The biggest day of the 2020 Presidential Primary – Super Tuesday – is less than two weeks away. The day is quickly approaching, but still, there is not a clear front-runner from the centrist side of the Democratic Party.
It’s no secret that the Democratic Party has experienced a “split”. There are those in the center of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Bloomberg, and (arguably) Pete Buttigieg. There are those far left of center, who take on “Democratic Socialist” beliefs, represented by candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
The front-runner moderate Democrat is nowhere to be found. Pete Buttigieg, while seen by most media outlets as a centrist and has been nicknamed “Wall Street Pete” is far from the sort.
Looking at a lot of Buttigieg’s policy, we see clearly that the former mayor is not moderate. He wants to pack the courts, upping the current number of U.S. Supreme Court Judges from nine to 15 if he wins the presidency. Buttigieg’s claims that this overhaul is to make the Supreme Court less political, but there is no promise that the presidents who follow in his footsteps will follow that rule.
Buttigieg’s also wants to abolish the electoral college if he is elected president. He has views about giving illegal immigrants free healthcare in his healthcare plan. He believes that people worship guns and likens guns to false idol gods, proving that he does not understand why people support the 2nd Amendment, and showing that he likely does not plan on protecting it.
By simply looking at Mayor Pete’s platform points of his campaign, it’s clear that he is not a moderate Democratic candidate. His campaign is erratic; he seems to be caught somewhere between being the moderate candidate but also trying to appeal to those on the far left. Buttigieg wants to seem electable and give off the vibe that he can beat President Trump, but his message is not clear.
Currently, Pete Buttiegeg and Bernie Sanders are close to tied in their delegate count, with 22 and 21 delegates respectively. Elizabeth Warren has eight, Amy Klobuchar has seven and Joe Biden has six. 1,991 delegates are needed to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. Another possible contender is former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who got in the race too late to get in the early primaries, but is polling kind of well nationally.
The moderate left can’t decide which candidate they like best. Some like Biden and believe that his previous experience as President Obama’s vice-president make him the most qualified candidate, and his presidency will be similar to Obama’s. Some like Amy Klobuchar because she is reasonable and they’re ready for a woman president. Some who are voting for Butteigeg may be voting for him because they think he is moderate, but some may be voting for him because they think he is radical but not as radical as Bernie. Lots of people have seen Mike Bloomberg’s commercials and see him as a viable option because he is visible and very clearly moderate.
The field is overcrowded. All of the moderate Democrats are splitting up their votes among the many candidates, while the far-left Democrats have largely rallied behind Bernie now that Elizabeth Warren doesn’t seem viable. If the candidates running truly care about their messages and platforms reaching the oval office, then they ought to decide which one of them has the best chance beating President Trump. A lot of people in this country are moderate; 42 percent of people don’t even identify with a party but as an independent. It will take a moderate candidate, not a radical one, to win them over.
If the Democratic party truly wants to beat Trump, they must internally come together and decide who is going to run as a moderate to get more delegates than Bernie Sanders, whose radical message will not entice moderate voters.
Mikayla Rochelle is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Mikayla by tweeting her at @mikayla_roch.
