Michael Bennet

He's a senator from Colorado. Bennet may be best-known outside his state for his January 2019 excoriation of Ted Cruz in Congress, where he criticized the Texas Republican senator’s “crocodile tears” during the national government shutdown, noting that Cruz pushed a shutdown in 2013 when Colorado was “under water.” The two-term senator is credited with helping Democrats pass the Affordable Care Act, and has been speaking out against Trump’s attacks on the bill. On a recent trip to Iowa, he told voters that Americans “don’t have to settle” for being as “terrible” as Trump, or for the “tyrants” of the Freedom Caucus.

He's served 10 years in the political sphere. The finance and legal industry gave Bennet the most money in recent elections; he hasn’t indicated any 2020 strategy yet. He thought up Medicare X, which he calls a “true public option” for healthcare, that bridges the gap between Sanders’ “Medicare for all” plan (which he calls unrealistic) and private healthcare.

Voters who respond to pugnacious attacks on Trump and Republicans will like him and those looking for a health care fix that satisfies many parties will like him. Anyone who thinks Democrats need a woman or a person of color in office this time and Bernie Sanders stans will hate him.

Joe Biden

He's a former vice president and senator. Biden, who entered the 2020 race officially with a campaign video April 25, already leads in the polls. Obama’s vice president and right-hand man, Biden has additional decades of federal experience as a senator from Delaware and a centrist appeal that could sway moderate Republicans and independents. He now leads Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at University of Pennsylvania.

He's served 49 years in the political sphere. Traditionally law firms, the insurance industry, and rich folk fund his campaign. Hollywood insiders recently gave $100,000 to his Democratic PAC.

His Biden Institute is pushing tech education and increased bargaining power for American workers as a solution to the left-behind working and middle class.

Democrats who think a safe pair of hands is a tested white man, independents nostalgic for the Obama administration, Republicans Trump has lost will like him. Progressive millennials eager for a new generation of leaders, far-right conservatives who hated Obama will hate this him.

Cory Booker

He's a senator from New Jersey. The former Newark, New Jersey mayor launched his campaign with an appeal to America’s common purpose and a focus on social and racial equality on Feb. 1, 2019. A Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law graduate who gained celebrity-politician status thanks to his early use of social media. The US senator from New Jersey has been criticized for being close to wealthy elites and for media-friendly stunts.

He's served 17 years in the political sphere. Mostly large individual contributors from the legal, investment and security, and real-estate sectors fund his campaign. A deep-pocketed Democratic donor set up a super PAC for Booker before he entered the race.

His biggest economic idea is a “baby bond” program that would give every child a US Treasury bond at birth, with a larger amount for poorer kids. He would also propose guaranteeing a $15 minimum-wage job in 15 test areas.

Voters looking for an optimistic message to contrast Trump’s negativity, northeastern city dwellers will like him. White rural voters who don’t want to focus on race and inequality, liberals concerned about his Wall Street and Silicon Valley enthusiasts will hate him.

Steve Bullock

He's the governor of Montana. Montana’s governor and former state attorney general Steve Bullock made national headlines by fighting for strong campaign finance laws. A Democratic governor who was re-elected the same day that Trump won his state by a shocking 20% margin, Bullock is building his campaign on his ability to find common ground with conservative voters while implementing progressive policies.

He's served 11 years in the political sphere. The donations for his latest gubernatorial campaign came primarily from individuals; he had several unions amongst his supporters, most of which donated exactly $10,610 each.

His biggest idea for the economy is reform campaign finance laws so that representatives don’t answer to donors, they answer to voters. Bullock pledges to force every company that wants government contracts to disclose every campaign donation, outlaw superPACs and overturn Citizens United.

People who want to get rid of corporate money in campaign financing, workers’ unions, people looking for a sensible mainstream candidate will like him. People who have lost count of the number of white male Democratic candidates and are looking for a different kind of representation; the Koch brothers, who have built up a powerful behind-the-scenes campaign donor network will hate him.

