By Jessica Wu
The beginning of 2019 has already seen a number of Democrats officially put themselves in the race for 2020, with many more giving indications that they too plan to throw in their hats. Democrats are campaigning with several important issues on the line: universal healthcare, staggering personal and national debt, the opioid crisis, and zero hour of the climate change battle. The question becomes how each candidate will address each issue, or, rather, how voters will decide they want these issues to be resolved. It is very clearly going to be a race between progressivism and centrism. Some, like Amy Klobuchar, promise a moderate plan of leadership, whereas progressive candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren have declared they will demand rather drastic change, now.
Even within progressives, there are new and old faces. Sanders was really the one who led and popularized the conversation on single-payer healthcare back in 2016, but four years later, perhaps it is time for slightly younger faces like Warren and Harris to take over the movement. All things considered, maybe Democratic voters will decide that universal government programs for healthcare or education aren’t conducive to the national debt that just broke $22 trillion, and that things like Medicare-for-more might be a safer option.
The way the vote swings will say a lot: are we ready for a revolution, or are we desperate to get back to a sense of stability, even if it means remaining stagnant? Regardless, a lot is at stake, and all the 2020 candidates know this.