Living in a college town or on a college campus is almost like living in a little bubble. If one so chooses, you can turn off all news notifications, only follow celebrities on your social media and move on with your life. Go to class, hang out with friends, attend football games, parties and study at the library. It can be easy to fall into this habit, and in effect, isolate yourself and your campus from the outside world. It can be especially easy to do that when there is so much information being disseminated every day-- as very few people have the time to follow election on a weekly basis, much less a daily basis.
So here's the rundown of what you need to know about the 2020 Democratic Candidates going into the primary, so you, as a student and and a US citizen, are able to exercise your voice and your right to vote.
Pete Buttigieg
Key Facts
- Former two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana
- First openly gay Presidential candidate
- Youngest candidate running, age 37
What Sets Buttigieg Apart from Other Candidates?
Buttigieg was the first candidate to discuss the idea of modifying the supreme court system, and has endorsed a few ideas, with the overarching goal of making the supreme court system less of a political feud between Democrats and Republicans. If elected, Buttigieg would be the first President to go right from City Hall to the White House.
Buttigieg's Stance on Key Policies Students Care About
Healthcare - "Medicare for all who want it."
- Buttigieg does not believe that Medicare for all requires the elimination of privatized insurance
- Medicare made as public option for general public
- In the long-term, supports single-payer healthcare (and believes public medicare will naturally lend itself to this)
Immigration
- Supports Obama's DACA program, which protects immigrant children who came to America illegally and provides a path to US citizenship
- Against Trump's wall, but is interested in other ways to increase border security, including possibly fencing
Climate Change - Make the US Carbon-Neutral by 2050
- Supports US rejoining Paris Climate Accord
- Would spend between $1.5 and $2 trillion on climate policies
- Would create over 3 million new clean energy jobs
Education - The Douglass Plan and student debt
- Comprehensive plan with measures including increasing funding for historically black colleges and universities by $25 billion
Read more in-depth information about Buttigieg
Business Insider: Pete Buttigieg is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
The New York Times: Pete Buttigieg
Bernie Sanders
Key Facts
- 78 years old
-Former mayor of Burlington, Vermont-> elected to the House of Representatives, 1990 -> elected to the Senate, 2006
- Runner-up in 2016 Primary to Hillary Clinton
What Sets Sanders Apart from Other Candidates?
Sanders identifies as a Democratic Socialist, which generally falls in between social democracy and communism. If elected, he would be the leader of a party he himself has yet to join.
Sanders' Stance on Key Policies Students Care About
Healthcare - Medicare for All
- All Americans provided with health insurance
- Privatized insurance eliminated
- Covers all basic needs, including home-care, and allows people to visit any doctor they wish
Immigration
- Supports comprehensive immigration reform
- Wants to create a better pathway to legalized citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Education - College for All
- Supports making public colleges and universities free for undergraduate students
- Under his College for All Act, 67% of the costs would be covered by the federal government, and the remaining 33% would be covered by state government
Read More In-Depth Information About Sanders
Business Insider: Bernie Sanders is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
Elizabeth Warren
Key Facts
- 70 years old
-Former professor of law, elected to the senate, 2012
- Helped set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama Administration
What Sets Warren Apart from Other Candidates?
According to an article in The New York Times, Warren "is running for president promising to bring about “big, structural change,” with the goal of tilting power toward working people and away from big corporations and the rich." She has become notorious for her in-depth policy plans, and is not only a proponent for "Medicare for All," she has also developed a strategic plan for how it would be implemented and funded. If elected, she would be the first female president of the United States!
Warren's Stance on Key Policies Students Care About
Healthcare
- Supports Medicare for All as an "option," but would not be mandatory for all Americans
- Introduced legislation that would create a government-operated pharmaceutical manufacturer and lower drug prices
- Released a $20.5 trillion plan to pay for single-payer, greatly expanding wealth tax on the ultra-rich-- but not on the middle class
Immigration
- Wants to replace Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) with something more moral and effective
- Supports Obama's DACA program, which protects immigrant children who came to America illegally and provides a path to US citizenship
- Supports decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings
Education
- Released plan to forgive $50,000 in student loan debt for every American whose family makes up to $100,000
- Previously signed onto Bernie Sanders' Education for All Act
Read More In-Depth Information About Warren
Business Insider: Elizabeth Warren is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how she stacks up against the competition.
Joe Biden
Key Facts
- 77 years old
-Former Vice President (2009-2017), elected as Senator of Delaware (1973-2009)
- He also sought the nomination for President in 1988 and 2008
What Sets Biden Apart from Other Candidates?
