US presidential election officially kicks off: why it starts with Iowa

On Monday, February 3, the first caucuses begin in Iowa - the election of candidates for the presidency of the United States from the Democratic Party. Officially, these meetings are considered to kick off the 2020 presidential race. Edition with the BBC figured out which of the Democrats aspires to the presidency, and what they promise to their voters.

Фото: Depositphotos

Democrats entered the official start of the presidential race, having lost more than half of the candidates. If in the fall of last year, 25 representatives of the Democratic Party announced their intentions to take part in the struggle for the presidency, then by the opening of the caucus in Iowa only 11 remained.

Who is still applying for the presidency?

1. Bernie Sanders, US Senator from Vermont, 78 years old.

From 1991 to 2007, he represented his state in the US Congress, in 2007 he was elected to the Senate as an independent candidate, not a member of any of the parties. During voting usually supports democrats. In the early 60s he joined the youth branch of the Socialist Party of America. In 1988, during a honeymoon, he visited the Soviet Union.

In 2016, he first took part in the presidential race, losing the Democratic Party nomination to Hillary Clinton.

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What promises voters: in 2020, Bernie Sanders again offered his supporters a program that had already been tested four years ago. The senator proposes to cancel the fee for higher education, introduce compulsory free medical insurance for everyone and increase the minimum wage to $ 15 per hour. At the same time, he promises to sharply increase taxes for the rich. According to the senator’s plans, Americans owning property worth more than $ 1 billion will have to pay 77% in taxes.

By the end of last year, he raised $ 34,6 million in donations.

2. Joe Biden, former US Vice President, 77 years old.

In 1972, at the age of less than 30, he was elected US Senator from Delaware. He headed the Senate Judicial Committee, and then became the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Upper House of Congress three times.

In 2008, he announced his intention to take part in the struggle for the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party, but withdrew his candidacy. Biden later accepted the offer of Barack Obama, becoming a candidate for the post of vice president of the United States.

In 2019, he became one of the central figures in the impeachment process of US President Donald Trump, who accused Joe Biden and his son Hunter of corruption and abuse of office. The former vice president denies all these allegations.

What he promises to voters: During meetings with his supporters, Joe Biden invariably recalls the fact that he was Barack Obama's closest assistant for almost eight years and promises to revive the policies pursued by the 44th US president. “I know how to make government work,” he constantly declares.

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Late last year, Biden signaled that he might offer the vice presidency to a member of the Republican Party. In addition, he has repeatedly stated that he is the best specialist in the United States in the field of foreign policy. “I am the most qualified person in the country to become president,” he says. “I know more about American foreign policy than anyone else, including even (Henry) Kissinger.”

By the end of last year, he raised $ 23,3 million in donations.

3. Elizabeth Warren, US Senator from Massachusetts, 70 years old.

A former law professor at several US universities, Warren specialized in bankruptcy laws and became widely known in the United States after the 2008 financial crisis, as one of the initiators of the creation of the State Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as Special Advisor to the President Obama's.

In 2012, she won the Senate election, becoming the first woman ever to represent the Massachusetts Upper House of Congress.

During the election campaign, she repeatedly told “family stories” that her ancestors included Cherokee Indians. Last year, Warren officially admitted that the stories were false and even apologized to members of the Native American Presidential Forum.

What she promises voters: Senator Warren intends to fight wealth inequality by introducing new taxes on the “super rich.” According to her program, if the senator wins the election, owners of wealth exceeding $50 million will have to pay 2% of total assets annually, and billionaires - 3%. The received budget funds, according to Warren, should be used to pay for various benefits for the poor, including free or low-cost kindergartens and affordable medical care.

By the end of last year, it raised $ 21,7 million in donations.

4. Pete Buttijic, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, 38 years old.

Graduate of Harvard and Oxford Universities, Lieutenant of the US Navy Intelligence Service. In 2014, for seven months he was part of the US military contingent in Afghanistan, was awarded a medal. Speaks six languages ​​to varying degrees, including Arabic, Persian and French. In a 2015 publication in the South Band Tribune, he publicly announced his gay sexual orientation. In 2017, he married with a school teacher, Chasten Glezman.

What promises voters: the ex-mayor proposes to change the electoral system in the United States, abandoning the electoral college and moving on to direct expression of will. He also intends to make all public colleges free of charge for students whose families earn less than $ 100 a year, and introduce a universal system of free medical insurance.

By the end of last year, he raised $ 25,2 million in donations.

5. Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, 77 years old.

The billionaire, founder of a financial company and Bloomberg agency, ranks 9th on the list of the richest people in the United States, and 14th in the world ranking with a fortune of $61,5 billion. Over the past 20 years, he has changed his party affiliation three times, becoming the first 2000s, first as a Republican, then as an independent, and finally, in late 2018, announcing support for the Democrats.

He repeatedly hinted at his intentions to take part in the presidential elections, but officially registered to participate in the race only in November 2019. The ex-mayor’s campaign slogan is “Job creator. A leader who knows how to solve problems.”

Spends its own money on the campaign, having spent nearly a quarter billion in the last quarter of 2019.

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What promises voters: Bloomberg supports all Democratic initiatives to tighten gun ownership in the United States. He is a permanent sponsor of public organizations advocating state control in this area, and calls for the introduction of a system of the most stringent verification of all owners of firearms.

By the end of 2019, he invested $ 200 million of his own funds in the campaign.

6. Amy Klobushar, US Senator from Minnesota, 59 years old.

In 1998, Klobushar, previously a private law practitioner, was first elected to a public position as a prosecutor for Hennepin County in Minnesota. In 2006, she won the Senate election, becoming the first woman ever to represent the state in the upper house of Congress.