Pete Buttigieg

He's the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. A gay Democratic mayor in South Bend, which is a conservative, Republican stronghold, Buttigieg presented a progressive message geared towards millennials in a Jan. 23 exploratory announcement, saying we “can’t look for greatness in the past.” An Afghanistan war veteran and former consultant, he was the city’s youngest mayor. His LGBTQ, Harvard- and Oxford-educated profile may appeal to coastal elites and his midwest roots may give him an advantage in the rest of the country. Buttigieg formally announced his candidacy April 14.

He's served 17 years in the political sphere. Local businesses and CEOs supported his mayoral campaign. He created a PAC for megadonors to support Democrats in 2017 that may be used to fund his 2020 run.

Increase public protections of jobs and benefits to help make the employment market more dynamic without the fear of personal debt tied to college loans and medical bills.

Millennials, LGBTQ voters, voters from flyover states, social progressives will like him. Voters looking for a more experienced candidate, conservative Christians will hate him.

Julián Castro

He's a former Housing Secretary. After growing up in a poor San Antonio neighborhood, Castro—and twin brother Joaquín went on to earn Ivy League degrees and take on careers in national politics. Onetime mayor of San Antonio, Castro was US secretary of housing and urban development under Barack Obama. That experience, along with his mother’s activism with Latino groups, is a central part of the narrative he’s pitching to voters.

He's served 18 years in the political sphere. He’s pledged not to take “a dime” from political action committees. There are no public records about who contributed to his runs for mayor, because San Antonio is only required to keep campaign-finance documents for two years. The PAC he created to support new Democratic candidates in the 2018 election, Opportunity First, has vowed not to take donations from corporate PACs.

He’s been a strong advocate of free trade, which has benefitted his hometown. He’s defended free trade deals, arguing that instead of scrapping them, they should be reworked to strengthen protections for workers and the environment.

Democrats looking for a fresh face, Latino voters, free traders will like him. Democrats dismissive of identity politics, opponents of affirmative action (which Castro supports) will hate him.

Bill de Blasio

He's the mayor of New York City. De Blasio is steeped in local politics, having served as the city’s public advocate and on Hillary Clinton’s winning Senate campaign, but his time as mayor has been rocky. Still, he’s expected to emphasize his achievements there to progressive voters, including $15 minimum wage, universal pre-Kindergarten, and a drop in crime.

He's served 12 years in the political sphere. Donors for his mayoral campaign included workers’ unions and Democratic PACs have funded his campaign.

As mayor, de Blasio has presided over healthy economic expansion, but struggled to fix growing inequality. He’s expected to focus on progressive ideas to close that gap nationwide, including nationalizing his universal successful pre-Kindergarten program and increasing affordable housing.

His pre-K push, which essentially provided educational childcare for the city’s four-year-olds, was a big hit with parents. Given list of New York politicians who they’d choose for president, even New Yorkers didn’t go for de Blasio. Flip-flopping on major initiatives like the Amazon headquarters (he embraced anti-Amazon activists at the last minute) and failing to push for legalization of marijuana until this past December has turned off city residents. His progressive ideas could prove even less popular in red states.

John Delaney

He's a former congressman from Maryland. Before running for office in 2012, he started two publicly listed lending companies. He was the first generation in his family to go to college (he stresses his electrician father’s union membership).

He's served six years in the political sphere. He's funded by banks, housing, and construction companies in his congressional race. Independently wealthy, funding himself now. He wants to build a public and private international coalition against China’s intellectual property theft, and compete against China in Asia with a TPP-style trade deal.

Centrists drawn by his nuts-and-bolts pitch to improve workers’ rights, education, and infrastructure like him. And Democrats who don’t think that reaching out to Donald Trump voters is the way to win in 2020 don't.

