20 candidates

Twenty Democrats have declared their candidacy for the presidency of the United States. It is the largest field of candidates for one party in history. All are seeking their party’s nomination.

The diversity of the candidates is impressive. Age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic backgrounds and philosophies are vastly different.

Another difference is experience. Some have little experience in any field, be it politics, business or government. In a few cases, hubris seems to be the reason for the run rather than qualifications.

The contenders are a true mixed bag, and each of them will have to convince the American people that they are the one to challenge and beat the incumbent, President Donald Trump. They will only be able to do that if they can convince the voters that they are able and qualified to lead the country.

Just getting national exposure may be tough for some of them. There are so many, and their agendas are so different. Some have no national identity and little if any name recognition.

To some, so many declared candidates are an embarrassment of riches. To others, the number and mix of candidates could cause the Democratic party a lot of trouble.

Each of these will have to advocate their position, which could lead to attacks on the others.

It is likely that every candidate could be weakened irreparably by inter-party criticism, even before facing the Republicans. It happened in 2016 with the large Republican field.

Another danger for the Democrats is moving too far left and losing centrist voters, those who could bring the Democrats to victory. Also, the number of candidates could so confuse voters about the actual direction the Democrats hope to take that no clear message will be heard.

From all indications, Trump will face some dubious and disenchanted voters. His style and decisions will be questioned and debated. The Democrats will need to take advantage of this.

If they slap middle of the road voters squarely in the face, or have a confused agenda, Trump will have an easier re-election time.

Right now, the Democrats smell blood, but they must be careful that it is not their’s.