Your Cheat Sheet to the 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates

From Cosmopolitan

There are a lot of people out here hoping to face off against Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, which is just a few Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons away. But a long list of contenders can make it hard to pick a fave, especially when they all seem to share the same pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ+, pro-environmental views.

Our guide will help you spot the key differences between the candidates. Read on for all the important stuff: where they stand on big issues, their weak spots, and their best social media moments. Bring it on, 2020!

Meet the Candidates:

Michael Bennet | Joe Biden | Cory Booker | Pete Buttigieg | John Delaney | Tulsi Gabbard | Amy Klobuchar | Bernie Sanders | Tom Steyer | Elizabeth Warren | Andrew Yang

Michael Bennet

Age: 54

Résumé: U.S. Senator from Colorado

His big idea: He’s pushing for a bunch of political system reforms, in particular ranked choice voting and a ban on political gerrymandering.

On other issues: Bennet went viral last year for an emosh speech about the impact of the government shutdown. He is totally pro-weed and a supporter of tax cuts for middle-class families. He also apparently slammed his head on a table when asked about expanding the Supreme Court.

Brush with controversy: Bennet was criticized for supporting last year’s controversial bank deregulation bill that some claimed could repeat the mistakes of the 2008 financial crash.

Personal detail we’re all here for: He announced his bid for president less than a month after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Best tweet: When he trolled Ted Cruz with a Seinfeld GIF.

Joe Biden

Age: 76

Résumé: Obama’s vice president and, before that, a U.S. senator from Delaware for eons

His big idea: To take back the soul of our nation! Specifically, he wants to rebuild the middle class through tax reform, free public college for everyone, an increased minimum wage, and more protections for workers, including pay transparency.

On other issues: While pro-choice, he repeatedly voted for the Hyde Amendment (which bans federal abortion funding and limits access for the people who most need it), before recently denouncing it. Instead of Medicare for all, which is supported by some of the candidates, his plan expands the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

Brush with controversy: Biden has been criticized for his handling of Anita Hill’s testimony during Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court confirmation in 1991 (he presided over the committee). He has since apologized to Hill and expressed regret. He has also come under fire for his “awkward” or “creepy” interactions with women. He responded by saying he’ll be more cognizant of others’ personal space. Most recently, he was grilled by Senator Kamala Harris during the first set of debates about his opposition to federally-mandated busing in the 1970s (when, yes, he was already a Senator!) to desegregate schools.

Personal detail we’re here for: He loves ice cream so much that he has a flavor named after him.

Best tweet: The Obama-Biden BFF selfie he posted last year in honor of the former president’s birthday.

Cory Booker

Age: 50

Résumé: U.S. senator from New Jersey, formerly mayor of Newark, New Jersey

His big idea: Booker’s most notable policy proposal deals with gun reform. He rolled out a comprehensive 14-part plan that would, among other things, require firearm owners to pass an FBI background check and complete a gun-safety course. His is the most aggressive gun-control platform of any Democratic candidate.

On other issues: He has said his top three priorities are climate change, health care, and criminal justice reform, but it’s the latter that he’s majorly leaned into. He wants to cut mandatory minimum sentences in half for nonviolent offenders and make it easier for people with criminal records to vote and find jobs. He has also endorsed the Green New Deal (a grand climate-change plan that recently died in the Senate, RIP Earth) and Medicare for All and introduced a bill in the Senate that would legalize marijuana.

Brush with controversy: He has been criticized for accepting campaign financing from Wall Street (candidates like Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders have said they won’t accept donations from corporate PACs), although he’s since distanced himself from that big bank money. Booker has also found himself on the opposite side of his fellow Democrats and many teachers’ unions with his support of school choice and charter schools, an opinion that aligns him more with controversial secretary of education Betsy DeVos. And to end on the bizarre: he’s been accused of making up a story about a drug dealer who threatened his life?!

Personal detail we’re here for: His potential First Lady: He’s been dating Rosario Dawson since December 2018.

Best tweet: The many, many times he posted about breaking up with sleep for coffee. We can relate.

