In the 2016 presidential election, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) didn’t declare until March 2015. Hillary Clinton released a YouTube video announcing her candidacy in April 2015. Donald Trump didn’t take that famous ride down the escalator until June. But America now lives squarely in the era of the Endless Campaign: The 2020 race has been up and running for ages.
Before 2018 was even over, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced she had formed an official exploratory committee and was headed to Iowa to campaign. By the end of January 2019, nine Democrats had officially entered the race, and more jumped in, with former Vice President Joe Biden wading into the crowded waters in late April. (Also on the calendar? At least a dozen presidential debates.)
From the start, women were quick entrants into the race—that kind of timing allows candidates to snap up the best staff and start fund-raising. At the beginning of 2019 more than half of the field of announced candidates were women from the Senate, some fueled by activism around #MeToo, others by high-profile roles on the Senate Judiciary Committee. While some say this is a play to be the VP on the eventual ticket, these women were (rightly) focused on landing the top job. But as of March 19, no women remained in the race.
And now, the group has narrowed—to two.
Here’s Glamour’s cheat sheet to the White House contenders—which as of April 8, 2020 is down to one man: Joe Biden.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has had his eye on the Oval Office before. He first ran for president in 1988, but his campaign was dogged with accusations of plagiarism, both from his time at law school and in campaign speeches. He entered the race again in 2008 but dropped out. Later, he joined Barack Obama on the ticket and served two terms as vice president. One of Biden’s sons, Beau Biden, who died from brain cancer in 2015, had encouraged his dad to run in 2016, but Biden decided to sit that race out. He is known for plain—and sometimes tough—talk, as well as a good measure of personal charisma. He formally entered the race on April 25 and framed his announcement video around Charlottesville, Virginia—as both the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson and the site of the 2017 white supremacist rally and protests that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, though he did not mention her by name. The rest of the video focuses on the threat Biden believes that Donald Trump poses to the nation. “[Trump] said there were, quote, ‘Some very fine people on both sides,’” Biden said. “With those words, the President of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime.
“The core values of this nation, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America, America, is at stake,” Biden said in the video. “That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for president of the United States.”
The former VP certainly has name recognition on his side, but he has also faced allegations from women of unwanted and inappropriate touching, which will certainly continue to be a talking point throughout the campaign. He is also one of the oldest candidates in the race and is a white man in one of the most diverse fields in Democratic history. (Donald Trump was the oldest elected president in U.S. history when he won in 2016 at age 70; Ronald Reagan was 69 when he took the oath; George H.W. Bush was 64.) Could he balance a ticket with a younger running mate? Quite possibly. The late Senator John McCain and others have tried that tactic.
After faring worse than expected in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden won a decisive victory in South Carolina—which is exactly what the campaign was hoping for in the more diverse state. On February 11, he tweeted, “99.9%—that’s the percentage of African American voters who have not yet had a chance to vote in this nomination process. You cannot and should not win the Democratic nomination for president without the support of black and brown voters.” The momentum continued through a number of big victories on Super Tuesday that now has the former VP ahead of Sanders in the race for delegates.
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If there’s a time-honored tradition in American politics, it’s running for president (or talking about it) to get on the ticket as vice president. Some are likely doing just that. Among them:
Governors often spark interest in presidential cycles; Montana governor Steve Bullock (below), along with former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, 61, could be in that mix. Mayors of high-profile cities also can’t yet be counted out, including Eric Garcetti, 47, of Los Angeles, and Mitch Landrieu, 58, of New Orleans. Also don’t rule out former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, who told CNN, “If any of the nominees offered me the opportunity to run with them as their vice president after they have been selected as a nominee, of course I’d be honored to consider that.”
Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper officially dropped out of the race on August 15, 2019. The moderate candidate made his announcement via video, which he shared across social media. “This morning, I’m announcing that I’m no longer running for President. While this campaign didn’t have the outcome we were hoping for, every moment has been worthwhile & I’m thankful to everyone who supported this campaign and our entire team,” he wrote on Twitter. Hickenlooper also says he has given "serious thought" to running for Senate in Colorado, but has not made an official decision.
