Joe Biden: “Our best days still lie ahead.” Biden, 76, served under Obama as the vice president of the U.S from 2009-2017. Biden was a lawyer and a six-term senator before his vice presidency. He has already run for president twice, in 1988 and 2008. Biden wants to promote affordable health care, rebuild the middle class, and extend democracy to everyone within the country.
Cory Booker: “Where there’s unity, there is strength.” Booker, 50, is a New Jersey senator who also served as the mayor of Newark from 2006-2013. Booker is a vegan and prioritizes animal welfare. He also wants to end mass incarceration, close the racial wealth gap, and win equality for LGBTQ people.
Pete Buttigieg: “A fresh start for America.” Buttigieg, 37, is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve. If elected, Buttigieg would be the first openly gay president. Buttigieg, the youngest candidate in the presidential field, wants to provide affordable healthcare to everyone in the country and help stop climate change.
Julián Castro: “One nation. One destiny.” Castro, 45, served as Obama's secretary of housing and urban development from 2014 to 2017. His grandmother immigrated from Mexico. He wants to decriminalize border crossings, provide a path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants, and empower workers with unions for all.
Tulsi Gabbard: “Lead with love.” Gabbard, 38, represents Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a veteran of the Iraq War and served on the Hawaii Army National Guard. Gabbard began her campaign with her anti-war stance and prioritizes racial justice. She supports abortion rights and Medicare.
Kamala Harris: “For the people.” Harris, 54, is a California senator who was the attorney general of California. Her mother immigrated to the U.S. from India. Harris wants to reform criminal justice and combat the climate crisis.
Amy Klobuchar: “Let’s get to work.” Klobuchar, 59, was a lawyer before becoming a Minnesota senator in 2006. Klobuchar supports universal health care and reproductive rights. She also wants to combat the opioid crisis and drug addiction.
Beto O’Rourke: “We’re all in this together.” O’Rourke, 47, is a former Texas representative. He is a fourth-generation Irish American who was born and raised in El Paso. He wants to reduce gun violence, fight against climate change, and legalize marijuana.
Bernie Sanders: “Not me. Us.” Sanders, 78, is a Vermont senator who used to be the mayor of Burlington. He was the runner-up in the 2016 Democratic primary. Sanders believes in Medicare for all. He also wants to cancel all student debt and make public colleges and universities free.
Tom Steyer: “Actions speak louder than words.” Steyer, 62, is a businessman and self-made billionaire. He is passionate about impeaching Trump. He and his wife founded NextGen America, a nonprofit group that serves to combat climate change and promote renewable energy. He also wants to end gun violence in America.
Elizabeth Warren: “Dream big fight hard.” Warren, 70, is a Massachusetts senator. She has a background in education as a teacher and a law professor. Warren wants to defend and create American jobs, as well as end corruption in Washington.
Andrew Yang: “Humanity first.” Yang, 44, is a businessman and entrepreneur whose parents immigrated from Taiwan. He wants to focus the American economy on maximizing human welfare. Yang’s universal basic income plan, which is called the Freedom Dividend, is to give every American citizen over the age of 18 $1,000 a month.