Pete Buttigieg

Age: 37

Résumé: mayor of South Bend, Indiana

His big idea: Buttigieg (one more time for the folks in the back: BOOT-EDGE-EDGE) has attracted major buzz, but has only recently started announcing major policy ideas. On health care, he’s proposing “Medicare For All Who Want It,” which adds a public option (but also lets people keep their private insurance) as an ultimate pathway to Medicare for all. He’s also proposed “A New Call For Service,” which would increase paid opportunities for young people to serve their country through programs like AmeriCorps.

On other issues: His ambitious Douglass Plan for Black America, which he calls “a comprehensive and intentional dismantling of racist structures and systems” in the U.S., focuses on voting rights, criminal justice reform, and economic stability.

Brush with controversy: In 2015, Buttigieg gave a State of the City speech in which he was quoted as saying “all lives matter,” which was seen as a counter-slogan to Black Lives Matter. He recently said he stopped using the phrase once he realized it was “being used to push back” on the activism of the BLM movement. In June, a white police officer in South Bend shot and killed a black man. Buttigieg took a break from campaigning to work with his community but was criticized for not having a diverse police force.

Personal detail we’re here for: The level of adorableness between Buttigieg and his husband Chasten, a school teacher, on social media. This post kind of says it all.

Best tweet: More like, best social-media game, period—Buttigieg and his husband even have a Twitter profile for their dogs.

John Delaney

Age: 56

Résumé: former U.S. congressman from Maryland

His big idea: Delaney is big on tech and has touted his plan to roll out a program that would boost the economy by preparing the current workforce for jobs of the future, stepping up national security against technological threats, and guarding online privacy.

On other issues: Delaney has criticized the Green New Deal but is still a climate-change believer, saying he supports “realistic” goals like a bipartisan carbon tax. Separately, he supports universal health care but is not down with Medicare for All.

Personal detail we’re here for: He stans Bruce Springsteen. Proof: He’s seen him in concert more than 30 times.

Best tweet: There was that time he retweeted a funny meme of Seth Meyers....

Tulsi Gabbard

Age: 38

Résumé: U.S. congresswoman from Hawaii

Her big idea: Gabbard is going green, proposing the OFF Fuels for a Better Future Act, which would cut fossil fuel emissions to zero (yes, zero!) by 2050. She also wants to end subsidies for fossil-fuel industries and ban fracking. Sound similar to the Green New Deal? While both are lofty (some critics even say impossible), Gabbard’s plan sets out a specific timeline, costs, and financing.

On other issues: She’s advocated for tuition-free public universities and community college, a reduction of our military presence in the Middle East, and Medicare for All.

Brush with controversy: Gabbard worked for her father’s anti-gay organization in the 2000s and gave interviews during that time calling homosexuality “not normal” and “not healthy.” PBS reports that Hawaii’s LGBT caucus did not endorse her in 2016. She has since apologized extensively, explaining that she was raised in a socially conservative household.

Personal detail we’re here for: She’s a kick-ass surfer.

Best tweet: When she posted a picture of her husband fully geeked out in Star Wars gear.

Amy Klobuchar

Age: 58

Résumé: U.S. senator from Minnesota

Her big idea: While a few of the candidates have spoken out about the current drug epidemic (including Elizabeth Warren), Klobuchar made waves when she released a plan to address the opioid crisis. Her policy includes improving access to care, investing in early-intervention programs, and lowering the cost of drugs that can help prevent a deadly overdose.

On other issues: While not the sexiest of topics, Klobuchar wants to improve the country’s infrastructure, i.e., spend a trillion dollars to fix up our roads and bridges (among other things). And while she’s at it, she plans to reform Big Tech, meaning companies like Facebook and Twitter will have a responsibility to keep your private information safe.

Brush with controversy: Klobuchar has come under fire for harsh treatment of her staff, including berating them over email and throwing office supplies at them. Politico reported that she had the highest staff turnover in the Senate from 2001 to 2016. “Yes, I can be tough, and yes, I can push people,” Klobuchar said of the reports, according to the Huffington Post. “I have high expectations for myself, I have high expectations for the people that work for me, but I have high expectations for this country.”

