As I am sure you are well aware of, as a well informed voting American, there is an election in November of 2020 for President, members of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and various state and local elected offices. Before elections, there are primaries or caucuses (depending on your state) to determine who will get the nomination to run for that office. Now this could begin a whole discussion of the first past the post voting system and the problems with the two-party voting system, but nothing can be changed until many someones who want to change it are elected.
Historically, it is very difficult to unseat a sitting president. It just is. Unless the president made an egregious error in judgment in the eyes of the voters (President Ford pardoning Richard Nixon), was seemingly inept (President Carter’s handling of the hostages in Iran), or made a bad political move that, while good for the country, was bad politically (George Bush raising taxes while campaigning) voters tend to stick with the president they currently have. They are even more likely to stick with their current Commander in Chief when there is active conflict overseas.
What I am trying to say is that, the Democrats have their work cut out for them. This current president right now can say anything he wants to and his supporters do not waver in their support for him (in general). What Democrats have to do is energize their base and make sure moderates and those who voted third party in 2016 vote for the Democratic Candidate.
Right now there are over twenty Democrats running for president. While some candidates have a greater shot than others to win the nomination. The fact that there are some many candidates says that the Democratic party has a lot of different voices, and it will be difficult to keep all of those voters happy. One candidate will be too liberal for some and not liberal enough for others. On candidate who wants to work with Republicans to pass legislation will be seen as a traitor to the party by others. Whether or not you agree with the Republican party or our current president, the party knows how to control its member and keep them in line.
Can the Democratic party win in 2020? Absolutely. The party needs to find a candidate, or set of candidates quickly, create a concise party platform and have a message that can reach generation Z and millennials, and get them to vote. I truly believe that people under 40 voting in the next election will be the most important way to change the government and change the president. According to
“In the 2010 Census, the number of people under age 18 was 74.2 million (24.0 percent of the total population). The younger working-age population, ages 18 to 44, represented 112.8 million persons (36.5 percent). The older working-age population, ages 45 to 64, made up 81.5 million persons (26.4 percent).”
It is 2019, up to half of that 74.2 million Americans are now over eighteen. Encourage any voting aged person you know to learn more about the candidates, and go vote.