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Washington governor Jay Inslee appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show on August 21, 2019, to announce that he was withdrawing from the race. His campaign was one that focused intensely on climate change with a 10-year-plan for moving toward clean energy. “It’s become clear that I’m not going to be carrying the ball. I’m not going to be the president, so I’m withdrawing tonight from the race,” he said and promised to make sure other candidates continued to focus on his core issue. “I’ve been fighting climate change for 25 years, and I’ve never been so confident of the ability of America now to reach critical mass to move the ball.”
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Elizabeth Warren, for one, vowed in a tweet to continue his fight.
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New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that he is ending his campaign for president. He said he felt he had contributed “to this primary election” and that “it’s clearly not my time.”
Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio (D-Ohio) announced on October 24, 2019, he was leaving the field. He participated in the first two Democratic debates but failed to qualify for the others. “While it didn’t work out quite the way we planned, this voice will not be stifled. I will continue to advocate and fight for the working people of this country—white, black, brown, men, women,” Ryan said in a statement, per Politico. “There’s people who get up every day, take a shower after work sometimes, that are working really hard. And we’re going to continue to fight for making sure that those workers are treated fairly, and that they have access to good health care, that they have a solid pension to retire on.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) became the first woman to drop out of the presidential race. In an official statement Gillibrand wrote, “Today I am ending my campaign for president. I am so proud of this team and all we’ve accomplished. But I think it’s important to know how you can best serve. To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now let’s go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate.”
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Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a Democrat and former Marine from Massachusetts, ended his campaign in late August of 2019. He announced plans to run for reelection to the House and relaunch his political action committee, Serve America, to promote veterans’ issues.
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas’s Sixteenth District) dropped out of the race on November 1, 2019. Of the decision, O’Rourke issued a series of tweets, saying, “Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively. In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. I am grateful to all the people who made up the heart and soul of this campaign. You were among the hundreds of thousands who made a donation, signed up to volunteer or spread the word about this campaign and our opportunity to help decide the election of our lifetime. Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act. We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I’m going to be proud to support whoever she or he is. Thank you for making this campaign possible, and for continuing to believe that we can turn this moment of great peril into a moment of great promise for America and the world.”
According to the New York Times, O’Rourke is not expected to run for any other office in 2020.
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Montana governor Steve Bullock entered the crowded Democratic primary field on May 14, 2018. He has twice been elected governor (and once, attorney general) in a state which Donald Trump won by more than 20 points. He counts Medicaid expansion and campaign finance reform as two of his fundamental issues to address. “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone,” he said in a campaign video. He dropped out on December 2, 2019.
Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) announced her decision to end her campaign on December 3, 2019. “To my supporters, it is with deep regret—but also with deep gratitude—that I am suspending my campaign today. But I want to be clear with you: I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for the People. All the people,” Harris wrote on Twitter. In a post on Medium Harris also shared that, “Although I am no longer running for President, I will do everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump and fight for the future of our country and the best of who we are.”
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Julián Castro, the former secretary of housing and urban development and the only Latino candidate in the Democratic race, announced he was suspending his campaign on January 2, 2020. “It’s with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today,” he tweeted. “I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. I’m going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts—I hope you’ll join me in that fight.”
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Marianne Williamson dropped out of the presidential race on January 10, 2020. She first rose to national prominence via her work as a self-help author—with a little help from the Oprah Winfrey Show. She also ran for Congress in 2014 and lost. One of her signature issues is a proposed $100 billion plan to pay reparations for slavery, and she says the country needs a “moral and spiritual awakening.”
Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) officially ended his bid for the presidency on January 13, 2020. “It’s with a full heart that I share this news—I’m suspending my campaign for president,” he tweeted. “To my team, supporters, and everyone who gave me a shot—thank you. I am so proud of what we built, and I feel nothing but faith in what we can accomplish together.”
