There will be a few more coming in, notably Biden. But fundraising is going to be a big determining factor and I expect half the candidates will not make it to Iowa.
Taking into account that I expect Biden to jump in I place the top 5 at:
Biden
Beto
Bernie
Warren
Booker
Biden and Bernie are getting up there, both would compete with Trump in debates with Biden having a decisive edge in the middle of the country.
But Beto plays well in the middle as well and has a major advantage over Biden in fund raising. Biden needs large donors, he doesn’t have the small donor appeal Beto and Bernie have.
Warren is a strong candidate but flawed, the DNA test was a terrible idea. She is constantly playing defense and that means Trump can get under her skin, which would be bad.
Booker is strong as well, but he’s gained so little traction or buzz since he announced. That Mayor from South Bend has gotten better press at this point.
The old saying goes “Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line”. If that is still the case, Beto is going to be hard to beat. Plus, seeing a vital and attractive candidate paired off against Lord Cheeto is going to be terrible optics for Trump’s campaign. He would much rather run against someone his age.
I wish he would wonk up on some issues. Get some deep policy thinkers and release a few white papers. He should have absolutely and utterly destroyed Cruz in the debate where Cruz:
lied about the tax cuts not adding to the deficit
implied Medicare for All would cost $32 trillion more than our current system (rather than total over 10 years, ending up being $2 trillion cheaper than the status quo).
I know one thing, he wants to tare down walls created to protect America from drug traffickers and human traffickers, defending America is not on the top of his list.
Dems need someone who can go toe to toe with Donald, but also someone who can show a stark contrast and take the high road. I think you shutdown trump by ignoring his antics and showing people how you’re everything he’s not.
Beto is young, well spoken, likeable, relatable, chill, and a cool dude. Him next to Trump, who is older, inarticulate, brash, and mean will be stark.
For the Trump base that loves his rage and ignorance, they’ll eat it up. But for everyone else it’ll be day and night.
From what I heard, Trump tried to use some childish nickname on Bernie during one of Trump’s campaign rallies, and it didn’t stick. Maybe some of the orange polish is wearing off.
Yes, he is young and cool, the “Hey there, fellow kids” candidate.
Kinda resembles Napoleon Dynamite. He does have that Kawabunga Dude aspect going for him. Yes, he looks like a Kennedy cousin. Shallow leftists will love that.
