Ross: Treating the 2020 Democratic field like March Madness
Apr 26, 2019, 7:12 AM | Updated: 12:31 pm
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
There are now 20 Democrats officially running for president in 2020, so let the debates begin! The only question: Will they ever end? You’ve got to winnow the field, and there’s only one way: Brackets.
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A series of pre-debate face-offs using NCAA-style brackets, with the TV audience choosing the winners. I’ve done all the work, separating the candidates into three divisions:
Division I: The early frontrunners
- Biden
- Bernie
You want to get that fight over with up front.
Division II: The eight remaining well-known candidates:
- Warren
- Klobuchar
- Kamala
- Beto
- Booker
- Gillibrand
- Buttigieg
- Hickenlooper
Number 1 seed Warren goes against number 8 Hickenlooper, then Klobuchar versus Buttigieg, and so on.
Division III: The lesser-known candidates:
Ranked by Twitter followers as of April 25, 2019
- Wayne Messam, 6,238 followers: Mayor of Miramar, Florida
- John Delaney, 19.7K: A banker who was one of the wealthiest members of Congress
- Jay Inslee, 48.1K: Governor of Washington State
- Tim Ryan, 71.2K: Represents Ohio, tried to unseat Nancy Pelosi
- Eric Swalwell, 76.3K: California Congressman whose priorities are student debt and gun violence
- Seth Moulton, 138K: Representative from Massachusetts, former Marine, wants to address climate change
- Julian Castro, 208K: Former mayor of San Antonio served as HUD secretary under Obama.
- Andrew Yang, 254K: Entrepreneur and former tech executive promising a universal income.
- Tulsi Gabbard, 339K: First Hindu member of Congress, served in the National Guard Iraq
- Marianne Williamson, 2.61M: Author, entrepreneur and activist, friend of Oprah, promising reparations for slavery.
That puts the 10th seed, Wayne Messam, mayor of Miramar Florida, with 6,000 followers, up against the number 1 seed, Marianne Williamson, friend of Oprah, with 2.61 million followers.
Bottom line, after just one round, you’re down from 20 to 10.
That leaves us with either Biden or Bernie, plus four others from Division II, and five from Division III. They would then go on to the main debates.
Civilized, exciting, and we all get to bed before midnight.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
