The next presidential election is less than two years away, and many candidates have already announced their campaigns for the presidency. Most of the students in the class of 2019 and 2020 will be able to vote in the next presidential election, so it is important that they know who is running, what they stand for, and their past political experience.
First off is Julian Castro, a Democrat who served as the mayor of San Antonio from 2009-2014, before he joined Obama’s cabinet. Castro served as the Secretary of Housing and Development under President Obama from 2014-2017. Castro first announced his campaign in early 2019, the first Texan to do so. If elected, he would be the third youngest president ever and the first Latino president. In Castro’s announcement for president, he emphasized a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, medicare for all, and universal pre-K. Aside from that, Castro is a supporter of LGBT rights, is pro-choice, and supports stricter gun control regulations.
Next is Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard is a Democratic representative for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. She was the vice chair of the DNC until February 2016. In 2012, she was elected as the first Samoan-American member as well as the first Hindu member of US Congress. Between 2004-2005, she served in the medical unit of the Hawaii Army National Unit in a combat zone and served in Kuwait from 2008-2009. Gabbard announced her presidency in February, 2019. Gabbard is a supporter of gun control, same-sex marriage, renewable energy, and universal health care. CNN described her as running on “’an anti-interventionist’ foreign policy platform and a populist economic one.” If elected, she would be the first Hindu, as well as female, president.
Next up is Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic junior Senator from the state of New York since 2009. She has also served as a representative for New York’s 20th Congressional District. In 2006, she was elected to the House of Representatives and was reelected in 2008. She became the senator in 2009 after Hillary Clinton’s appointment to secretary of state, leaving her senate chair empty. Some of the things Gillibrand supports are affordable quality child care, universal pre-K, and raising the minimum wage.
Peter Buttigieg is a Democrat currently serving as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Before getting involved in politics, Buttigieg worked as a consultant at McKinsey and Company. He also served in the war in Afghanistan. Buttigieg has served two terms as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, starting in 2001. Buttigieg, the first openly gay candidate to ever run for president, is a supporter of redevelopment and had a program called “1,000 homes in 1,000 days,” which consists of repairing demolished properties across the cities.
Next up is Elizabeth Warren. Warren is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts where she has served since 2013. Elizabeth announced her bid for president in early 2019. In the 2016 election, Warren served as a keynote speaker and the following year, she became the Vice-Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. While many assumed she would run for president in 2016, she did not, choosing instead to endorse former presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Some goals of Warren’s are rebuilding the middle class, ending corruption in Washington, and strengthening the democracy.
Up next is Kamala Harris. Harris is a Democratic senator from California where she has served since 2017. She has served as the attorney general in California from 2011-2017. During her time as attorney general, Harris prosecuted gangs that exploited women and children and traded guns and drugs. Harris is in support of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the legal rights of immigrant and refugees and more controversially, raising the taxes on the upper class.
Amy Klobuchar is a Democratic senior Senator from Minnesota. Before serving as a senator, she worked in multiple law firms. Klobuchar became a senator in 2006 and was continually re-elected in the following years. Senator Klobuchar was also present at the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. Some positions Klobuchar supports are for gun control, same-sex marriage, and more affordable health care. She has led the effort to pass landmark pieces of legislation to end human trafficking.
Next up is Cory Booker, a Democratic senator from the state of New Jersey. Before that, he was the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. Booker announced his bid for presidency in early February of 2019. Cory Booker is considered a social liberal and supports pro-choice, same-sex marriage, gun control and the affordable healthcare.
John Delaney is a Democratic representative from Maryland, where he has served since 2012. Delaney is the founder of two companies, both of which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Some positions Delaney supports are same-sex marriage, pro-choice, gun control, affordable health care, and the federal regulation of greenhouse gasses.
Bernie Sanders, who ran in 2016 against presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has also chosen to run again. Bernie Sanders is an Independent senator from Vermont where he has served as a senator since 2007. In the past, many have criticized Sanders for the extremely socialist views he supports.
John Hickenlooper is a member of the Democratic party. He served as the governor of Colorado from 2011-2019 and he was the mayor of Denver from 2003-2011. Before working in government, Hickenlooper was first a geologist and then a creator of a brewing company. Some positions Hickenlooper supports/has supported are the legalisation of marijuana, same-sex marriage, gun control (stricter background checks and keeping guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill).
Jay Inslee is a Democratic governor from Washington state. He has served as the governor since 2012. He has also served as a representative in the House of Representatives. Inslee said his main motive for running is the widespread need to reduce climate change. He is also a supporter of pro-choice, more money to go into public spending, and same-sex marriage.
As of now, William Weld is the only Republican who has challenged Donald Trump in the bid for president. William Weld is the former governor of Massachusetts and was a candidate for vice president in 2016. Some things Weld supports are pro-choice, lowering taxes as a mean of economic growth, but he is not in support of gun control.
Donald Trump is also running for a second term, but he is already well known about and can be read about everyday on the news.
Information from candidates sites and votesmart.org
