Who is running for president in 2020? An interactive guide
We still have a long way to go until the general election on Nov. 3 when voters will determine who will hold the Oval Office for the next four years, but the field has narrowed to one in each of the two major parties.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the presumptive Democratic candidate and President Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican candidate.
Here are short bios of Biden and Trump and a breakdown of the people who vied for the nomination and dropped out or didn't join the 2020 presidential race.
Candidates on the issues: A voter's guide to where they stand on health care, gun control and more
Joe Biden
Experience: Vice president, 2009-2017; senator from Delaware, 1973-2009
Quote: "It’s time to get up and get off our backs and remember the hell who we are."
Fast facts: This is the third time Joe Biden has run for president. He also sought the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008.
Website: https://joebiden.com/
Donald Trump
Experience: President, 2017-present; real estate developer; reality TV star
Quote: "America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism."
Fast facts: Trump filed for re-election the day he was inaugurated, and his campaign already has raised more than $100 million.
Campaign site: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
Michael Bennet
Experience: Senator, 2009-present
Quote: "I think we need an education president," he told the Des Moines Register. "There's no public good that's more important than education."
Fast facts: Bennet was born in New Delhi, India, where his father worked as an aide to the U.S. ambassador.
Website: https://michaelbennet.com/
Michael Bloomberg
Experience: New York City Mayor, 2002-2013; CEO and founder of Bloomberg financial services firm
Quote: "The presidential aspirants are not short on big ideas. But voters must demand they explain how they intend to move from proposing plans to actually implementing them, including passing them through Congress," Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post. "Those who dodge the question by speaking of revolution and the bully pulpit aren’t up to the job."
Fast facts: Bloomberg was first elected mayor as a Republican in 2001. He was reelected as a Republican again in 2005, but two years later left the party. He was an Independent when he was reelected in 2009, and became a Democrat in 2018.
Bloomberg's announcement to end campaign
Cory Booker
Experience: Senator, 2013-present; mayor of Newark, 2006-2013.
Quote: "I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind."
Fast facts: New Jersey’s first African-American senator, Booker has hinged his career on his efforts at overhauling the criminal justice system. He was also a Rhodes scholar and played football at Stanford.
Booker's announcement to end campaign
Steve Bullock
Experience: Governor, 2013-present; Montana attorney general, 2009-2013
Quote: "Fundamentally, governors are on the front lines, meaning that this can’t just be about speeches or tweets. We actually have to get things done.”
Fast facts: Bullock, a gun owner, supports universal background checks and cracking down on straw gun purchases. In 1994, his 11-year-old nephew was shot and killed on a school playground in Butte, Mont., by another student.
Bullock's announcement to end campaign
Pete Buttigieg
Experience: Mayor, 2012-present
Quote: "We can't look for greatness in the past. Right now, our country needs a fresh start."
Fast facts: A lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve who served in Afghanistan, Buttigieg would be the first openly gay nominee for a major political party.
Buttigieg's announcement to end campaign
Bill de Blasio
Experience: Mayor, 2014-present; New York City Public Advocate, 2010-2013; New York City Council, 2002-2009
Quote: "People don't feel like this society is serving them anymore," de Blasio said during a visit to Iowa. "We — as Democrats, as progressives — need to answer that with honesty but also with a vision of change.”
Fast facts: The mayor, along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, called for the dismantling of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
De Blasio's announcement to end campaign
Julián Castro
Experience: Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, 2014-2017; mayor of San Antonio, 2009-2014
Quote: "Today we’re falling backwards instead of moving forward. And the opportunities that made America, the America we love, those opportunities are reaching fewer and fewer people."
Fast facts: The grandson of a Mexican immigrant and son of a Latina activist, Castro's twin brother, Joaquin Castro, is a Democratic congressman from Texas.
Castro's announcement to end campaign
John Delaney
Experience: Representative, 2013-2019; entrepreneur
Quote: "Trump wants this campaign to be about socialism and we shouldn’t give him what he wants. We need to update our social programs to better fit today’s world, and we need to make capitalism more just and inclusive."
Fast facts: Delaney, who founded two publicly traded companies, was one of the first Democrats to announce and has been a 2020 presidential candidate since July 2017.
