Is anyone worried the field is growing too large?

[redstatebluegirl]

I love almost all of the candidates, but I am afraid with all of the choices in the primary it will be hard to bring everyone together under one candidate in order to trounce 45 and a few crazy republican senators. We could also lose the house again if we get cocky.

I know I am in the minority, but I do worry about us taking a wild turn to the left and losing the middle of the country. I agree with many of the policies they put forward, and wish we were ready for a strong progressive candidate, but I don't see it in the middle of the country where I am from. We could get beaten to death with the "socialism" label that so many people don't understand. The dark money will use that as their main ad campaign, you can see it coming.

Not being difficult, and I am a lifelong democrat, not as progressive as some but more so than others.

[GemDigger]

1. I think so too. nt

[WheelWalker]

2. Most will not make it out of Iowa and NH.

I'm not worried about coming together, generally. There will be exceptions, but those will eventuate regardless of the number of candidates. Those exceptions are limited to a limited fraction of current factions.

[Garrett78]

11. Half of them may not even last until Iowa.

[JenniferJuniper]

3. No.

You will not love them all forever. And if if you do, you'll like a few more than others.

It's still early. I'm completely undecided, except that I know I would not support Joe Biden unless he was the nominee.

Anita Hill hearings are burned into my brain.

[Qutzupalotl]

4. A lot depends on how the debates are handled.

On its surface, a large pool of candidates should make for a better nominee. But we need to avoid the circular firing squad effect so the eventual nominee isn’t hobbled.

On a hopeful note, voters on our side are extremely engaged. I used to think reading DU gave me a breadth of information unavailable anywhere else; but since November 2016, everyone seems to be reading the same news stories, even the more esoteric ones. That knowledge should help winnow the field and make non-starter candidates more obvious.

[marylandblue]

5. One of the main reasons I like Brown is that I think he hits the sweet spot

Very progressive but not so far to the left in policy or politics as to put off moderates.

It doesn't bother me that we have so many candidates. A recent poll suggest people are really looking for a transformative President. We were looking for one in 2008, hence we got Obama, but the time was not right for someone like him.

I think now in 2020 we are really ready for a change. Who is the candidate that most embodies the changes you want to see?

[Horizens]

26. I'm Undecided

and waiting for Sherrod Brown to enter the race. For anyone interested, the article below is a great read.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/21/connie-schultz-sherrod-brown-donald-trump-democratic-primary-2020-223416

[Recursion]

6. A lot of them will drop out before Iowa

There's a finite number of institutional funders, and you need at least two of them to make it to the first caucus.

[sacto95834]

9. With such a large group

I think a few will drop out before Iowa to be honest; they will run out of money. Wish the entire group could at least make it to Iowa and New Hampshire so the voters can at least have a say.

Those that make it to Iowa and New Hampshire will need to do fairly well to infuse their campaign with cash once they can show they need to be taken seriously as they have a platform the voters are interested in.

After Super Tuesday, I think the group will shrink to at most 3-4 candidates, but it's very possible that there will only be two. Funding will then become critical to continue.

[4139]

7. Big group, never can can tell who will rise to the top, for comparison June 2015 NBC Repub Poll

Jeb Bush surges to lead GOP pack in new 2016 poll
06/22/15 09:15AM — UPDATED 06/22/15 11:47AM
By Chuck Todd and Mark Murray



Jeb Bush 22%
Scott Walker 17%
Marco Rubio 14%
Ben Carson 11%
Mike Huckabee 9%
Rand Paul 7%
Rick Perry 5%
Ted Cruz 4%
Chris Christie 4%
Carly Fiorina 2%
Donald Trump 1%
Lindsey Graham 1%
John Kasich 1%
Bobby Jindal 0%
Rick Santorum 0%
George Pataki 0%

https://www.google.com/amp/www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jeb-bush-surges-lead-gop-pack-new-2016-poll/amp



A big field is fine, and don’t discount those is the low single digits.

[TCJ70]

8. It's become quite clear that no matter who the nominee is they'll be labelled a "socialist"...

...so that's not really something I'm concerned about. It doesn't matter anymore. Republicans have made sure of that.

[Autumn]

10. No.

[Garrett78]

12. The debates may be an even bigger joke than normal, but the field will winnow.

It's long been speculated that there will be 20+ candidates, though some won't last until Iowa. Still, the vote-splitting in Iowa and New Hampshire might be pretty extreme, but I think we'll be down to half a dozen on Super Tuesday. And maybe 3 after Super Tuesday.

[Tetrachloride]

13. I want to see more coalitions

I believe the Vice-Presidential candidate will be vital in both attracting voters and in carrying out policies or negotiating with Congress.

I appreciate that candidates have their own favorite taglines and topics in speeches. A lot of potential variety.

The current investigations into Cheeto is a great coalition. Everybody participates because there is much to be done.

Candidates striving to differentiate themselves from the others must strive to not incite strife.

[KT2000]

14. I think it is good

no one can say there is an anointed one. The media will be covering the Democratic message more due to the volume of candidates. Just watching Inslee explain climate change was an example of Dems controlling the narrative.

[MineralMan]

15. Not really. It will take care of itself.

However, keep in mind that all of the Democratic candidates are good, responsible people and qualified for the job. That's a far cry from the clown car collection of candidates the Republicans had in 2016. We don't have a clown car. We have a Metro transit bus full of good candidates. That's a huge difference!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

16. It's a big field now, but it'll shrink quickly, I hope.

Meanwhile, I enjoy being able to root for lost causes.

[WeekiWater]

23. Williamson has a great issues page on her website. Love it.

Really appreciate where she stands.

[obamanut2012]

17. No -- CA will take out most of them

[Garrett78]

20. Most will already be gone before Super Tuesday.

I bet there aren't more than half a dozen still in the race on Super Tuesday. And then Super Tuesday will winnow the field even more.

[tinrobot]

18. A little worried. A large GOP field helped produce Trump in 2016

One of the reasons he won was because the others were too similar and split the vote.

I worry a similar thing could happen on our side.

[Garrett78]

19. We don't have winner-take-all primaries, which makes a huge difference.

Nor do we have a Trump equivalent.

[patricia92243]

21. If we have anybody equivalent to Trump, I'm sure not aware of it.

[tinrobot]

22. Point taken. But it could still produce a less than ideal candidate.

[Garrett78]

24. IA and NH have a disproportionate amount of influence, and vote-splitting will impact...

...the narrative coming out of those states. But the field will be winnowed quickly. Maybe half a dozen candidates still in the race on Super Tuesday.

And as I wrote above, unlike the Republican Party, we don't have winner-take-all primaries. Nobody gets to claim all of the delegates after winning a primary by just a point or two.

[gateley]

29. Although those in the ring now have varying degrees of "ideal"

I would feel comfortable with any one of them in the WH. It doesn't have to be my absolute fave, they don't have to tick every single box, but I trust all those who are in the parade thus far.

[madville]

25. It will work itself out

Biden is in the best position at the moment to play the strong experienced moderate because the left will be split between Sanders/Harris/Booker/Warren primarily.

Biden and Sanders are currently 1 and 2 in the first few primary states. What will mainly hurt Harris is if Booker and Warren stay in for Super Tuesday since those three have very similar messages and appeal. And they will peel 10-15% off her potential totals.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

27. It didn't hurt the tRumpster fire... it won't hurt Bernie.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[gateley]

28. Not going to worry until we know who's left standing...

I'm MORE worried about Dems not showing up and voting for whomever the candidate is. We never seem to learn our lesson.