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Former Maryland Congressman John Delaney pledged, during the early days of his campaign, that during his first 100 days in office he would focus only on policies that had the support of both parties to try to bring the country together. He announced he would drop out on January 31, 2020.
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang announced on the heels of the New Hampshire primary on February 11, 2020, that he was suspending his campaign. “I am the math guy, and it’s clear from the numbers we’re not going to win this campaign,” he said in a speech to supporters. “So tonight I’m announcing that I am suspending my campaign.” He added, simply, on Twitter, “I am so proud of this campaign. Thank you to everyone who got us here. 🙏”
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Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) also ended his presidential bid on February 11, 2020. “I love our country. I love the idea of democracy. And I want to pass it on to the next generation,” he tweeted. “I feel nothing but joy tonight as we conclude this campaign and this chapter. Tonight wasn’t our night. But New Hampshire, you may see me once again.”
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Deval Patrick, the former two-term governor of Massachusetts, ended his rather short campaign on February 12. "I believed and still believe we had a strong case to make for being able to deliver better outcomes," he said. "But the vote in New Hampshire last night was not enough for us to create the practical wind at the campaign's back to go on to the next round of voting. So I have decided to suspend the campaign, effective immediately."
Tom Steyer, a wealthy California investor and activist, officially bowed out of the race after the South Carolina primary and ahead of Super Tuesday. “I got into this race to fight for racial, climate, and economic justice. I will continue that fight, and do everything I can to support the eventual nominee. I thank all of you for your support and love throughout the campaign. Join me in doing whatever it takes to beat Mr. Trump,” he said.
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Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a military veteran and mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced on January 23, 2019, that he had formed an exploratory committee to run for president. The country has never elected a mayor to presidency, but a victory would make Buttigieg the first openly gay commander-in-chief.
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On the heels of gaining momentum and all-important fund-raising dollars in the crowded field, Buttigieg made his candidacy official with an event in South Bend on April 14. “My name is Pete Buttigieg,” he said in a campaign video. “They call me ‘Mayor Pete.’ I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana, and I am running for president of the United States.”
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Buttigieg performed well in both Iowa, which he won, and New Hampshire, where he narrowly lost to Sanders. But in Nevada and South Carolina, Buttigieg didn't seem able to galvanize black voters to support his campaign. Less than 24 hours after the polls closed in South Carolina and less than 48 hours before Super Tuesday, Buttigieg announced on March 1 that he would exit the race.
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Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced on Sunday, February 10, 2019, that she’d officially be running for president. She’s been pegged by some observers as more moderate—and maybe even more relatable—than other Democrats in contention. It’s the kind of political triangulation you’d find in decades of political playbooks: Be liberal enough to win a Democrat primary, but not so far off the grid that you can’t get independents and moderate Republicans on your side to win in November. Klobuchar, 58, could fit the bill: She’s got a blend of Midwestern politesse and diplomacy. She’s not a household name, but she was able to turn deep-red counties blue in her reelection.
“For too long, leaders in Washington have sat on the sidelines while others try to figure out what to do about our changing economy and its impact on our lives, what to do about the disruptive nature of new technologies, income inequality, the political and geographic divides, the changing climate, the tumult in our world,” she said in her campaign announcement. “Let’s stop seeing those obstacles as obstacles on our path. Let’s see those obstacles as our path.” But since then, she’s been dogged by allegations that she can be demeaning to her staff. The senator has agreed that she is a tough boss who pushes for excellence, but says anything more than that, a campaign spokesperson told the New York Times, is "ridiculous."
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After a standout performance in the February 7 Democratic debate, Klobuchar surged to a third-place finish in New Hampshire. “Hello, America! I'm Amy Klobuchar and I will beat Donald Trump,” she said in a speech to supporters in that state. “My heart is full tonight. While there are still ballots to count, we have beaten the odds every step of the way.”
But after she couldn’t maintain that enthusiasm in South Carolina, news broke on March 2 that Klobuchar would suspend her campaign, and the New York Times reported that she plans to endorse Biden.