Delaney's announcement to end campaign
Tulsi Gabbard
Experience: Representative, 2013-present; Honolulu City Council, 2010-2012; State representative, 2002-2004.
Quote: "I’m running for president to end regime change wars, work to end the new Cold War and nuclear arms race, and take the trillions of dollars wasted on these wars and put it back in the pockets of the American people."
Fast facts: Born in Leloaloa, American Samoa, Gabbard is the first Hindu member of Congress. She served in the Hawaii National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2004.
Gabbard's announcement to end campaign
Kirsten Gillibrand
Experience: Senator, 2009-present; representative from New York, 2007-2009
Quote: "I’m going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I fight for my own."
Fast facts: Gillibrand is the mother of two boys and was the sixth woman ever to give birth while serving in Congress.
Gillibrand's announcement to end campaign
Mike "Maurice" Gravel
Experience: Senator 1969 – 1981; Alaska state representative 1962-1966; real estate developer
Quote: "The biggest problem we have in our society is the control of our society by the military industrial complex,” Gravel said in a campaign video. “Stop and ask: ‘Who’s going to attack us?’"
Fast facts: As a senator, Gravel was a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War who helped introduce the Pentagon Papers into the public record. His 2020 campaign has primarily consisted of television interviews and a Twitter account run by a pair of teenagers.
Gravel's announcement to end campaign
Kamala Harris
Experience: Senator, 2017-present; California attorney general, 2011-2016; San Francisco district attorney 2004-2011
Quote: "As we embark on this campaign, I will tell you this: I am not perfect. Lord knows, I am not perfect. But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. And I will speak the truth."
Fast facts: Harris – whose mother emigrated to the U.S. from India – is the first South Asian-American and the second African-American female senator in U.S. history.
Campaign site: https://kamalaharris.org/
John Hickenlooper
Experience: Governor, 2011-2019; Denver mayor 2003-2011; restaurateur
Quote: "Donald Trump is alienating our allies, ripping away our health care, endangering our planet and destroying our democracy."
Fast facts: Hickenlooper suffers from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, which makes it difficult for him to recognize people. He told CNN the condition has a silver lining: "I have overcompensated ... to treat everyone who comes towards me as a friend, just to assume that I know them."
Hickenlooper's announcement to end campaign
Jay Inslee
Experience: Governor, 2013-present; Representative, 1993-1995, 1999-2012; State representative, 1988-1992.
Quote: "We're the first generation to feel the sting of climate change and we're the last that can do something about it."
Fast facts: An avid cyclist and hiker, Inslee intends to make climate change a central part of his campaign. As governor, he has pushed for clean energy and recently backed a state carbon fee to limit pollution.
Inslee's announcement to end campaign
Amy Klobuchar
Experience: Senator, 2007-present; Hennepin County prosecutor, 1999-2006
Quote: "I don’t have a political machine. I don’t come from money. But what I do have is this: I have grit, I have family, I have friends, and I have all of you."
Fast facts: Klobuchar is positioning herself as a Midwest moderate who can work with Republicans. According to GovTrack, she introduced the most pieces of legislation in the 115th Congress of any Democratic senator and her bills had the most non-Democratic co-sponsors.
Klobuchar's announcement to end campaign
Wayne Messam
Experience: Mayor, 2015-present
Quote: "Washington is not working for the American people, and these big issues need fresh eyes and bold ideas from someone closer to the people, so our voice can be heard.”
Fast facts: Messam was a starting wide receiver on Florida State University’s 1993 championship football team under coach Bobby Bowden.
Messam's announcement to end campaign
Seth Moulton
Experience: Representative, 2015-present
Quote: “I believe it’s time for a new generation of leadership, and we gotta send Donald Trump packing."
Fast facts: A Marine Corps veteran and Harvard University graduate, Moulton was one of more than a dozen Democratic House members who initially opposed Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s bid to return as speaker after the midterm elections.
Moulton's announcement to end campaign
Richard Ojeda
The former West Virginia state senator dropped out of the race in January, telling supporters he didn't want them donating money to a campaign with little chance of success.
Ojeda's announcement to end campaign
Beto O'Rourke
Experience: Representative, 2013-2019; El Paso city council member, 2005-2011
Quote: "I want to be president because I feel that we can bring this country together. We can unify around our ambitions, our aspirations, the big things that we know we are capable of when all of us have the opportunity to contribute."
