Primary season is fast approaching, and while some of the Presidential candidates are picking up speed, others have fallen behind and fallen out.
The lineup of front-runners has altered slightly. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, has been constantly rising in the polls since the impeachment debacle started. Some attribute this to the previous leader of the pack, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., being involved in the impeachment conversation. President Donald Trump is under inquiry for withholding financial aid from Ukraine unless they helped investigate Biden and his son Hunter, who is on the board of a Ukrainian company. While Joe Biden has claimed he has nothing to do with the matter, voters are responding negatively to his family connections, giving Warren a boost.
Bernie Sanders has also experienced surging momentum. The Vermont senator was embroiled in controversy when he suffered a heart attack in early October, but Sanders was able to turn this into a political victory. He staged massive rallies and surged in the polls, staving off doubts that the 78 year-old’s campaign would be undermined by his cardiac arrest.
A handful of candidates were not so lucky, dropping out of the race before primary season starts. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke dropped out in early November. He was known for his strong stances against guns and Donald Trump. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also dropped out after weak results in polls kept him in the bottom tiers of candidates and out of the Democratic debates.
On the Republican side, Mark Sanford, former Governor and Representative for South Carolina has dropped out. This is likely due to incumbent President Donald Trump’s image looming over everything Sanford did, from interviews to rallies. Sanford eventually shut down his long shot campaign after realizing his focus on the national deficit was not going to save him.
Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, and Deval Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts, both announced relatively late presidential runs. While Patrick is relatively unknown to many outside of his home state, Bloomberg has the possibility to make ground as the recognizable name and moderate demeanor may make him attractive to voters.
Donald Trump is still sitting at the top of the Republican ticket, with no real competition in sight, typical for an incumbent President. Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and former Representative Joe Walsh are both in the Republican primary, but are completely overshadowed by Trump’s incumbency.