Personal detail we’re here for: When she first ran for Senate in 2006, she raised $17,000 from her ex-boyfriends.

Best tweet: Trump made fun of her for discussing climate change in a blizzard, and she responded with an epic burn, asking how his hair would do in the storm.

Bernie Sanders

Age: 77

Résumé: U.S. senator from Vermont

His big idea: He created the Medicare for All Act, so he’s bullish on making health care more affordable, accessible, and well, actually good.

On other issues: Sanders wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, rails against tax cuts for the wealthy, and is determined to create free public college. Bonus fact: While many candidates have come out in support of these proposals now, Sanders is considered the OG of many of these ideas.

Brush with controversy: Several women who worked on his 2016 Presidential campaign came forward with accounts of sexual harassment and pay inequity. He has also been criticized for past votes on gun control, where he has been far more moderate than other candidates. He also reportedly paid some of his own campaign staffers less than the $15 minimum wage that he so strongly supports.

Personal detail we’re here for: He recorded a folk album in 1987 called “We Shall Overcome.” Of course he did.

Best tweet: Definitely his call for people to vote for him so Larry David will be on SNL more.

Tom Steyer

Age: 62

Résumé: former hedge fund manager

His big idea: The billionaire hedge fund founder turned eco-activist has proposed a “justice-centered climate plan” which aims to cut the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and build a new clean, green infrastructure. Steyer has also said he would declare the climate crisis a national emergency on his first day in office.

On other issues: Steyer has thrown his support behind universal healthcare and free education from preschool through college. He’s also got big plans to reform the political system, like limiting congressional terms and creating a vote-at-home system.

Brush with controversy: The wealthy candidate has been accused by some of his Democratic rivals of buying his way into the race—he’s funneled millions of his own dollars into his campaign.

Personal detail we’re all here for: Despite all the bread he’s got stacked up, he opts for a Velcro watch over a Rolex.

Best tweet: While Steyer’s personal tweets are full of man-running-for-President content, he started the Need to Impeach Trump movement and the group’s social media page has a very LOL avatar.

Elizabeth Warren

Age: 69

Résumé: U.S. senator from Massachusetts

Her big idea: Warren has no shortage of ideas and is known for having one of the most detailed platforms of all the candidates (more on that below). But let’s start here: She wants to cancel student debt. Her plan would eliminate college loans for 95 percent of people by taxing the wealthiest Americans.

On the issues: Where to begin? She wants to create universal child care, tax millionaires, end corruption in Washington, reform the criminal justice system, decriminalize marijuana, create free two- and four-year colleges, throw major resources at the opioid epidemic, and lower the price of prescription drugs.

Brush with controversy: In an effort to prove her Native American ancestry after Trump challenged her, Warren took a DNA test that sparked backlash among tribal leaders. She has since privately apologized to one of the Cherokee Nation leaders.

Personal detail we’re here for: Warren is known for showing up to Boston Pride every year in a boa (usually rainbow) and dancing her heart out.

Best tweet: That time she suggested Trump delete his account:

Andrew Yang

Age: 44

Résumé: entrepreneur

His big idea: His plan to give you (yes, you) free money. Yang is the only candidate championing a Universal Basic Income (UBI) that would guarantee $1,000 a month for every single American over the age of 18.

On other issues: Yang also wants to dole out one $100 voucher per person from the government each year for people to donate to non-profits, while also legalizing marijuana and reworking the sentences of people serving jail time for weed offenses.

Brush with controversy: Yang has oddly attracted support of many associated with white nationalist causes. However, Yang has spoken adamantly against these supporters, saying to The Verge: “I denounce and disavow hatred, bigotry, racism, white nationalism, antisemitism, and the alt-right in all its many forms. Full stop. For anyone with this agenda, we do not want your support. We do not want your votes. You are not welcome in this campaign.”

Personal detail we’re here for: The fact that he unabashedly calls himself a nerd.

Best tweet: When he seemed to challenge DJ Khaleed to a hot-wing-eating battle?

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