Fast facts: O'Rourke is a lover of punk rock, and co-founded the band Foss during his college years. The band toured during his summer break and put out a single in 1993 titled, "The El Paso Pussycats."
Campaign site: https://betoorourke.com/
Deval Patrick
Experience: Governor of Massachusetts, 2007-2015; United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, 1994-1997
Quote: "This won't be easy and it shouldn't be, but I'm placing my faith in the people who feel left out and left back and who just want a fair shot at a better future — not built by somebody better than you, not built for you, but built with you," Patrick said in his announcement video.
Fast fact: Patrick made history as the first African-American governor of Massachusetts.
Patrick's announcement to end campaign
Tim Ryan
Experience: Representative, 2003-present; state senator, 2000-2002
Quote: "The country is divided. We can't get anything done because of these huge divisions that we have,” Ryan told CNN.
Fast facts: Ryan, a moderate Democrat, launched an unsuccessful bid in 2016 to unseat Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as his party’s leader in the House.
Ryan's announcement to end campaign
Bernie Sanders
Experience: Senator, 2007-present; representative from Vermont, 1991-2000
Quote: "Our health care system today essentially says that if you happen to be poor, you are less deserving of getting care than a wealthy person. That is fundamentally immoral and that is not the kind of nation we should be."
Fast facts: Sanders sought the Democratic nomination in 2016 as well as 2020, but he has run as an independent for other offices he has sought. Before being elected in 1990, he lost two Senate and three gubernatorial campaigns.
Sander's announcement to end campaign
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Mark Sanford
Experience: Representative 2013-2019 and 1995-2001; governor 2003-2011
Quote: “Sometimes in life you’ve got to say what you’ve got to say, whether there’s an audience or not for that message.”
Fast facts: After Trump took office, Sanford was one of the president’s most vocal Republican critics in the House. Trump labeled him “nothing but trouble” and backed his primary opponent, S.C. state Rep. Katie Arrington in 2018. Arrington defeated Sanford but went on to lose the seat in a surprising upset to Democrat Joe Cunningham.
Sanford's announcement to end campaign
Joe Sestak
Experience: Representative 2007-2010; U.S. Navy 1974-2005
Quote: "What Americans most want today is someone who is accountable to them, above self, above party, above any special interest."
Fast facts: Sestak served 31 years in the Navy, reaching the rank of vice admiral. He had two unsuccessful bids for the Senate, losing to Republican Pat Toomey in 2010 and failing to win the Democratic nomination in 2016.
Sestak's announcement to end campaign
Tom Steyer
Experience: Former hedge fund manager and activist; founder of progressive advocacy groups NextGen America and Need to Impeach
Quote: "If we can reduce the influence of corporate money in our democracy, and start to address the devastating impacts of climate change, we can unlock the full potential of the American people and finally solve the many challenges facing our country.”
Fast facts: Need to Impeach, Steyer’s advocacy group whose goal is the impeachment of President Donald Trump, claims to have an email list of over 8 million people
Steyer's announcement to end campaign
Eric Swalwell
Experience: Representative, 2013-present
Quote: "I think the country wants someone who is going to go big, go bold, and do good. And I’m excited to offer that vision.”
Fast facts: Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has said he believes there is evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians trying to interfere in the 2016 election.
Swalwell's announcement to end campaign
Joe Walsh
Experience: Representative, 2011-2013
Quote: "We've got a guy in the White House who's unfit, completely unfit to be president," Walsh said on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. "I'm running because he's unfit. Somebody needs to step up, and there needs to be an alternative."
Fast facts: Walsh is a conservative talk radio host who was backed by the Tea Party in his run for Congress.
Walsh's announcement to end campaign
Elizabeth Warren
Experience: Senator, 2013-present; Congressional Oversight Panel Chair for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, 2008-2010; former Harvard Law School professor.
Quote: "The man in the White House is not the cause of what’s broken, he’s just the latest – and most extreme – symptom of what’s gone wrong in America: A product of a rigged system that props up the rich and the powerful and kicks dirt on everyone else."
Fast facts: Warren came into the spotlight for criticizing Wall Street, banks and large corporations after the 2008 financial crisis.