Tulsi Gabbard

She's a congresswoman from Hawaii. The first Hindu member of Congress, the Hawaii representative controversially met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and sided with Russian president Vladimir Putin against Obama on US intervention in Syria. Strongly opposed to regime-change wars after her experience fighting in the Iraq war as part of the National Guard, she speaks about fighting “radical Islam.” A onetime Hawaii state representative, she supported Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Democratic primary campaign. On Feb. 2 she entered the race she calls a “fight for the soul” of America. She's served 17 years in the political sphere. Who gives her money: Health professionals, real-estate interest groups. Most donors are individuals, though her second-largest contribution ($36,400) between 2011 and 2018 came from the National Automobile Dealers Association’s PAC. Biggest idea for the economy: Cut taxes on small businesses and farmers, raise them on corporations; lower military spending by ending regime-change wars and reducing the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Who will like this candidate: Veterans, some progressives, voters looking to reduce military spending. Who will hate this candidate: People who are concerned about Islamophobia, supporters of global trade.

Kirsten Gillibrand

She's a senator from New York. The former corporate lawyer and New York congressional representative became known as the “Me Too senator” after calling out Trump’s sexism and leading the push for Democratic senator Al Franken to resign after sexual-misconduct allegations. Gillibrand announced she was exploring a run Jan. 16 on Stephen Colbert’s CBS late-night show, stressing assistance for public schools, job training, and support for the middle class.

She's served 11 years in the political sphere. Law firms, Wall Street institutions fund her campaign.

Gillibrand has been pushing the US to require that companies adopt a universal paid parental leave policy.

Establishment-oriented voters and party supporters closely tied to the Democratic National Committee, where Gillibrand has deep support, and still-with-Hillary folks will like her. Progressive voters—Gillibrand’s work defending the tobacco industry and her anti-immigrant platform a decade ago raise questions about where her loyalties lie will hate her.

Mike Gravel

The former US senator from Alaska, a one-time pot industry executive, and anti-war activist jumped into the race on April 8. The campaign marks his return to national politics following a more than a decade-long hiatus after running in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. (Before then, he hadn’t held public office since 1980, when he lost his Senate seat.) The octagenarian says his current bid is not to win, but to challenge centrist Democrats’ views on the economy, the environment, and US foreign policy during the presidential debates. “It’s time to make some waves for change,” he says in a YouTube video, a remake of his 2008 campaign viral hit. It’s unclear whether his team, made up of a group of teenagers, can amass the 65,000 donations needed to earn Gravel a spot. So far they’re at a little over 14,000.

He's served 56 (on and off) years in the political sphere. Individuals provided the bulk of the contributions during the 2008 primaries, with an insignificant fraction coming from PACs. He’s said he will donate all the money he has left over from this cycle towards efforts to get Flint, Michigan clean water.

His biggest economic idea is reating a social wealth fund to distribute taxes from financial transactions and IPOs through a yearly dividend to all American adults.

Democrats pushing for anti-establishment agenda, Americans who want the US to get out of foreign conflicts will like him. Democrats who want the party to head into the general election united, voters focused on bread-and-butter domestic issues will hate him.

Kamala Harris

She's a senator from California. The child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became a prosecutor in Oakland, California, the San Francisco district attorney, and finally California’s attorney general before winning her US Senate seat in California.

She's served 16 years in the political sphere. In the past five years, 35% of Harris’ campaign funds have come from small donors, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of Federal Election Commission data. Her top sources of funding include attorneys, retirees, financiers, and the entertainment industry. Her biggest contributors by employer were WarnerMedia, the University of California, Google-parent Alphabet, Inc., 21st Century Fox and the law firm Venable. Her presidential campaign won’t accept donations from corporate PACs.

The LIFT Act, a working- and middle-class tax cut akin to the Earned Income Tax Credit that she says will provide up to $500 a month to families. To pay for it, she wants to reverse Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy—but it’s not clear if she’ll tackle the radical structural changes that bill made in how US multinationals operate. Fans of Obama’s progressive pragmatism looking for a candidate who can combine a compelling personal biography with the promise to unite the party’s multi-ethnic coalition will like her. Progressives who thought Obama was a sellout, particularly those who question her mixed record on reforming the justice system will hate her.

