Head Tale

So it looks like there could end up being a few dozen people running for President as a Democrat in 2020.

Based mostly on my own reading and research plus a fair bit of gut feeling, here are quick summaries of who I think could win (and how), ranked roughly by how I see their chances.

Kamala Harris
– early favourite who blends a few strengths including multicultural background, XY chromosomes, powerful base in California plus a strong legal background.  Lots of debate about whether she’s centrist or progressive.  (Full disclosure: My first introduction to Kamala Harris was some time during Obama’s second term when I realised he would soon be out of office and the Democrats might be ready for someone who combined some of the main characteristics of Obama and his main opponent, Hillary Clinton.  I did some Googling and Kamala Harris seemed to fit the bill so I’ve had a soft spot for her ever since!)

Bernie Sanders
Recapture the energy (and fundraising) of his first run with young people and grassroots activists, continue to be strong with independents and the working class plus those who may have “buyer’s remorse” about Hillary being the nominee instead of Bernie and “what might have been”.  He could possibly counter arguments about weakness with people of colour by naming someone like rust-belt state senator Nina Turner a prominent role (some have suggested even naming her VP but that seems a bit extreme for a state senator.)

Joe Biden
Combine fondness for Obama years with his “regular guy” working class persona and high likeability ratings.

Dwayne Johnson
People have joked about it but given our society’s emphasis on name recognition and celebrity, the highest grossing movie star in America who has very broad appeal across the political spectrum could be a dark horse (though he’s said he’s not running.)

Elizabeth Warren
Keep pushing progressive policies and try to position herself as a blend of Hillary and Bernie. Try to put that DNA test debacle behind her.

Cory Booker
Booker is another potential Presidential candidate that I don’t have good feelings about though I’m not sure why – he’s got a reputation as a centrist and a fairly corportist politician for one thing but I also know I’ll never like anyone who cuts libraries (and even gets usually neutral library associations to make public statements criticizing him!) But as for winning, maybe try to come across as Obama 2.0?

Beto O’Rourke
Continue to build on his close-but-no-cigar Senate campaign in Texas which positioned him as another charismatic young leader in the mold of Obama but with potential to turn Texas blue.  (Beto is my top pick to end up as the VP nominee for a lot of these people.)

Sherrod Brown
Progressive senator from Ohio, he was one of the top people I thought Hillary should’ve picked as a better VP candidate instead of Tim Kaine.

Amy Klobuchar
Raised her profile during the Brett Kavanagh hearings.  Midwestern woman with legal background.  Some have suggested she’s got the best combination of attributes to dump Trump though she feels like a bit of a long shot right now.

Kirsten Gillibrand
Personally not a huge fan of Gillibrand but not sure why.  To be fair, I also don’t know as much about her as some of the others on this list.

Julian Castro
Another Texan who has potential to reach Hispanic communities and is probably more likely to end up in the VP sweepstakes then as a serious Presidential contender.

Tulsi Gabbard
Tough one – she was an outspoken Bernie supporter last time and also has a military background but gets a lot of criticism for being anti-LGBT and having some other views that aren’t those of a traditional Democrat.

John Delaney 
First candidate to declare but doesn’t stop me from saying “Who?”

Pete Buttigieg
Get some name recognition and hope everyone else gets really bad food poisoning at a debate or something? 🙂

Edit: From MetaFilter, a good comment about how no candidate will be perfect:

Gabbard isn’t very liberal. Harris championed some insensitive positions as a prosecutor and, as a Californian, wouldn’t deliver a swing home state. Klobuchar may have been insensitive to workers. O’Rourke hasn’t won a statewide office. Warren caught flak for her blind spot in her familial pride at having an ancestor of Native American heritage. Bernie Sanders isn’t a Democrat and would be 80 in 2020. Kirsten Gillibrand has a muddled history on immigration and, like Harris, wouldn’t deliver a swing home state. Julian Castro hasn’t won a statewide office. Cory Booker will have to answer some uncomfortable questions about his time as mayor of Newark. Sherrie Brown is rumpled. Biden would be 78 in 2020 and has a record of centrism on some key economic issues.