Keeping Track of All The Presidential Candidates

When I taking a high school government class my teacher once gave myself and my classmates a chance to earn extra credit on a test.

For each presidential candidate we could name we would get a point added to our test score. As our teacher announced this I sat in my desk in disbelief. I knew every candidate running (for both the Republican and Democrats as it was a presidential election year with no incumbent.)

I secured 13 points of extra credit on that test and even had the teacher point out to the class that I knew them all. I got some funny looks from classmates although some knew I was a political junkie even then.

“You would know them all,” one classmate said.

Perhaps the thing I was most proud of (although I kept it to myself) was the fact even the smartest person (grade-wise) in our class did not get them all. He had a madder-than-mad look on his face when I was recognized for knowing them all. He could not come up with two of the names.

A high school student in a history or civics or government class in 2019 would have a great chance for some extra credit if this offer was made to them today by a teacher at test time.

While the number of Republican candidates running will be low (President Trump does have one legitimate primary challenger as of this writing), the Democratic field is as crowded as perhaps it has ever been. The number is still expected to grow even larger in coming weeks and months.

In recent columns we have given this list but it has increased in number since then. Declared Democratic presidential candidates for 2020 include U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, South Bend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro of Texas, former congressman John Delaney of Maryland, congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California, former governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, governor Jay Inslee of Washington, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Miramar, Fla. mayor Wayne Messam, former congressman Beto O’Rourke of Texas, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, author Marianne Williamson of California, former college football head coach Robby Wells of Georgia and entrepreneur Andrew Yang of New York.

As a bonus extra point on your test, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld is running as a Republican against President Trump.

The national Democratic Party has set an interesting bar for candidates to meet in order to be included in debates. If a candidate receives donations from 65,000 people then they will be invited to participate. There is no set limit on the amount of money that has to be raised. If someone contributes $1 then it counts for that candidate’s total.

Even as high as the current total is for Democratic candidates there are at least six more top tier names which are looking at making a run for the White House. One of these includes former vice president Joe Biden who would likely jump to the front of the pack if he entered the contest.

Outside of the Republican and Democrats some interesting names have surfaced for the Green and Libertarian Parties. Former Minnesota governor (as well as actor, professional wrestler and Navy Seal) Jesse Ventura is being mentioned as a candidate for the Green Party.

Michigan Republican congressman Justin Amash has been reported as expressing interest in being the Libertarian Party presidential candidate. Amash, similar to U.S. Senator Rand Paul (also a Republican) of Kentucky, votes in a Libertarian, strict constitutionalist manner.

Both Ventura and Amash are known nationally and it would help boost both of those third parties by having them as their respective candidates. Ventura was actually elected Minnesota governor as a member of Ross Perot’s old Reform Party.

For the record the Libertarian Party currently has 15 declared candidates for its presidential nomination in 2020 while the Green Party has eight. These parties will select their nominees at their national conventions next year.

While I am no longer a student and no longer take exams as part of the education process, I wonder if I would get some bonus pay at work for being able to name all of the 2020 candidates similar to how I get back in the 1988 race. Something tells me probably not.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He has earned awards for his columns from the National Newspaper Association and the Georgia Press Association. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.