John Hickenlooper

He's a former governor from Colorado. A geologist and businessman, John Hickenlooper served two terms as Denver mayor before being elected Colorado governor in 2010. His campaign announcement, delivered via video on March 4, highlights his personal successes—he reinvented himself by starting a brewery after being laid-off. He also touts his experience of running rapidly growing Colorado, including by shepherding its economy and enforcing gun-control laws in the state. A moderate with bipartisan appeal, he pitches himself as the right person to take on Donald Trump, whose presidency he calls “a crisis that threatens everything we stand for” in his video.

He's served 16 years in the political sphere. Government workers, lawyers and lobbyists, and real-estate firms funded his gubernatorial races. He also received contributions from energy and telecom companies.

His biggest economic idea is cutting red tape to reduce the cost of doing business and increase compliance with regulations.

Centrists, Democrats who believe in bipartisanship, never-Trump Republicans will like him. Progressive Democrats will hate him.

Jay Inslee

He's the governor of Washington State. The Washington state governor and veteran Congress member threw his hat in the ring on March 1, on a platform of environmental protection and stopping climate change. “This is our moment,” Inslee and a host of supporters, including Bill Nye, the “science guy” declare in his introductory video. As governor, Inslee is pushing privacy regulations for the tech industry, and new technology in the maritime industry to make it more efficient.

He's served 24 years in the political sphere. A new super-PAC, Act Now on Climate, was formed in February to support Inslee’s run. It won’t accept corporate donations, and Inslee’s campaign says it will shun money from the fossil-fuel industry. In the past, he’s been funded by the electronics and tech industry and affiliated unions, particularly Microsoft, which is headquartered in his state.

His biggest economic idea is stopping climate change can boost economic growth, and create millions of new jobs as the US transitions to “100% clean energy and net-zero greenhouse gas pollution,” Inslee says. He proposes removing subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil-fuel industry, and supports the Green New Deal.

Inslee’s long history of sounding the alarm on climate change will endear him to anyone worried about looming environmental disaster; his tech-focused solutions for the country’s woes are likely to appeal to that industry will like him. People who will hate this candidate: Climate science deniers, fossil-fuel industry executives, wealthier individuals opposed to his capital gains tax proposals in Washington state will hate him.

Amy Klobuchar

She's a senator from Minnesota. The former corporate lawyer, who was the first woman to be elected a Minnesota senator, has established a reputation as a matter-of-fact centrist, tackling kitchen-table issues like drug pricing. Her unflappable questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh earned her kudos from farther-left Democrats. She held an outdoor rally in a blizzard on Feb. 10 to announce she was running, aiming to highlight her “grit” and the “friends and neighbors” who showed up to cheer.

She's served 12 years in the political sphere. Traditionally law firms and the food and dairy industry fund her campaign. Klobuchar is pledging to get “dark money” out of politics, and said she won’t take corporate PAC money for the 2020 race.

Her biggest economic idea is a new measures to make it easier for small and mid-sized US businesses to export goods worldwide.

Folks looking for a Goldilocks candidate—neither too left nor too right, and a woman who appeals to midwestern voters will like her. Democrats to her left may be opposed to Klobuchar’s centrist appeal will hate her.

Seth Moulton

He's a congressman from Massachusetts. The congressman from Massachusetts and former Marine launched his campaign for president on April 22, with a pledge to wrestle the idea of patriotism back from Republicans, cut weapons programs the US doesn’t need, stop Russian cyber-hacking and restore America’s moral authority. “The greatest generation saved our country from tyranny, it’s time for our generation to step up and do the same,” Moulton said in a video, explaining that he’s running because “we have to beat Donald Trump.” Moulton, who led a failed attempt to oust Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House, has supported veterans issues and gun-safety legislation since joining Congress in 2015.

He's served 5 years in the political sphere. Moulton has raised money from a diverse pool of donors in the past that included Harvard University (he’s a Harvard grad) and weapons-maker Northrop Grumman. Unlike many of his Democratic competitors, Moulton hasn’t pledged not to take corporate PAC money ahead of the primaries.

Moulton is backing the Green New Deal as a genesis of new “green jobs” in America.

Voters looking for a supporter of progressive issues including gun safety and climate change in a conservative-looking package will like him. Pelosi fans, Democrats who have stressed that party unity is the best way to beat Trump will hate him.