As a two-term Vice President of the United States, Biden has a different level of personal experience than the other candidates. He served as Vice President during the time of the passing of The Affordable Care Act (ACA), and healthcare is a top priority for him.
Biden's Stance on Key Policies Students Care About
Healthcare
- Supports a healthcare plan that would build upon ACA, and would include an expansion to create a more public option
- Opposes Sanders' Medicare for All plan
Education
-Supports free college education
- Unveiled a $750 billion plan to make two years of community college tuition-free
Climate Change
- Supported the Paris Peace Accords (which the Trump Administration left in 2017), but has not yet endorsed the Green New Deal, which, according to an article in The New York Times, "Calls on the federal government to wean the United States from fossil fuels and curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. It also aims to guarantee new high-paying jobs in clean energy industries"
Read More In-Depth Information About Biden
Business Insider: Joe Biden is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
The New York Times: Joe Biden
Amy Klobuchar
Key Facts
- 59 years old
-Former Hennepin County attorney; elected to the Minnesota Senate (2006)
What Sets Klobuchar Apart from Other Candidates?
Klobuchar is running on the more moderate side of the Democratic party, especially compared to some of the other candidates, and according to an article in The New York Times, "has emphasized throughout her presidential campaign that a bipartisan approach is the Democrats’ best chance at winning the White House." She also has released a list of more than 100 actions she would take in her first 100 days as President.
Klobuchar's Stance on Key Policies Students Care About
Healthcare
-According to an article in Business Insider, she "Supports lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 55, and co-sponsored a bill introduced by Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii that would create an expanded public option to allow people to buy into Medicaid or Medicare at a reasonable price"
- Does not support Sanders' Medicare for All, views it as more aspirational than plausible
- Does not support getting rid of privatized insurance companies
Immigration
- Supports creating a better path to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants without criminal records
- Does not support the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but believes the agency needs major policy reform
- Does not support free, four-year college for all
- Supports reducing student debt and creating more ways for Americans to refinance student loans
Read More In-Depth Information About Klobuchar
Business Insider: Amy Klobuchar is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how she stacks up against the competition.
The New York Times: Amy Klobuchar
Now that you've had the chance to learn a bit more about each candidate and their stances on various policies and issues, which candidate do you identify most with? If you're still not sure, there are so many resources out there to find out more information. For example, feel free to take this quiz, from The Washington Post, that asks you your stance on more in-depth policies and shows you candidates that identify most with your stance. Also, see below for links to the candidate's websites to learn even more!
Pete Buttigieg: https://peteforamerica.com
Bernie Sanders: https://berniesanders.com
Elizabeth Warren: https://elizabethwarren.com
Joe Biden: https://joebiden.com
Amy Klobuchar: https://amyklobuchar.com
This idea for a blog is absolutely amazing and so helpful to all college students. For me, personally, I don't have time to watch the news like I did at home. In high school, CNN and NBC and other news outlets would be on in the morning and I would watch the news and debates while eating breakfast or doing my homework in the kitchen at night . Upon arriving at college, however, I signed up for CNN updates and get notifications on my phone when important news happens so I wouldn't be totally out of the loop.
However, I have been struggling to follow up on this election because of school work and midterms slowly approaching. Your blog and…
I was so happy to see the topic of this blog post! Unfortunately, living on a college campus can sometimes make me feel like I'm living in a bubble. I find myself working so much on my studies and campus-related activities at times, that I begin losing sight of other important things, like politics. The combination of this, plus the fact that I’ve never been a big fan or follower of politics in general, means that I’m unfortunately unaware of the candidates in the next election. Recently, however, I took a class called Critical Issues in the United States. For one of our papers we focused on education in politics, and I found that it’s extremely alarming how it’s up…
Hey Lauren,
This is such a great idea because now more than ever, it is so important that we have unbiased information about the candidates running for the most powerful job on earth. We as Americans have been given the great responsibility of electing our next president, and I think finding out about each candidate is extremely important for college students. While students are at home, they are far more likely to vote for the same candidates as their parents, but now that they are on their own, how will this affect their voting pattern? This election is going to be very difficult for the entire country but especially young people because all of these primaries and the election in…
This blog post is so helpful for everyone, but specifically for college students. We are very busy on college campuses so this quick rundown of candidates including their backgrounds and stances on important issues. It is easy to fall into a place of ignorance when in college so having a resource like this to keep up with candidates and political news in a quick and easy way is very helpful. I personally resonated with the ideas of Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar and was glad that this post gave me the opportunity to better understand their stances. I appreciate the links to the candidates’ websites to learn about them in a more in-depth way. Overall, I think this blog can…