Potential Candidates Warm Up for the 2020 Presidential Election
By Gabriella Wellman (’20)
With new presidential elections coming up in 2020, many Americans long for new Republican and Democratic candidates to emerge. Particularly now, after the longest government shutdown in America’s history and the many other aberrations of the Trump administration, candidates from both parties are being pushed to enter the presidential race.
From the Democratic party hopeful, American citizens are hoping for Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Beto O’rourke, and former Vice President Joe Biden to take steps towards the oval office. On the opposing side, Republicans such as current President Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, and Governor John Kasich are being name-dropped for chief executive.
As of this writing, only two Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), and Bernie Sanders (Vermont) have formally announced their participation in the 2020 elections. Committed to reforming the government’s treatment of the middle class, Warren said, during a press conference about her candidacy, “I’m in this fight all the way.”
A recent CNN poll has shown that President Trump has a diminished chance of winning reelection. According to this poll, approximately 54% of Americans believe that Trump will lose the upcoming election in 2020.
“Although the economy is very strong now, there is arguably more downside than upside for Trump (voters have high expectations, but growth is more likely than not to slow a bit),” says electoral expert, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.
At the same time, it seems as though no other Republican candidates could defeat Trump during the primaries. “Other [Republican] candidates really don’t stand a chance against Trump at this point,” says San Diego Jewish Academy history teacher Dr. Carleton Cunningham, who adds, “It’s hard to imagine Donald Trump serving a second term.”
Especially after the prolonged government shutdown, many Americans have lost faith in the Trump administration. Mrs. Yvonne Webber, SDJA Judaic Studies teacher, says, “Under the current administration, I try to ignore politics. This way I can pretend the world is a happy place.”
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was also a front-running candidate for the Republican nomination in 2016 has, according to Silver, he has a 35% chance of entering the 2020 race. Ohio governor John Kasich, a weaker candidate from the 2016 election, was given an 80% chance of running.
From the SDJA perspective, Rebecca Datnow (‘20) says, “I believe that the current administration is destroying the progress that America has been making for a long time. It is time for something new, we need a Democrat in the office.”
This line of thinking reflects the opinion of many Americans who want to see a change in the form of new democratic leadership. Recent polls by CNN, conducted by SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services), showed Joe Biden in the lead with 30% of potential Democratic voters. With years of experience, in the Senate and as Vice President to former President Barack Obama, Biden has established his credibility and proven his ability to get the job done.
With the presidential election still two years away, there is still time for new candidates to emerge. Candidates who are placed in the lead now by the polls will not necessarily end up as the party nominees on the ballots in November 2020. This is especially evident through polls from the 2o16 election which gave Hillary Clinton a 71.4% chance of winning the electoral votes, but when the last vote was cast, Donald Trump ended up in office.
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