Beto O'Rourke

He's a congressman from Texas. Virtually unknown outside Texas until last year, O’Rourke now has a national fan base thanks to his plucky campaign against US senator Ted Cruz. After months of speculation, the former US representative and El Paso, Texas city councilman, tech-company founder, and onetime punk rocker announced his presidential bid in a March 14 video. His upbeat message and multicultural background—he grew up on the border with Mexico—played well with Trump-fatigued voters, but he’s short on experience and policy proposals.

He's served 14 years in the political sphere. His race against Cruz was mainly funded by individual contributors but he took PAC money in previous elections.

His economic proposals during his Senate run last year were focused on reducing inequality, though they were rather vague. They included stronger anti-trust regulations to break up monopolies and encouraging companies to invest profits in their employees and communities.

Democrats disillusioned with party leadership (especially millennials), immigrants, veterans will like him. Voters hungry for nitty-gritty details on what his policies would be, Democrats who want the party to stay away from divisive, culture-war issues will hate him.

Tim Ryan

He's a congressman from Ohio. During his eight terms in Congress, Ryan, a native Ohioan, has been a vocal backer of union labor, renewable energy, and single-payer healthcare. He wants to revitalize American manufacturing, public education, and support struggling US veterans. Ryan believes he is the best chance Democrats’ have of winning back white, working-class voters who voted for Trump in 2016. “Flyover states are my states,” he said as he kicked off his campaign April 4.

He's served 15 years in the political sphere. Ryan was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2002. After college, he worked for late Ohio congressman James Traficant, who left office when convicted on corruption charges. Ryan is a devotee of meditation and mindfulness, and wrote a book about it, A Mindful Nation, in 2012.

About 38% of Ryan’s donations over his House career have come from labor unions; lawyers and law firms have historically been his biggest supporters. Ryan relies mostly on large single donations, as 92% of all contributions to his campaign during the 2018 cycle were amounts above $200.

Ryan has talked about creating jobs in electric-vehicle manufacturing and other green industries. He is pro-business and pro-fracking, and cautions against Democrats moving too far to the left. “We can’t green the economy without the power of the free-market system,” he said.

Centrists and moderate Democrats; people who prefer their politics middle-of-the-road will like him. Progressive Democrats who see Ryan’s style as more capitulation than compromise will hate him.

Bernie Sanders

He's a senator from Vermont. A Brooklyn-born self-described democratic socialist, Sanders was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981 by a margin of just three votes. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1990, and the US Senate in 2006, where he remains today—the longest-serving independent senator in the history of the US. He challenged Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries in 2016 and entered the 2020 race on Feb. 19, promising “change from the bottom up.”

He's served 38 years in the political sphere. Over the past five years, 75% of Sanders’ campaign funds have come from small donors in amounts of less than $200, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of FEC data. His top sources of funding include liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, University of California employees, two postal-employee unions, and the Communication Workers of America. Just $177,000 of $12.7 million raised during that period came from PACs.

Sanders would like to make public colleges tuition-free, increase Social Security benefits, and make corporate America more union-friendly. Sanders has proposed paying for the tuition costs by taxing financial transactions and the Social Security expansion by subjecting all incomes above $250,000 to the 6.2% payroll tax.

Loyal “Bernie Bros” who still think he would have won in 2016, new converts to the idea of universal healthcare and higher taxes for the wealthy will like him. Democrats who see Sanders as a “spoiler” who siphons votes away from defeating Trump, Clinton fans still smarting over her loss, people of color alienated by Sanders’ last campaign will hate him.

Joe Sestak

A retired Navy officer and former National Security Council director of defense policy under Bill Clinton, Sestak represented a deep-red district of Pennsylvania as a Democratic congressman between 2007 and 2011. He then ran unsuccessfully twice for Senator in Pennsylvania, and is now the president of First Global, a nonprofit focused on STEM education. “America’s retreat from the world today is so dangerous and damaging to our American Dream,” Sestak says in the 14-minute long video explaining his reasons for running as president. He also claimed Trump is “not the problem,” but a symptom of “a system that is not fair and accountable to the people,” and promises to fight corporate power and influence in DC. He is announcing his run ater than other candidates because his daughter was successfully battling brain cancer.