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, officially suspended his campaign on March 4 after a highly disappointing showing on Super Tuesday in which he captured zero states. (He did win the primary in American Samoa.) Bloomberg reportedly spent $500 million of his own money on his campaign since announcing he would enter the race, blanketing the country with ads. "I'm immensely proud of the campaign we ran,” he said in a tweet. “I’m deeply grateful to all the Americans who voted for me, and to our dedicated staff and volunteers. I want you to stay engaged, active, and committed to our issues. I will be right there with you. And together, we will get it done.” Per the New York Times, he has endorsed Joe Biden.
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As many noted online, Senator Elizabeth Warren played a huge part in dismantling the Bloomberg campaign by coming directly for the former mayor in the Democratic debate in Las Vegas over reports of sexual harassment at his company, the NDAs women signed, and comparisons to Donald Trump.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) suspended her campaign on March 5 after a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday. She previously came in third in the Iowa caucuses and fourth place in New Hampshire but said at the time her campaign was “built for the long haul” and stayed in the race.
However, after she failed to win a single state (including her home state of Massachusetts), there was no longer a path forward to the nomination. In remarks to her campaign staff, the senator said, “You know, I used to hate goodbyes. Whenever I taught my last class or we moved to a new city, those final goodbyes used to wrench my heart. But then I realized there is no goodbye to much of what we do.
“When I left one place, I took everything I’d learned before and all the good ideas that were tucked into my brain and all the good friends that were tucked into my heart, and I brought it all forward with me,” she continued. “And it became part of what I did next. This campaign is no different. I may not be in the race for president in 2020, but this fight—our fight—is not over. And our place in this fight has not ended.”
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Warren has long been one of the most liberal and aggressive critics of the Trump White House, but she was not afraid to target problems within her own party. Her takedown of Mike Bloomberg during the Democratic debate in Nevada over his stop-and-frisk policy and accusations of sexual harassment at his company are widely credited with damaging the former New York mayor’s bid for the presidency.
Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii’s Second District) officially suspended her campaign on March 19—though there had been very little buzz around her in the weeks leading up to that decision and had not qualified for a debate in 2020. Gabbard picked up only two delegates (in American Samoa) during the primaries. She is now endorsing Joe Biden. “I know Vice President Biden and his wife and am grateful to have called his son Beau, who also served in the National Guard, a friend. Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart and is motivated by his love for our country and the American people,” Gabbard said in a campaign email, per Axios.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) officially announced his 2020 campaign in a CBS This Morning interview on February 19, 2019. “It is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump be defeated, because I think it is unacceptable and un-American, to be frank with you, that we have a president who is a pathological liar,” Sanders said.
He quickly raised some major cash ($10 million in the first week, according to his campaign), a sign that many of the progressive voters he energized in the 2016 race are still with him. Still, Sanders is now 77, and he’s not the only game in town when it comes to unabashed liberals. Critical new looks at his heavily male-dominated 2016 campaign may not play in his favor either.
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After spending time as the presumptive front-runner with victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden's showing on Super Tuesday put the Sanders candidacy into question, and on April 8, 2020—amid the coronavirus pandemic—Sanders signaled that he was officially suspending his campaign.
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Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton was rumored to be at least thinking about the idea of a third run, but in March 2019 she put the speculation to rest when she said definitively, “I’m not running,” in an interview with a New York City television station. Don’t think you won’t be hearing from her throughout the election cycle, however. “But I’m going to keep on working and speaking and standing up for what I believe,” she said. And many candidates in the field have also turned to her for advice.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who hails from the pivotal state of Ohio, was rumored to be weeks of announcing his bid for the presidency when he announced on March 7, 2019, that he would not be campaigning for the White House. His news was a huge disappointment to some who felt he could have been a major contender, given his record of governing in Ohio and his “dignity of work” platform. In an interview on Pod Save America, he said he wasn’t sure he wanted the presidency enough; other rumors suggested say that party leaders pressured him to stay in the Senate, since Democrats need every seat they can get there to try to take the majority. He could still be a very attractive VP contender.
This post is continuously updated as politicians announce their candidacies and as they drop out .
