![Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom cries out for Open Government in - [Image via Youtube screenshot]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/2/7/660x290/b_502x220x82/pando-lt-governor-gavin-newsom-cries-out-for-open-government-in-pandocom_1819327.jpg "Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom cries out for Open Government in - [Image via Youtube screenshot]")
Other countries have strict rules about campaigning; campaigns are often short, not announced until weeks before the actual election, and usually stop days before the election. America, on the other hand, plays by its own campaign rules. It’s almost never too early to announce your candidacy, campaigns can go on for years, and ads run through election day.
As President Trump and the GOP become more unpopular, names are already being thrown out about what Democrat could run in 2020. It’s a seemingly never-ending list that spans the entire Democratic Party, but some candidates make more sense than others.
Elizabeth Warren
Many people wanted to see Warren run in 2016 and after she decided not to run she was on the short list of people Hillary Clinton considered for vice president. Her views are popular, she is seen as a champion for the middle class, and she isn't afraid to go after big banks and Wall Street.
Warren is making it look like she has 2020 on her mind, in the last few months no Democratic has done more to build their brand than Warren. Shortly after the election the popular senior senator from Massachusetts released a book detailing her plan to fight for the middle class and went on a massive press tour.
She hasn’t been afraid to attack President Trump, and she has become one of the President's favorite targets.
Warren has appeared on every news show, late night comedy shows, and political satire shows that she can and has promoted the idea of fighting against Trump and everything he stands for. A good indication of how popular she is and how much support she already has is her merchandise.
T-shirts, prayer candles, action figures, temporary tattoos, and everything in between, Warren sells it all, but more importantly, she sells out of it.
Warren already has a diverse support group that is dedicated and will be passionate about campaigning for her.
Bernie Sanders
The man who fought Hillary Clinton all the way to the DNC, but came up just short of getting the nomination could make another run. Shortly after Clinton lost to Trump, many people wondered if Bernie Sanders could have beaten Trump and it was a fair question to ask.
In the 2016 election younger voters overwhelmingly flocked to Sanders and campaigned for him up until the very end.
The Vermont Senator that didn’t have many big donors to his campaign was able to fight an opponent who ran nearly a billion-dollar campaign until the end which shows the passion and support his grassroots movement was willing to give him. Bernie Sanders will be around 80 years old during the next presidential election, but age hasn’t been an issue for Sanders.
Calls for Bernie to run in 2020 started after he lost in 2016 and haven’t stopped since. Unlike other candidates, he already has a clear message and platform. He was voted one of the most popular political figures in American politics.
It’s more than likely that his base would come flocking back to him in 2020 and campaign for him even hard to make sure he sealed the nomination.
Cory Booker
Another senator who was on Clinton’s short list for V.P. was Cory Booker. At age 48 Booker is one of the younger faces on the Democrats' list for 2020. Like Warren, Booker hasn’t been afraid to attack Trump and GOP bills.
Unlike some Democrats, Booker hasn’t denied that he’s going to run in 2020 and has continuously been asked about his plans. When asked Booker often avoids the question by saying he’s not focused on 2020 right now, it’s not an outright denial and it’s an answer that leaves the door open.
Booker would have to work to gain the progressive vote that Warren and Sanders already seem to have locked up.
In the last few months, Booker has voted against some bills that had progressive support including a bill that could have lowered the price of prescription drugs. Booker also hasn’t set up a clear message yet but he has time, and his youth could make him a popular pick for the nomination.
Gavin Newsom
The Lt. Governor of California could have big years coming up. Newsom plans to run for Governor of California in 2018 and is rumored to be thinking about running in 2020. At a glance, it may seem like Newsome doesn’t have enough experience and that it may be too early for him to run for president, but running too soon is better than running too late.
Both Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama didn’t wait their turn to run for president, and their lack of experience was attacked during their presidential campaigns, but both won.
Candidates that seem like guarantees but wait, often fail. Chris Christie was once almost guaranteed the Republican nomination, but waited for one election too late and was quickly pushed out of the 2020 race.
Newsom’s youth and inexperience wouldn’t affect voters’ minds the way the establishment might fear it would. Unlike other Democrats, Newsome understands his party has a messaging problem, and his understanding of that could help him run a more effective campaign. Newsome’s age and fresh face on the national scene could represent the future and lead to votes.
Joe Scarborough
Joe Scarborough’s name may seem odd to see on this list, he was once a Republican senator from Florida and is now the host of his own TV show, but it’s not as crazy as it sounds.
Scarborough has been a vocal critic of President Trump and during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show even announced he was leaving the GOP to become a registered independent.
During his morning show, Scarborough often mentions or alludes to how he would run the country or what he would do differently. With such a public divorce from the GOP, Scarborough couldn’t go back to run as a Republican, and in America’s presidential election independents don’t have much of a chance at winning.
Scarborough could turn to the Democrats to run, but brand himself as moderate that isn’t genuinely bound to either party. Scarborough has his TV show to get his message out, but more importantly, he’s from Florida.
Florida seems to be impossible to predict in every election but always affects the outcome in a significant way.
When he was a Senator, Scarborough was extremely popular in Florida and won four straight elections. Scarborough may talk about more independents running, but he also knows how Washington works and understands independents don’t have a long track record of becoming president.
If Scarborough is truly serious about becoming president and not just a dangerous independent candidate, he may need to turn to the party he ran against for so many years.
