Democratic candidates for 2020: An overview

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - With former Vice President Joe Biden officially announcing his candidacy, the list of nearly two dozen Democrats seeking the party's nomination has steadily drawn into focus.

While additional candidates could spring forth between now and the start of Democratic primaries in February 2020, here are the top candidates who have announced their bid to win the White House from President Donald Trump:

Joe Biden

Former President Barack Obama's vice president is the early front-runner. Biden, 76, enters the fray with decades of public service in his repertoire and is the only candidate who has experience leading the White House.

He is widely regarded as being a more establishment Democrat than many of his fellow hopefuls amid a split in the party between the traditional base and a surging progressive wing.

That fissure is likely to play out in the coming months as Democrats mull who has the best chance of unseating Trump.

Bernie Sanders

The Vermont senator mounted an unsuccessful bid to win the Democratic nomination in 2016, ultimately losing to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Unlike Biden and Clinton, Sanders is a progressive through and through, and for much of his political career was an Independent lawmaker.

While Sanders was ultimately defeated by Clinton, his campaign skyrocketed him on to the national scene, and he has continued to be a prominent star among his fellow progressives. He is also the oldest contender at the age of 77, just one year ahead of Biden.

Kamala Harris

California's first and only female attorney general brings with her a history of prosecutorial experience. Following the retirement of California's longtime Senator Barbara Boxer, Harris mounted a successful campaign for the seat and in so doing became California's first senator to be a woman of color.

She has been one of Trump's fiercest critics in the Senate and has regularly used her positions on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees to grill Trump administration officials, as well as Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's controversial Supreme Court pick.

But Harris, who is black, has faced significant pushback from some progressives for a record of policies they say exacerbated racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Pete Buttigieg

Mayor Pete, as he is known in his home state of Indiana, is a U.S. veteran, having served in the Navy as an intelligence officer. He deployed to Afghanistan before becoming South Bend, Indiana's mayor at the age of 29, making him the youngest person to be elected mayor of a town with a population of more than 100,000 people.

Now 37, Pete Buttigieg is the youngest Democratic hopeful, and if elected, Buttigieg would become the U.S.'s first openly gay married president. The first gay president was likely James Buchanan who was chief executive from 1857-1861.

Elizabeth Warren

Another progressive icon, she has an extensive background in law. She spent two decades teaching at Harvard Law School before becoming the chief architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau following the 2008 recession.

President Donald Trump has sought to undermine the bureau tasked with protecting Americans from harmful financial practices and has repeatedly derided Warren for her claim to Native American ancestry, for which she has repeatedly apologized.

Warren entered the Senate in 2013 and is the second most popular progressive Democrat behind Sanders.

Beto O'Rourke

The former congressman launched a long-shot bid to unseat Texas Senator Ted Cruz in 2018 and lost just narrowly to the incumbent. But in campaigning for the seat, O'Rourke propelled himself into the national spotlight and gained a strong following among Democrats.

While that popularity has yet to translate into strong polling numbers, the campaign season has just begun.

O'Rourke is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, who is the only U.S. president to win the White House after mounting an unsuccessful Senate bid.

Cory Booker

A senator from New Jersey since 2013 and Rhodes Scholar, Cory Booker strikes the uplifting notes of former President Barack Obama. But his pro-Israel bona fides and historical closeness with the wealthy class could prove a liability for the senator.

He is the only Democratic senator to have co-sponsored a 2018 bill that would have barred U.S. companies from supporting an international boycott of Israel.

Amy Klobuchar

A senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar is the first woman to be sent to the Senate from the mid-western state. She is a former corporate lawyer who, like Harris, rose to national fame with her congressional grilling of Kavanaugh.

Andrew Yang

The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Andrew Yang is launching a long-shot candidacy focused on the dangers of automation for the job market. But Yang lacks much in the way of political experience, having spent most of his professional career in the tech industry.

Julian Castro

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro is the only Latino among the 2020 hopefuls. He has nearly two decades of experience in politics and is hoping to translate that into a successful Democratic bid.

At this point, the nomination is anyone's game, including the roughly 10 others who have announced their candidacies but are polling below 1%.

They include former congressman John Delaney, Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne Messam, Massachusetts congressman Seth Moulton, Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, California congressman Eric Swalwell and self-help author Marianne Williamson.

Democrats are expected to have their first primary debate in June. That will kickstart a flurry of campaign activity ahead of the Democratic convention July 13–16, 2020 when a nominee will officially be selected.

Between the first debate and that culminating moment, the candidates will have to navigate a gauntlet of debates, public appearances and decisive primaries and caucuses that begin Feb. 3, 2020 in Iowa. Super Tuesday, when at least a dozen states will hold primaries, could be decisive for the campaigns and will be held March 3.