2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee Weekly Power Rankings  - October 16, 2019

-

This list looks at who I believe currently has the best chance of winning the 2020 Democratic Party nomination for President. Only notable individuals who have announced they are running or have formed an exploratory committee are included. I am not a political expert, so don’t take this too seriously. Feel free to provide feedback.


Notes for This Week:

Last night, CNN and the New York Times hosted the fourth democratic primary debate. While some of my "Honorable Mentions" did pretty well (especially Klobuchar), I don't think any of them did enough to make any significant movements. You can check out some data from the debate here and here. Below are my rankings.

  • Tier 1: Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders, Yang
  • Tier 2: Biden, Booker, Castro, O'Rourke, Warren
  • Tier 3: Gabbard, Harris, Steyer

1. Joe Biden

Previous Ranking: 1 (-)
Credentials: Vice President of the United States (2009–2017); U.S. Senator from Delaware (1973–2009)
Notes: Biden was fine this debate, though he still had some moments stumbling over his words/thoughts. He also sounded pretty aggressive when responding to criticism.

2. Elizabeth Warren

Previous Ranking: 2 (-)
Credentials: U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (2013–Current); Assistant to the President for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2010–2011); Congressional Oversight Panel Chair for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (2008–2010)
Notes: If you weren't sure that Warren was a frontrunner before, last night's debate should have made that clear. She had the most speaking time and got attacked the most by other candidates. She handled it OK, but drew criticism for not answering the question about raising taxes for her Medicare-For-All plan despite many opportunities. Even Sanders admitted his similar plan would raise taxes for middle class (though it is offset by other cost savings).

3. Bernie Sanders

Previous Ranking: 3 (-)
Credentials: U.S. Senator from Vermont (2007–Current); U.S. Representative from Vermont (1991–2007); Mayor of Burlington, Vermont (1981–1989)
Notes: Sanders actually had one of his better showings last night, despite recently having a heart attack at the age of 78. His health was a topic on the stage, but he played it off nicely.

4. Kamala Harris

Previous Ranking: 4 (-)
Credentials: U.S. Senator from California (2017–Current); Attorney General of California (2011–2017); District Attorney of San Francisco (2004–2011)
Notes: There's no other way to put this. Harris is getting worse with each debate. She was antagonistic in the first debate and it worked for her. She's tried it again in every debate since with diminishing results. This time, she decided to focus on getting Warren to agree that Trump should be banned from Twitter. That's not exactly a major issue in most voters' eyes.

5. Pete Buttigieg

Previous Ranking: 5 (-)
Credentials: Mayor of South Bend, Indiana (2012 — Current)   
Notes: We got "Mean Pete" tonight, with Buttigieg utilizing some targeted attacks. I don't think there was a clear winner for the night, but he was definitely one of the better performers.

6. Andrew Yang

Previous Ranking: 6 (-)
Credentials: Entrepreneur
Notes: The more Yang gets to talk, the better. He actually had a decent amount of time tonight despite the crowded stage.

7. Cory Booker

Previous Ranking: 7 (-)
Credentials: U.S. Senator from New Jersey (2013-Present); Mayor of Newark, NJ (2006-2013); Newark City Council (1998-2002)
Notes: Booker usually excels in these debates, but tonight he focused too much pointing out that the candidates should be nicer to each other.

8. Beto O'Rourke

Previous Ranking: 8 (-)
Credentials: U.S. Representative from Texas (2013–2019); El Paso City Council (2005-2011)
Notes: O'Rourke didn't look too bad, but the data coming out of the debate shows a different story. This should be especially alarming for his campaign, since he actually got some decent speaking time.

Honorable Mentions, Tier 1

  • Julian Castro, Former U.S. Secretary of HUD and Former Mayor of San Antonio
  • Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Representative from Hawaii
  • Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota
  • Tom Steyer, Billionaire
  • Marianne Williamson, Motivational Speaker & Self Help Author

Honorable Mentions, Tier 2

  • Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator from Colorado
  • Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana
  • John Delaney, Former U.S. Representative from Maryland
  • Tim Ryan, U.S. Representative from Ohio
  • Joe Sestak, Former U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania

General Reference Links


Let me know what you think about my rankings! Leave a comment below.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog