The 2020 presidential election is fast approaching

     Happy 2019!

     It doesn’t even seem like we’ve gotten over the last Presidential Election, and already, two years into Trump’s reign, the media is talking about the next election in 2020.

     Over the New Year weekend, the Democratic National Committee released an early schedule to announce upcoming primary election debates. We are six months away from the first of 12 Democratic debates to dwindle the field of Democratic presidential candidates. That’s right… the first debate is planned for June 2019! All in an effort to not only draw out the election timeline, but to annoy voters who thought we’d have a little more lag time between elections.

     In seriousness, the DNC said the pre-planned debates are hoped to draw larger debate crowds.

     Prior to the last Presidential Election in 2016, debates started in October 2015, a year and month out before the November election. This new schedule is adding four months to the already-grueling election cycle!

     The first six debates are planned for 2019 in states that do not hold early primaries. States like Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada will likely see debates and candidate visits some time in early 2020.

     The last Democratic debate is set for April 2020, with the primary in June.

     Not only are debate schedules being released, but national media sources are already predicting the slate of candidates for both the Republican and Democratic fields.

Democrats

     I think by now we know that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is planning to run for president in 2020. Last weekend she announced she was putting together an exploratory committee on the matter. That’s code for “Yes, I’m running for president.”

     Other Democrats whose names are being tossed about: Rep. Beto O’Rourke from Texas who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz.

     Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont. Bernie lost to Hillary Clinton for the Democrat nomination in the last Presidential Election, some say rather unfairly. At 77 years old, Sanders would be quite up there in age by the time he not only ran for president, but then served four years in office. (I’m particularly biased having met Bernie in February 2018 while eating at the Jitney. Yes, that particular freak-out moment made mention in my Christmas letter.)

     Former VP Joe Biden. Despite declaring he was not running for president in 2016 following his son’s untimely death, it appears Biden may not have thrown in the towel just yet…

     Sen. Kamala Harris from California. She’s a first-term senator, but that also didn’t stop Obama from running for president early in his career either. And look how that turned out.

     Sen. Cory Booker from New Jersey. Booker has made a name for himself as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the statements that were made during Justice Kavanaugh hearings.

     Sen. Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand from New York are lesser-known members of Congress who have shown interest in running as well.

Republicans

     Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. Flake made a name for himself opposing Trump, his party’s leader, on several pieces of legislation, as well as numerous statements Trump has made via Twitter. I don’t think Flake will run, simply because he announced he wasn’t running for re-election earlier this year. I think he’s had enough of politics. But perhaps being president will change that.

     Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee. Corker also announced he would not run for re-election. And like Flake, he’s also been critical of Trump.

     Carly Fiorina. She previously ran in the primary for the 2016 presidential election. She also addressed the crowd in Monticello during Rep. Lee Hein’s re-election fundraiser in 2015.

     Ohio Governor John Kasich. Kasich also ran in the last presidential primary. And he’s also been critical of Trump. I see a pattern emerging of Republicans against Trump perhaps running to bring about a change in the Republican Party.

     Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Sasse has also taken to Twitter, but in an effort to ask Trump to cool it down in his social media bullying: “Please just stop. This isn’t normal and it’s beneath the dignity of your office.”

     Sasse has also written a book about the divisiveness of politics, “Them: Why We Hate Each Other and How to Deal.”

     Sasse is a bit of an unknown in Congress but might surprise us.

     Some say Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas might run for president, again. It might be interesting to see Cruz and his opponent in the recent November election, Beta O’Rourke, both in the ring again.

     Newly elected Sen. Mitt Romney from Utah. Romney is also a vocal critic of Trump’s. He was previously the Republican Party’s nominee for president in the 2012 election, but was beat by President Obama for a second term in office.

     With Romney back in politics after a brief reprieve, I’m not sure he’ll want to lose his new Senate seat to try another run for president.

     Other Republican potentials: Governor of New Mexico, Susan Martinez, businessman Mark Cuban (perhaps the only non-politician), and Vice President Mike Pence.

     Only time will tell, folks…