Who is running for president? The crowd is growing larger

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The first contest in the 2020 presidential primary season is 12 months away.

The Iowa Caucus, which kicks off the presidential election season, will be held on Feb. 3, 2020. A week later, voters in New Hampshire will hold the first presidential primary.

While the field of candidates can be daunting in the months before a primary season begins for any election, the 2020 contest is lining up to have a historic number of people looking to upend President Donald Trump’s plan for a second term in office.

According to filings with the Federal Election Commission this week, 483 candidates have registered to run for president of the United States in 2020.

Of those registered, 148 are running as Democrats, 66 as Republicans, 18 as Green Party candidates and 11 have registered as Libertarian candidates. The other candidates filed as Independents, as write-in candidates, as not being affiliated with a party, or simply left the spot on the form that calls for party affiliation blank.

Among those nearly 500 declared candidates, the vast majority have neither the money nor the name recognition to reasonably have a chance to unseat a sitting president. But, as last month has seen, some of the bigger names in U.S. politics are beginning to announce their intentions.

Here’s a look at some of those who have filed, or declared their intentions to run for president.

66 Republican candidates

Will Trump face a 2020 Republican primary challenge? If he holds to his promise to run for re-election, he could very well see a GOP opponent in 2020.

Trump has a 75 percent approval rating from Republicans and independents who expressed a preference for the GOP, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Jan. 21-24. That was before the longest partial government shutdown in the country's history ended.

However, almost a third of potential voters surveyed in that poll said they would like to see someone else be the Republican nominee in 2020.

Just being a president up for re-election, Trump has a fundraising jump on any would-be GOP challenger. According to FEC records, his campaign has received $60,601,310 since declaring his intention to run for re-election on the day of his inauguration.

So far, 66 people have filed with the FEC to run for president as a Republican. Most of those who have formally filed have little name recognition.

Such well-known Republicans as former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have all been talked about as a possible Trump opponent, but none of them have announced that they intend to take on a sitting president, nor have any filed the paperwork necessary to run.

148 Democratic candidates

While Republicans may be missing from the field a year out from the primaries, Democrats are not suffering from a lack of participation.

U.S. Rep. John Delaney, (D-Maryland), who filed to run for president on Aug. 10, 2017, has reported the most campaign contributions to the FEC with more than $4.7 million.

Some of the more well-known Democrats who have either announced that they are running or have announced that they launched an exploratory committee to consider running include:

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced that he was running for president on Jan. 23.

Julian Castro, a former San Antonio, Texas, mayor and former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, announced his candidacy on Jan. 12.

Tulsi Gabbard, a U.S. representative from Hawaii, announced her run for president on Jan. 11.

Kirsten Gillibrand, a U.S. senator from New York, announced that she was running for president on Jan. 15.

Kamala Harris, a U.S. senator from California, announced that she was running for president on Jan. 21.who

Elizabeth Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, announced the formation of an exploratory committee on Dec. 31, 2018.

Andrew Yang, a New York businessman and former Obama administration official, filed to run for president on Nov. 6, 2017. 

Cory Booker, a U.S. senator from New Jersey, announced he would run on Feb. 1.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is widely expected to announce his bid for the presidency, as is Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who is an Independent.

While some have reported that Hillary Clinton has not closed the door on a third run for president, her former campaign chairman, John Podesta told CNN this week that Clinton was not considering another campaign.

Starbucks coffee CEO Howard Schultz alternately disappointed and angered Democrats when he announced on "60 Minutes" that he would be running for president as an independent.

A handful of those who have filed paperwork with the FEC declaring their candidacy are registered as Libertarians or Green Party candidates.

Here are a few:

18 Libertarian candidates

Adam Kokesh filed to run for president on March 14, 2018.

Sam Seder, host of "The Majority Report," formed an exploratory committee on Jan. 24.

Arvin Vohra, vice-chair of the Libertarian Party, announced his campaign for president on July 3, 2018.

11 Green candidates 

Dario Hunter, Youngstown (Ohio) Board of Education, formed an exploratory committee on Jan. 21.

Ian Schlakman announced he is running for president on Dec. 14, 2018.

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David Schwartz, of Bellevue, Wash., yells as he takes part in a protest outside a book-promotion event held by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, in Seattle. Schultz has faced a rocky reception since he announced earlier in January that he's considering an independent presidential bid.

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