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Ciboski: 20 Democratic Candidates; Who Will Rise To The Top?

There are now 20 Democratic candidates for president in 2020. Six are United States senators. One is the former governor of Colorado, and one is the current governor of Washington state. Two are mayors—one of South Bend, Indiana; the other from Miramar, Florida. We now have Joe Biden, who served as vice president under Obama and was previously a senator from Delaware. Add to this list two others—one who says she is a spiritual leader and author, and another who says he is an entrepreneur. All of this borders on political insanity and demonstrates the lack of discipline in the Democratic party.

I will be curious to see how the party conducts its primaries and caucuses with its large number of candidates. Who will rise to the top? The early polls indicate that Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders are now leading, though that is probably because they are more widely known at this time. But how can any one voter evaluate or decide whom to support among the 20 candidates? Will voters have what they really need to know in order to judge the respective pretensions of the candidates?

Since I think that is not likely, I’m inclined to go back to the time not so long ago when primaries did not exist or were used sparingly, and the parties chose delegates to go to the national convention to select their candidates for president. History demonstrates that such party stalwarts usually choose a candidate who they think will enhance or maintain the good standing of the party.

Dr. Ken Ciboski is an associate professor emeritus of political science at Wichita State University.