US Elections 2020: Who Are The Candidates Who Will Try To Take On Donald Trump?

Donald Trump’s presidency has not been without its controversies, to put it mildly, yet many believe he is likely to secure a second term in the White House.

The Democrats are not taking this prospect of an extended Trump tenure lying down, with their selection of candidates comparing favourably to previous years, at least from the point of view of diversity.

So who are the movers and shakers in this monumental election and who is in with the best shot of unseating the incumbent?

Big Democrat players

The list of the current candidates vying to earn the Democrat’s nomination as prospective president is still in double figures, and while men dominate the field, there are still four women in the running at the time of writing. From well known progressive polemicist Elizabeth Warren to respected veteran Tulsi Gabbard, the presence of powerhouse female protagonists in this already enthralling narrative is sure to reshape debates.

There are also some names from the past resurfacing with a view to reclaiming glory on election day, with Joe Biden hoping to turn his stint at VP to Barack Obama into a fully fledged run as POTUS himself, while Bernie Sanders aims to energise younger Democrats once more with his uniquely progressive platform. There are even suggestions that other political titans, including Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, could return to the fray in some shape or form.

Latecomer Michael Bloomberg mixed things up when announcing his intentions to run, and he will be yet another billionaire candidate, alongside Tom Steyer and of course Trump himself.

Republican rebels

While the chances of Donald Trump not receiving the nomination from his party to lead the campaign in 2020 are almost microscopic, that has not stopped a handful of his Republican rivals from rearing their heads.

Tea Party activist and radio personality Joe Walsh is one of the more intriguing and provocative of these Republican rebels, even going so far as to claim that it was his work in the media that helped to lay the groundwork for Trump’s victory back in 2016. There is no question that Walsh is at the more extreme end of the spectrum ideologically, although it may be that he did his job a little too well in raising Trump to power and will now struggle to make a dent in his support base going forwards.

If the Republicans are hoping to win over more Democrat voters who are on the fence about the direction the party is taking, then Bill Weld could be the candidate to make this happen. His moderate policies position him more in the centre ground compared to Trump and Walsh alike, although this could arguably be a burden because the polarisation and tribalism within politics that has emerged in the past half-decade does not favour this more measured approach.

The eyes of the nation and the world will be on the 2020 election once campaigning kicks off in earnest, and the next 12 months could be some of the most unpredictable in the history of American politics.