Meet the candidates:
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-V.T.
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Political Affiliation: Democrat/Independent
Major platform points: Sanders is an Independent senator from Vermont who is running for president in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary. Sanders has won the popular vote in the first three primary contests so far and has emerged nationally as the front-runner in the race, consistently ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The key policies that Sanders is running on are Medicare-for-All, The Green New Deal and tuition-free public college. These policies have all had wide-spread support among democratic voters and slim majorities of voters overall.
Supporter demographic: Bernie has the most support, with The Economist citing him as being supported by 29% of the population. Demographic groups with the highest percentage of support for Bernie are voters under the age of 30, hispanic voters with and without a college education and voters who don’t identify racially as white, black or hispanic.
For more information on Sanders’ policies, visit www.berniesanders.com/issues.
Gov. Bill Weld, R-M.A.
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Political affiliation: Republican
Major platform points: Weld has released 11 policy statements to his website, with more detailed plans on taxes and spending, healthcare and education. Weld is in favor of cutting both taxes and cutting overall government spending, slowing the rise in prices of healthcare like medication and procedures, in addition to being pro-school choice. Other topics Weld is in favor of is legislating no jail time for nonviolent criminal offenses and simplifying the immigration process.
Supporter demographic: Weld has failed to gain much popularity among the Republican party, having only 1% of the population in support of him and his policies.
For more information on Weld’s policies, visitwww.weld2020.org/policies.
President Donald Trump
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Political affiliation: Republican
Major platform points: As the incumbent president, Trump will continue working toward the plans and goals from his first administration including improving the economy, cracking down on immigration reform and removing regulations he deems unnecessary.
Supporter demographic: Trump is supported by a majority of the Republican party, which is comprised of many different demographics of people.
For more information on Trump’s policies, visitwww.promiseskept.com.
Joe Biden, former vice president
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Political affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: Biden supports eliminating private prisons, raising minimum wage, expanding Medicare coverage and increasing taxes on the wealthy. Biden has released over 30 policies detailing what he would do if elected president.
Supporter demographic: Biden is most popular among black voters both with and without a college degree. Biden is also heavily supported by all demographics of voters aged 65 or older.
For more information about Biden’s policies, visit joebiden.com/joes-vision.
Tulsi Gabbard, D-H.I.
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Political affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: Gabbard emphasizes veteran services such as veteran’s healthcare, civil liberties, like the right of privacy, and criminal justice reform. She also supports a single-payer healthcare system.
Supporter demographic: Gabbard polls under 1% with support centering around hispanic voters and conservative Democrats.
For more information about Gabbard’s policies, visit www.tulsi2020.com/issues.
Candidates that have dropped out after Feb. 27:
Amy Klobuchar, D-M.N.
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Political affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: Klobuchar supports the expansion of Medicare/Medicaid, raising the minimum wage, comprehensive immigration reform and climate change. Klobuchar is a long-time Democratic senator who has a lengthy background of working on legislation. She currently has released a set of 19 plans if elected president.
Supporter demographic: Klobuchar is most popular among white voters with a college degree and with females aged 65 or older.
For more information on Klobuchar’s policies, visitamyklobuchar.com/issues.
Tom Steyer, businessman
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Political affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: Steyer is a huge proponent of combating climate change, which was his strong point when he first declared candidacy. Steyer has now released 26 plans on a variety of topics, including universal health care, paid family leave and comprehensive immigration reform.
Supporter demographic: Of the 2% of people supporting Tom Steyer, according to The Economist, those that most support him include black voters with a college education and voters aged 30-44.
For more information about Steyer’s policies, visit www.tomsteyer.com/policies.
Pete Buttigieg, former mayor
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Political affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: One of the understructures of Buttigieg’s campaign is the need for generational change. As the youngest candidate, he aims to kickstart a fresh, young era of politics. A central part of his campaign is reforming the Supreme Court to 15 justices, with five Democrats, five Republicans and five apolitical judges comprising the seats. One of the many Deomcratic candidates to support capitalism, Buttigieg’s economic platform aims to reinforce strong relations with labor unions and separate money from politics. On immigration, he supports DACA and the rights of Dreamers, opposes Trump’s harsh deportation policies and considers sending troops to the border a waste of time. As former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from 2012 to Jan. 1, 2020, Buttigieg had a complex relationship with police and the black community in the city. After controversially firing South Bend’s first black police chief and refusing to release the recorded phone calls at the center of the debacle, the incident has been used as a criticism of his campaign.
Supporter demographic: Buttigieg’s primary support comes from white, college-educated men and women, typically middle-aged and older.
For more information on Buttigieg’s policies, visit www.peteforamerica.com/issues.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-M.A.
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Political affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: Warren has released 76 plans on her website detailing her vision for the U.S. if she wins the presidency. Included in these plans is a 2% wealth tax, the cancelation of student loan debt, the break up of big-tech and Medicare for All.
Supporter demographic: Warren’s core support comes from college-educated white people, often with postgraduate degrees. She is more popular among women than men and is more likely to attract voters who follow politics closely. Voters who identify as being liberal are more likely to support her than moderate voters.
For more information on Warren’s policies, visit elizabethwarren.com/plans.
Mike Bloomberg, former mayor
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Party affiliation: Democrat
Major platform points: Mike Bloomberg was the 108th mayor of New York City from 2002 until 2013 and is now making a big splash as a potential Democratic party nominee. Bloomberg’s campaign has a lot of money behind it, and it isn’t uncommon to see plenty of Bloomberg 2020 advertisements while scrolling through the internet.
According to Aljazeera, “Bloomberg has promised to reverse the Trump administration’s tax cuts for wealthy Americans, and to impose a 5 percent surtax on taxpayers who earn more than five million dollars annually.” Along with that, Bloomberg also wants to combat climate change by using clean energy sources as it pertains to transportation, rejoin the Paris agreement and has also consistently boasted his record when it comes to gun control and immigration reform, two hot topics pressing America right now.
Supporter demographic: Bloomberg is currently supported by 18% of the population that has voted thus far. The demographic groups bringing in the most support for Bloomberg are voters aged 45-64, 65 plus and black voters without a college education.
For more information on Bloomberg’s policies, visit www.mikebloomberg.com/getting-it-done.