He's served 4 years in the political sphere. His 2010 campaign was primarily powered by individual contributions, small and large. Amongst the top contributors are the University of Pennsylvania, liberal advocacy group J Street, and law firm Blank Rome. His biggest economic idea is to cut taxes for the middle class, raise corporate tax.

People worried about the US’s increasingly isolationist foreign policy, those who believe in bipartisanship. People who think there is a limit to how many white men can run for president, or that Trump voters can be converted; those interested in shrinking the US’s role abroad.

Eric Swalwell

He's a congressman from California. The three-term US representative for northern California launched his bid on the Steven Colbert’s Late Show on April 8. The son of a retired police officer and an administrative assistant, Swalwell touts his blue-collar roots, underscoring that he’s the first in his family to graduate from college and is still paying off his student debt. He’s made gun control his top priority, another issue that is likely to resonate with young voters. Though he beat a longtime, well-established incumbent to get to Congress as a political neophyte, his lack of experience and low national profile might be tough to overcome in the primaries.

He's served 9 years in the political sphere. He says he’s not taking any corporate PAC money as a presidential candidate. In the past he took donations from a variety of industries, including finance and real estate, health, communications, and electronics.

His biggest economic idea is expanding access to college by providing interest-free federal loans, allowing employers to make tax-free contributions to pay off their employees’ student debt and helping those in work-study programs graduate without owing anything.

Voters who favor a bipartisan approach, including some moderate Republicans, millennials will like him. Democrats looking for more diverse leadership, those wanting a candidate with a hefty resume in running government and policy will hate him.

Elizabeth Warren

She's a senator from Massachusetts. The former Harvard law professor became a household name as a US senator from Massachusetts when she spearheaded congressional oversight of the financial industry bailout. She’s promising to restore the US to a place where people can succeed if they “work hard and play by the rules” by holding billionaires and big corporations accountable. She formally entered the race Feb. 9, when she suggested Trump could be in jail by 2020.

She's served 10 years in the political sphere. The education industry, women’s PACs, and the legal profession in the past; she’s pledged to take no money from billionaires or billionaire PACS in 2020.

Her biggest economic idea is “wealth tax” of 2% on net worth over $50 million and 3% over $1 billion designed to raise $2.75 trillion over a decade.

Detail-oriented voters who like her mix of east-coast academic know-how and midwest roots will like her. Voters who distrust the intellectual elite, people who doubt she has enough personal appeal and can lure centrists will hate her.

Marianne Williamson

She's a self-help author. The best-selling author of 12 books on spirituality, including Healing the Soul of America, she ran for US representative in California in 2014 as an independent. A spiritual advisor to Oprah Winfrey, she is an active supporter of the HIV/AIDS community, poverty reduction, and female empowerment. She is promoting racial reconciliation, reparations to the African-American community and a more humane US immigration policy.

She's served 5 years in the political sphere. Unclear so far who donates to her campaign; Williamson is independently wealthy.

Her biggest economic idea is to pay $10 billion in slavery reparations every year for 10 years to the African American community.

Some woke white liberals, coastal elites will like her. Pragmatic voters, nationalists, centrists, people who want the party to stay away from identity politics, those wary of modern spiritual movements will hate her.

Andrew Yang

He's a former tech executive. A former tech entrepreneur who started a nonprofit to promote startups, Yang entered the race on essentially a single issue: protecting Americans from job-stealing robots. The son of Taiwanese immigrants, he sells himself as the opposite of Trump—an ego-free Asian man who likes math.

He's served less than one year in the political sphere. Individual contributors, some who donate in bitcoin. He’s also using some of his own money.

His biggest economic ides is a $1,000 monthly check sent to every American over 18, so they can pay their bills as robots take over jobs.

Silicon Valley types, promoters of universal basic income (UBI) like him. Anyone against higher taxes whom Yang wants to fund his UBI proposal through value-added taxes, will hate him