What You Need to Know for the 2020 Presidential Election
By Isaac Escovedo, Reporter

Excitement for the 2020 presidential elections is building up, but a lot of people are still in the dark about what the primary candidates really stand for. The Riptide is here to provide you with a quick primer about the highest polling candidates.

The President has a lot of powers in the US government, but people forget exactly what those powers are. The president can sign bills into law, set foreign policy, and can appoint high ranking legislative officials and Supreme Court Judges. What the president cannot do is create laws and control taxes. These facts are important to keep in mind when considering presidential candidates, as most candidates’ campaign promises involve the Legislative Branch.

Primary Candidates
As of now, the three highest polling democrats are Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren. Trump is running as the incumbent and will be representing the Republican Party in the 2020 election. To keep things impartial, all information about each candidate is taken exclusively from their campaign website.

Bernie Sanders
Sanders was born in Brooklyn, New York. After careers as a carpenter and then film maker, he moved to politics. He served 16 years as Vermont’s representative in the House of Representatives, and is currently on his third term as one of Vermont’s senators. Sanders’s signature issue is Medicare For All, but he also fights for college for all, the Green New Deal, housing for all, and heavy taxing of the rich.

College for all, medicare for all, and housing for all are described by their names, but the Green New Deal is not quite as obvious. It proposes legislation that focuses on reducing carbon emissions by transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy in the United States. It also addresses medicare for all and a national minimum wage of $15per hour.

Joe Biden
Biden, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, has had a long and distinguished career in U.S. politics. Biden has worked on city councils and the U.S. Senate as well as serving as vice-president for Obama from 2008 to 2016. His campaign policies include plans for education after high school and ending gun violence. Joe’s signature issue is “strengthening the middle class,” but he also supports the Affordable Care Act, The Green New Deal, and a plan to “lead by example” among the world superpowers in order to create change.

Elizabeth Warren
Warren was born in Oklahoma. Coming from a tough financial background, she made it to college and began working as a teacher and then as a law professor. She worked as an assistant to Obama and a special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, and then moved on to her current position as Massachusetts senator, which she has held since 2013. Warren has a reputation for always having a plan in place for everything. Her plans center around ending corruption in Washington by closing loopholes in the lobbying process and banning politicians from trading stocks in office. Warren’s policies also include strengthening the middle class by letting workers elect at least 40% of companies’ boards, and bringing U.S. troops home from overseas.

Donald Trump

Trump’s first term has been met with strong opinions from both sides, and he will be running for reelection in 2020. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of Finance, and will continue to run on the promises he made in 2016, including repealing the Affordable Care Act, strengthening America’s borders, lowering taxes, and keeping jobs in the country. Trump’s past successes include allowing increased offshore oil drilling, repealing Obama administration bills aimed to reduce fossil fuel consumption, introducing 3.2 trillion dollars in tax cuts to individuals, and increasing investments in the American economy by other countries and large companies.

Voting is the primary way individuals get a voice in American government, so staying informed is crucial. The facts presented here are just the beginning, and the key to forming your own opinions is to do extensive research into every side with an open mind.