The 2020 Democratic primary has
been chock-full of hopefuls and has
drawn the attention of many. However,
it is in the best interests of all of those
in the Democratic Party, and the Party
itself, that the lower tier candidates drop out.
Those lower tier politicians (polling below
3 percent) are potential strong
candidates for Senate or Congress, and
are for the most part apt politicians who
have resources and political pull. If they
spent that political capital on a congressional
campaign, they could truly serve
their party better.
Additionally, should a
Democrat contender beat Trump, those
additional Democratic seats would be
necessary for the new administration to
accomplish anything.
While diversity of thought is good,
having 6 still on the stage (and more
still in the race), where they are baited
to attack each other, portrays a fractured
party and makes it difficult for voters
to coalesce behind a few candidates.
Obviously, not all of the presidential
contenders should drop out and endorse
a single presidential hopeful, but rather
the top few should remain in the race.
This would include Joe Biden, Elizabeth
Warren, Bernie Sanders, and perhaps
Pete Butiggieg, Amy Kloubouchar, Tom
Steyer, Andrew Yang and/or Michael
Bloomberg.
This would allow for the top candidates to
truly display the differences
between each other, for voters to become
more informed, and to create a more
clear picture of the Democratic primary,
as the dropout of all of the smaller candidates
would force a number of potential
voters to choose among the remaining
candidates.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong
with these candidates ever having run, nor
is there a problem with a healthy debate
in the primaries. However, if these
low-polling candidates truly had the best
interests of the party (and thus the country)
at heart, they would drop out of the
race so that those candidates who stand a
realistic chance could make their argument
in a less crowded room.
This differs from the 2016 primaries,
where there was the juggernaut of Hillary Clinton,
then the underdog Bernie Sanders and the third
quiet candidate of Martin O’Malley, whose
campaign never truly got off the ground. This
virtually two-person race made Senator Sanders’
campaign almost necessary, as it offered
an energy and variety of views to the
party that would not have been found in
the sole candidacy of Secretary Clinton.
The story in 2019 is a massively different situation,
as there is such a variety of voices and ideas.
However, that variety has become too great and in
some cases repetitive, so that the debate and
discussions are no longer healthy or productive.
Rather, the candidates are reduced to a few seconds
limited by available airtime and the divided support in
the party due to the multitudes of contenders.
It is thus in the best interests of the party
if the lower tiered candidates were to drop out
and pursue congressional seats, and in that action
clarify the primary race.
