# Which 2020 Democrat CAN defeat Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 19, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218 "2018-07-19T18:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/361 "2018-08-01T18:10:08Z")
I think we all know that if she looked \*too \*good, she wouldn’t be taken seriously. Just more gender bias at play. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/362 "2018-08-01T18:14:25Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I think we all know that if she looked \*too \*good, she wouldn’t be taken seriously. Just more gender bias at play. Perhaps so. Here’s a pretty damn sexist article: > **[40+ Genius DIY Hacks That Take The Pain Out Of Painting](https://scribol.com/innovative-painting-decorating-tricks/?as=799&ptp=s&utm_source=Organic&dv=x)** > > Painting your home doesn't have to be a painful chore. In fact, armed with these brilliant DIY tips and tricks, the whole process can become a breeze. From Vaseline to Pringles cans, these objects found around the house come in so handy, we wish we... and another: > **[Who Are The 10 Sexiest Members Of Congress, According To The Internet?](https://uproxx.com/viral/10-sexiest-members-of-congress/)** > > In a Hot or Not style competition, the Internet has voted for the sexiest members of congress. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/363 "2018-08-01T18:34:32Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > That’s because nobody had the balls to take on Hillary. So far no body has the balls to say I’m running, aside from a select few people. This suggest hesitation on the 20 or so candidates the press likes to mention, and problematic fund raising issues for the long haul. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/364 "2018-08-01T18:40:33Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > So far no body has the balls to say I’m running, aside from a select few people. > > This suggest hesitation on the 20 or so candidates the press likes to mention, and problematic fund raising issues for the long haul. Dude, we haven’t even had the midterm election yet. Show me a viable presidential candidate from past years that announced more than two years before the presidential election. That sound you hear? People laughing at your absurd claim. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/365 "2018-08-01T19:21:00Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > So far no body has the balls to say I’m running, aside from a select few people. > > This suggest hesitation on the 20 or so candidates the press likes to mention, and problematic fund raising issues for the long haul. That would make it so much easier for the Republicans to focus early on who to run attack ads on and start nasty rumors about, wouldn’t it? Nice try. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/366 "2018-08-01T20:20:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That would make it so much easier for the Republicans to focus early on who to run attack ads on and start nasty rumors about, wouldn’t it? > Nice try. :rolleyes: Fundraising will be problematic in a field of geriatrics and unknowns unless someone can achieve an early majority. Unless there is a candidate willing to put his own money in on the level Trump did, I’m likely correct on the above assumption.😉 Trump enjoys tremendous support from his base and will be running on a strong economy low unemployment, protecting his tax cuts, and promising the middle-class democrats will raise theirs, and border security. All he has to do is hold serve, actually he could lose say WI and MI, and still win. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/367 "2018-08-01T20:55:51Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Fundraising will be problematic in a field of geriatrics and unknowns unless someone can achieve an early majority. > > Unless there is a candidate willing to put his own money in on the level Trump did, I’m likely correct on the above assumption.😉 > > Trump enjoys tremendous support from his base and will be running on a strong economy low unemployment, protecting his tax cuts, and promising the middle-class democrats will raise theirs, and border security. All he has to do is hold serve, actually he could lose say WI and MI, and still win. Read any book about a past presidential campaign, no one with a chance is going to declare before the midterms are over. But, there’s a lot of behind the scenes jostling and trying to see what kind of support a potential candidate will have and how strong that support will be. There’s no doubt there will be a few novelty flakes along with a fairly large pool of candidates. But, I’m hoping as it gets closer to Iowa, the field would have winnowed enough so that we don’t need kiddy table debates after the first couple of debates. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/368 "2018-08-01T22:44:10Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Read any book about a past presidential campaign, no one with a chance is going to declare before the midterms are over. But, there’s a lot of behind the scenes jostling and trying to see what kind of support a potential candidate will have and how strong that support will be. There’s no doubt there will be a few novelty flakes along with a fairly large pool of candidates. But, I’m hoping as it gets closer to Iowa, the field would have winnowed enough so that we don’t need kiddy table debates after the first couple of debates. Iowa is Feb 2020. So there is some time. However, the candidates need to at least visit Iowa or New Hampshire and declare well before Feb 2020 Usually, there are clear front-runners, either in the press or by polls 2 years out. There are also exploratory committees and fundraisers. At what point do you expect to see that? History of the past six primaries show us the Democratic Front runner after Iowa is the winner. So what’s the point in waiting??? 