Warren's announcement to end campaign
Willliam Weld
Experience: Governor, 1991-1997; former U.S. Attorney
Quote: "We have a president whose priorities are skewed towards promotion of himself rather than for the good of the country."
Fast facts: Weld ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016. In 1974, he worked as an associate minority counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate investigation.
Weld's announcement to end campaign
Marianne Williamson
Experience: Motivational speaker, New Age spiritual guru and self-help author
Quote: "I believe a moral and spiritual awakening is necessary in this country. And nothing short of that will fundamentally disrupt the patterns of political dysfunction."
Fast facts: Williamson spent the last 35 years as a spiritual guide and author with connections throughout the celebrity world, including Oprah Winfrey.
Williamson's announcement to end campaign
Andrew Yang
Experience: Entrepreneur; founder of nonprofit fellowship program Venture for America
Quote: "I fear for the future of our country. New technologies – robots, software, artificial intelligence – have already destroyed more than 4 million U.S. jobs, and in the next 5-10 years, they will eliminate millions more."
Fast facts: Yang's platform includes providing every American 18 and older with a basic income of $1,000 a month.
Campaign site: https://www.yang2020.com/
Stacey Abrams
Experience: State rep. 2007 to 2017
Quote: “Our most urgent work is to realize Americans’ dreams of today and tomorrow, to carve a path to independence and prosperity that can last a lifetime.”
Fast facts: Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams was the first woman to head either party in the state’s General Assembly. She gained national attention in 2018 with her hard fought gubernatorial campaign, which came up short despite receiving more votes than any Democrat in the state’s history.
Abrams' announcement to not run
Michael Avenatti
The media-savvy attorney who once represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles with the president, said he'll keep his name off of the candidate list "out of respect for my family."
Avenatti's announcement to not run
Larry Hogan
Experience: Governor, 2015-present; businessman
Quote: “I’m for a bigger tent, for coming up with ideas and solutions that can reach a wider audience,” Hogan told The Washington Post.
Fast facts: Hogan, only the second Republican governor ever re-elected in Maryland, prides himself on his ability to work with Democrats.
Hogan's announcement to not run
John Kasich
Experience: Governor, 2011-2019; representative from Ohio, 1983-2001
Quote: "We need different leadership, there isn't a question about it. I'm not only just worried about the tone and the name-calling and the division in our country and the partisanship, but I also worry about the policies."
Fast facts: Kasich previously floated the idea of running on a bipartisan ticket with Colorado's John Hickenlooper. He also ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Kasich's announcement to not run
Sherrod Brown
Brown and his wife toured early primary and caucus states just days before the Democrat announced he'd rather remain a senator. "We've decided the best place for me to continue fighting for Ohio and all the workers is to stay in the U.S. Senate."
Brown's announcement to not run
Hillary Clinton
The Democrats' 2016 nominee quashed rumors she'd make another run, telling a New York television station, "I'm not running, but I'm going to keep working and speaking and standing up for what I believe."
Clinton's announcement to not run
Terry McAuliffe
McAuliffe served as the governor of Virginia from 2014-2018. A leading fundraiser, he chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, co-chaired President Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign and chaired Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign.
McAuliffe's announcement to not run
Jeff Merkley
The Oregon Democrat abandoned his 2020 White House ambitions, opting instead to run for re-election in 2020. "There are Democrats now in the presidential race who are speaking to the importance of tackling the big challenges we face," he said.
Merkley's announcement to not run
Howard Schultz
Experience: CEO, 1987-2000, 2008-2017
Quote: “The country has lost a sense of leadership in both parties, lost a sense of understanding about the values and the conscience of the country. And someone has to stand up and say, I'm going to be accountable.”
Fast facts: “With an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion, Schultz would be the wealthiest candidate in the race, including the incumbent president, whom Forbes estimates is worth $3.1 billion. Schultz said if he ran he would do so as a centrist independent.
Schultz's announcement to not run
Contributing: Susan Page, Christal Hayes, Nicholas Wu, Jeanine Santucci, Ryan W. Miller and Emma Kinery, USA TODAY; Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register; Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star; Nicholas Pugliese, Trenton Bureau; Aki Soga, Burlington Free Press; Jon Campbell, Albany Bureau; The Associated Press.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2020: Who is running for president in 2020?
