For the voting members of our community, it is often hard to have a firm grasp on who the politicians that represent us are, and what they do. In this installment of Politipress, I take a look at the latest Democrats to throw their hats in the 2020 race for the presidency.

2020 is so close yet so far from where we currently stand. Current seniors at Wayland High School will be off on college campuses somewhere, juniors will be freshmen once again, sophomores will rule over WHS and the current seventh graders will be WHS’ newest class of freshmen. We may also have a new figure in the Oval Office.

The competition to be the sole representative to face President Trump is shaping up to be a fierce and insane political battle. We are almost exactly a year away from the Iowa Caucuses, and we are already seeing a large pool of Democratic candidates forming. And though we are pretty far from actual campaigns and ballots, it’s worth taking a peek at who’s announced that they’re running.

Elizabeth Warren: The first official announcement of this early election season was a candidate Waylanders should be all too familiar with: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Warren announced an exploratory campaign to run for president on Dec. 31 last year, meaning she was officially considering it. Her ‘big announcement’ came on Saturday, Feb. 9.

In the 2018 midterm election, Warren was reinstated to her Senate seat by sixty percent. Wayland alone voted for her with more than seventy percent of the vote. Wayland likes Warren for the Senate, but her run for president on the bigger stage may change the mind of some of our locals.

Julian Castro: President Obama’s Secretary of Urban Housing and Development, and five-year mayor of San Antonio, Castro announced his running on Jan. 12. Castro is a Texas Democrat focused on universal healthcare and aiding the lower and middle classes in their lives as Americans. Castro comes from Mexican-American roots and would likely appeal to many Hispanic voters.

Kirsten Gillibrand: Gillibrand is a deep blue Democrat who represents New York in the Senate. She is a consistent combatant to President Trump’s policies and positions. Having received plenty of tweets from the President’s infamous Twitter account, Gillibrand is Trump’s biggest critic in the Senate. Moreover, Gillibrand may be the furthest-left candidate in the Democratic pool for the coming race. Gillibrand goes just short of socialistic policy with fellow candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Kamala Harris: Harris is a first-term US Senator from California. Before representing Californians in the Senate chamber, she fought for them as their Attorney General for six years. Harris currently serves on the Senate Intelligence, Budget, Environmental, Governmental Affairs and Judiciary committees. Her platform is centered around being “for the people.” Harris was also in the discussion for President Obama’s pick to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court in 2016. She ran for the Senate instead.

Cory Booker: Booker currently represents the Garden State in the Senate. The New Jersey senator has been in public service since 1998, even serving as the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. Booker is known as an influential figure in African-American issues and history. Booker announced his candidacy in a campaign video on Feb. 1: “The history of our nation is defined by collective action; by interwoven destinies of slaves and abolitionists; of those born here and those who chose America as home; of those who took up arms to defend our country, and those who linked arms to challenge and change it.”

The “great blue wave” that washed over Congress in the 2018 midterm election has spread throughout our nation’s government. The wave has left an ever-growing pool of Presidential hopefuls in its wake. Though I’ve only listed five early front-runners for the DNC’s pick, more and more candidates will announce their running in the near future. Until then, the people of the US will have to get to know these candidates better before making their decision.

Opinion articles written by staff members represent their personal views. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent WSPN as a publication.