Even With Biden In The Game, The Democratic 2020 Field Seems Wide Open

Keynote speaker former Vice President Joe Biden pauses during his speech during the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law 20th Anniversary Gala at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. The annual event serves as the school’s principal scholarship fundraiser. (AP Photo / Las Vegas Sun, Yasmina Chavez)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 file photo, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law 20th Anniversary Gala at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. On Monday, Dec. 4, 201... FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 file photo, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law 20th Anniversary Gala at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. On Monday, Dec. 4, 2018, Biden said he believes that he is the most qualified person in the country to be president. (Yasmina Chavez/Las Vegas Sun via AP) MORE LESS
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Early predications cast former Vice President Joe Biden’s entrance into the race as the moment of truth that would winnow the field and give shape to the top tier of candidates. That hasn’t happened.

As Politico points out, the only real conclusion from Biden’s launch is that the field is changeable and undefined, too early in the process for polling to be very insightful.

And it’s likely to stay this way until the first official debate in June, an event that most campaigns agree will define the true leaders of the pack.

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  1. Wide open indeed. Of the two current frontrunners, Bernie Sanders comes off as the George McGovern of 2020 whereas Joe Biden looks like he could be the next Walter Mondale. If the Democrats can’t see past these two, God help us.

  2. Fluff story. The field won’t be well-defined until November/December. The Iowa Caucuses will be the first winnowing.

  3. It’s like the Kentucky Derby - tons of horses start out with a grunch that have like no chance.

    Must be good money in running for president.

  4. I agree it’s not exactly an electrifying development. But I had in fact read that Biden’s entrance might shake a few of the really long shots off the tree, and if that hasn’t happened it’s arguably of some interest to people who really dive deep into this stuff.

  5. It’s great to see Elizabeth Warren calling Joe Biden out. If anyone is qualified to call out his chicanery in very clear terms, it’s her. Bernie won’t have to lift a finger on the debate stage - she’ll take him out at the knees.

    Within hours of Biden’s announcement, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was needling him for his past positions supportive of Wall Street, while she and other Democratic contenders chided his high-dollar fundraising in appeals to their own small donor bases.

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