years will show us, hopefully, who that person is. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/119 "2018-08-08T08:04:44Z")
It’s probably not statistically significant, but I was intrigued to note at [Betfair’s market for the 2020 Democratic nominee](https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.128161111): Among the 8 people for whom there are pending offers to back at 49-to-1 are less, only Sanders and Biden are male. No one wants to bet on Kaine, O’Malley etc. One brave soul will bet $7 on Cory Booker if you give him 989-to-1 odds. If there’s a Draft McRaven movement it hasn’t made its presence known at Betfair. The six women, in ascending order of odds asked, are: Kamala Harris Elizabeth Warren Kirsten Gillibrand Oprah Winfrey Hillary Clinton Michelle Obama I hope I’m not branded as misogynist if I say I don’t see grounds for optimism here. [Betfair also takes bets on the November 2020 election.](https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.128151441) Only five people are shown with a significant chance: Warren, Harris, Sanders, Biden and the front-runner with a 39% of winning a 2nd term, von Clownstick himself. Truth is stranger than fiction. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921/120 "2018-08-09T02:19:35Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > … and the front-runner with a 39% of winning a 2nd term, von Clownstick himself. As a Democrat? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-front-runner-for-2020-presidential-race-is/816921.md?page=7)