1996 (February 12): Bill Clinton (98%), “Uncommitted” (1%), and Ralph Nader (1%) 2000 (January 24): Al Gore (63%), and Bill Bradley (37%) 2004 (January 19): John Kerry (38%), John Edwards (32%), Howard Dean (18%), Dick Gephardt (11%), and Dennis Kucinich (1%) 2008 (January 3): Barack Obama (38%), John Edwards (30%), Hillary Clinton (29%), Bill Richardson (2%), and Joe Biden (1%)[27] 2012 (January 3): Barack Obama (98%), and “Uncommitted” (2%)[21] 2016 (February 1): Hillary Clinton (49.8%), Bernie Sanders (49.6%), and Martin O’Malley (0.5%) [28][29] ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/369 "2018-08-02T01:38:58Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Fundraising will be problematic in a field of geriatrics and unknowns unless someone can achieve an early majority. > > Unless there is a candidate willing to put his own money in on the level Trump did, I’m likely correct on the above assumption.😉 > > Trump enjoys tremendous support from his base and will be running on a strong economy low unemployment, protecting his tax cuts, and promising the middle-class democrats will raise theirs, and border security. All he has to do is hold serve, actually he could lose say WI and MI, and still win. “Tell me, Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, who do you think would make the best Chief Rabbi?” “Oh Great Caliph Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, who do you think we should have as our next president?” “Inform us, oh Imperial Wizard, were are looking for a new leader of the NAACP, who do you suggest?” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/370 "2018-08-02T08:41:02Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Unless there is a candidate willing to put his own money in on the level Trump did, I’m likely correct on the above assumption.😉 How much of “his own money” did Trump put into his campaign? Go on - enlighten us. Citations would be nice too. Hint: you can’t count money taken from the Trump Foundation. ---
**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 2, 2018, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/371 "2018-08-02T10:50:57Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > How much of “his own money” did Trump put into his campaign? Go on - enlighten us. Citations would be nice too. > > Hint: you can’t count money taken from the Trump Foundation. The Trump Foundation is a tax-exempt charity. How dare you question their decision that indigent Trump was the most needy person they could find for charity? Make America Great Again! :rolleyes: It seems unlikely that Trump’s IRS will complain about the MAGA Foundation’s frauds. But it also claimed tax-exempt status in the State of New York, [which now has at least five perjury charges pending against DJT for his lies about that Foundation](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-four-times-trump-signed-tax-returns-for-his-foundation-that-contained-incorrect-information/2018/06/22/a8f95f9e-7569-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?utm_term=.f6e5b6df73c5). _Mueller can’t indict the Orange Buffoon, but maybe the Attorney General of New York can._ Knowingly lying on a tax return is a felony punishable by three years in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both. The “knowingly” may be hard to prove — how can a clinical imbecile know anything? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/372 "2018-08-02T11:45:33Z")
Doing some Googling it looks like Trump put in roughly $66 million of his own money on the campaign, although at least $11 million of campaign money was spent at Trump businesses so there’s a certain amount of clawback. And of course he boasted of actually making money from his campaign too, so it’s all rather fuzzy. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/373 "2018-08-02T12:37:27Z")
$66 million is nothing for a presidential campaign. Trump barely put up anything. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/374 "2018-08-02T13:15:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That would make it so much easier for the Republicans to focus early on who to run attack ads on and start nasty rumors about, wouldn’t it? > Nice try. :rolleyes: Ha, you missed my point The attack is you don’t even have anyone on deck worthy of taking a swing! The vetting or attack adds which start much later of whomever the candidate eventually is will be easy. Don’t give me this oh, give us time. Bench strength, often showcased in the 2016 Democratic convention was at al all time low. One could see Obama’s star rising as early as the 2004 Democratic Convention, as he made a very good speech. Who at the 2016 Convention speaking stood out? I’ll make it visible for you to see the lack of bench strength I’m talking about: Keynote speaker Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts Notable speakers: Hillary Clinton Barack Obama Tim Kaine Bill Clinton Bernie Sanders Cory Booker Joe Biden Michelle Obama Nancy Pelosi Michael Bloomberg Tulsi Gabbard Harry Reid Chelsea Clinton Kirsten Gillibrand Sarah Silverman Elizabeth Banks Of the notable speakers, only two old men might run in 2020. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/375 "2018-08-02T13:17:05Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > $66 million is nothing for a presidential campaign. Trump barely put up anything. Can you spare me 1% of this " nothing ". I think that is a lot of money for anyone to spend. You need some finical support to pass the early rounds. Funding remains extremely important. ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/376 "2018-08-02T14:23:55Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Ha, you missed my point The attack is you don’t even have anyone on deck worthy of taking a swing! The vetting or attack adds which start much later of whomever the candidate eventually is will be easy. > > Don’t give me this oh, give us time. Bench strength, often showcased in the 2016 Democratic convention was at al all time low. > > One could see Obama’s star rising as early as the 2004 Democratic Convention, as he made a very good speech. Who at the 2016 Convention speaking stood out? > > I’ll make it visible for you to see the lack of bench strength I’m talking about: > Keynote speaker > > Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts > > Notable speakers: > > Hillary Clinton > Barack Obama > Tim Kaine > Bill Clinton > Bernie Sanders > Cory Booker > Joe Biden > Michelle Obama > Nancy Pelosi > Michael Bloomberg > Tulsi Gabbard > Harry Reid > Chelsea Clinton > Kirsten Gillibrand > Sarah Silverman > Elizabeth Banks > > Of the notable speakers, only two old men might run in 2020. President Sarah Silverman isn’t a bad idea. I’d love to see that campaign and her debate with Trump, just for the entertainment value alone. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/377 "2018-08-02T14:59:33Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Ha, you missed my point The attack is you don’t even have anyone on deck worthy of taking a swing! The vetting or attack adds which start much later of whomever the candidate eventually is will be easy. > > Don’t give me this oh, give us time. Bench strength, often showcased in the 2016 Democratic convention was at al all time low. > > One could see Obama’s star rising as early as the 2004 Democratic Convention, as he made a very good speech. Who at the 2016 Convention speaking stood out? > > I’ll make it visible for you to see the lack of bench strength I’m talking about: > Keynote speaker > > Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts > > Notable speakers: > > Hillary Clinton > Barack Obama > Tim Kaine > Bill Clinton > Bernie Sanders > Cory Booker > Joe Biden > Michelle Obama > Nancy Pelosi > Michael Bloomberg > Tulsi Gabbard > Harry Reid > Chelsea Clinton > Kirsten Gillibrand > Sarah Silverman > Elizabeth Banks > > Of the notable speakers, only two old men might run in 2020. Your political predictions are worthless. You thought Roy Moore losing would be akin to “India winning the gold medal in basketball in the next Olympics”: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20426654&postcount=45](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20426654&postcount=45) Lots of people thought Moore would probably win. But the smart predictors understood that it was far from a sure thing, due to his own history, and they were right. You were way, way wrong. Don’t expect your posts and predictions to be taken seriously as anything more than pro-Trump nonsense, and pro-Trump predictions, since that’s what you post, regardless of the facts. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/378 "2018-08-02T18:15:50Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Your political predictions are worthless. You thought Roy Moore losing would be akin to “India winning the gold medal in basketball in the next Olympics”: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20426654&postcount=45](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20426654&postcount=45) > > Lots of people thought Moore would probably win. But the smart predictors understood that it was far from a sure thing, due to his own history, and they were right. You were way, way wrong. > > Don’t expect your posts and predictions to be taken seriously as anything more than pro-Trump nonsense, and pro-Trump predictions, since that’s what you post, regardless of the facts. I find myself reading his posts for a bit of comic relief at this point. He’s so wrong, when I read of his predicted Democratic doom in 2020, it actually gives me a bit of hope. And, the aforementioned belly laugh. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/379 "2018-08-05T07:50:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > She’s probably “shrill”, too. Bitch all you want, but if that’s what voters hear(and they will, with Warren), then you lose. But enjoy feeling good about your moral stand while losing. Incidentally, I do not think Klobuchar or Harris are shrill. Harris is just plain dumb but her dumbassery is soft spoken and she’s not prone to moral lecturing. Klobuchar at least has no serious flaws that I can detect other than maybe being too liberal. Warren is the perfect storm: old, a moral scold, bad voice, unlikeable in general. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218/380 "2018-08-05T07:51:56Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I find myself reading his posts for a bit of comic relief at this point. He’s so wrong, when I read of his predicted Democratic doom in 2020, it actually gives me a bit of hope. And, the aforementioned belly laugh. Yeah, but I predict Democrats win in 2020, so… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-2020-democrat-can-defeat-trump/818218.md?page=20)