Candidates have announced their campaigns, drama has ensued and that’s when you know that the United States is about to have a controversial presidential election. The 2020 Presidential Election is coming around the corner, and it seems like almost everyone that’s ever been featured on an AJ Plus political video has announced their campaign to be the next president of the United States. But like what plagues an indecisive person deciding where to eat, are too many options a bad thing?
According to the New York Times, there are 20 candidates that have announced the start of their presidential campaigns, two that are likely to run and seven that might announce a campaign. I don’t know when the United States presidency turned into a Harry Potter-esque Goblet of Fire competition, but given the fact that each political party would like to come to a consensus about who to vote for, too many options is overwhelming.
The Democratic Party has some big names pop up with the likes of Beto O’Rourke, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders announcing their bids. The Republican Party has their current president, Donald Trump, trying to go two for two with another term, and William Feld of Massachusetts trying to run as well. The democratic party has a total of 18 people that have announced their campaigns, and it’s already hard for voters to keep up.
Obviously we are still in the beginning stages of the political race, but things are heating up quickly. Between controversies at rallies, and the overall spillage of drama between the current president and candidates, people want to grasp to familiar faces that will represent them well. While this might be easy for people who know they are going to be supporting the republican party, democratic voters are having a harder time deciding who to get behind.
During a Buzzfeed interview with former Georgia gubernatorial race candidate Stacey Abrams, Abrams addressed the concerns that democrats have too many candidates in the presidential race.
When asked directly if democrats should focus on regaining the senate majority instead of running for president, Abrams said, “If you run for the Senate, you should want to do the job of being in the Senate. If you want to be president that’s a very different job, and I know people often want to go from one to the other but I want people running for the Senate who want to do the work of being in the Senate. Separate from that, I don’t think we have too many candidates.”
While the sentiment is obviously there, Abrams is assuming that people are going to inform themselves about which candidates to vote for, which hasn’t been the case in past years. People vote for who they connect with, and when they’re forced to try and get to know 18 candidates for one party, it can be overwhelming and welcome uneducated decisions.
Like most things in life, less is more and that should translate over to this presidential race as well. Obviously only time will tell if having a multitude of candidates will benefit the country, but right now the cluster of candidates is off putting and doesn’t encourage people to get more involved in their political decisions.
Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Jacey Gonzalez is a student at the University of Nevada and studies journalism. She can be reached at jaceygonzalez@sagebrush.unr.ed and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.