What promises voters: Klobushar proposes the adoption of several new laws aimed at protecting women from violence, improving the environmental situation and protecting health. According to one of the proposals of the senator, in the United States should be completely banned children's toys that contain lead in any form. He supports the policy pursued by Barack Obama, and during meetings with voters promises to continue it.

By the end of last year, it raised $ 11,4 million in donations.

7. Andrew Yang, a businessman, 45 years old.

The entrepreneur was born in a family of immigrants from Taiwan and received a law degree. After that, Ian became the founder of several startups in the field of education. In 2011, he created the company VFA (Ventures for America), which was engaged in the search for talented graduates of colleges and universities, and applying them for a two-year internship in various startup projects in US cities with high unemployment. According to estimates by the American media, Jan’s personal fortune may be $ 4 million.

What he promises voters: The challenger called his main initiative the “Freedom Dividend,” arguing that every American should receive $1 from the government as compensation for the loss of jobs in America as a result of the development of automated labor. In addition, Yang calls on voters to put aside party differences, proclaiming one of the main slogans of his campaign: “Neither left nor right. Forward" (Not Left, Not Right, Forward).

By the end of last year, he raised $ 16,5 million in donations.

8. Tom Steyer, businessman, 62 years old.

The head of the hedge fund Farallon Capital, co-owner of several banks, billionaire Tom Steyer, whose fortune is estimated at $1,6 billion, and his wife publicly signed a pledge to spend at least half of their funds on charity during their lifetime. Known for his pronounced modesty, he drives an old Honda and refuses any luxury items.

In 2008, becoming one of the most active campaign sponsors for Barack Obama, he was among the candidates for the post of US Treasury Secretary. During the 2016 campaign, he organized a fundraiser in favor of Hillary Clinton, raising more than $ 87 million.

In October 2017, he began a political campaign campaigning for impeachment of Donald Trump, paying for commercials on TV channels and social networks. In July 2019, he registered as an applicant, promising to spend $ 100 million from his own funds for the election campaign.

What it promises to voters: The main theme of Steyer's campaign continues to be the fight to impeach President Trump. The billionaire claims that his “Need to Impeach” initiative is now supported by more than 8 million Americans who support the constitutional removal of Donald Trump from power.

“I believe that fighting against a president who breaks the law and has destructive policies will force citizens to go to the polls,” Steyer said.

By the end of last year, he invested $ 157 million of his own funds in the campaign.

9. Tulsi Gabbard, Member of Congress, 38 years old.

In 2002, Gabbard, a former employee of a public charity and martial arts instructor, won the first congressional election in Hawaii.

A year later, she joined the US National Guard. In 2004, during the year she was in Iraq as part of a medical unit. She later graduated from an officer school at the Alabama Military Academy. Served in Kuwait, has the rank of major.

In 2012, she won the US Congress election, becoming the first descendant of immigrants from India in the House of Representatives. Supports the progressive wing in the Democratic Party, advocates the full legalization of marijuana and against the participation of American troops in military conflicts outside the United States. Gabbard had previously publicly opposed allowing same-sex marriages, but then apologized for these statements.

Last year, Hillary Clinton called Gabbard a “Russian agent,” saying the Kremlin was waging an information campaign on her behalf. In response, the congresswoman called the ex-Secretary of State a “warmonger” and sued her, demanding an apology and $50 million in compensation for moral damages.

What promises voters: if elected, Gabbard promises that during her presidency, the United States will abandon the practice of political and military interference in the affairs of other states and end its policy aimed at changing regimes. Like other candidates, she publicly advocates the introduction in the United States of free insurance medicine for all citizens, the costs of which will be paid by the state.

By the end of last year, it raised $ 3,5 million in donations.

10. Michael Bennet, US Senator from Colorado, 55 years old.

Yale Law graduate served as Advisor to the US Attorney General in the Bill Clinton Administration and then led the Department of Public Schools in Denver, Colorado.

In 2008, he became one of the candidates for the post of Secretary of Education in the Obama administration, but this appointment did not materialize. In 2009, the Governor of Colorado suggested Bennett take the US Senator seat from that state after his predecessor agreed to the post of Secretary of the Interior.

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What he promises voters: Senator Bennet is a consistent supporter of stricter gun control laws. Together with Senator Tim Kaine, he advocates for the adoption of a new law on health insurance, based on the reform carried out by the Barack Obama administration. The new system would allow all US residents to choose their own health insurance on special exchanges and receive the same benefits, including government subsidies, that poor Americans enjoy.

By the end of last year, he raised $ 1,2 million in donations.

11. Deval Patrick, former Massachusetts Governor, businessman, 63 years old.

According to US media reports, to participate in the 2020 presidential race, Patrick was made by his longtime friend, ex-president Barack Obama. However, the applicant himself, however, announced only in mid-November last year.

Coming from a poor African American region in South Chicago, Patrick received a scholarship from Harvard Law School and, after graduating, took up private law practice. In 1994, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General of the United States, heading the Department of Civil Rights Oversight.

From 2007 to 2015, he was the Governor of Massachusetts, continuing the reform of the state health system initiated by his predecessor Mitt Romney, increasing funding for educational programs and raising the minimum wage from $ 8 to $ 11 per hour.

In 2015, he became executive director of Bain Capital, an investment company, while also chairing the board of directors of American Well, a health promoting television company.

What promises voters: during meetings with voters, Deval Patrick does not get tired of reminding about his friendship with Barack Obama, promising to continue the policy of the 44th president. He promises to increase funding for the public health system, which is now available only to older and poor Americans, as well as expand educational programs. In addition, Patrick proposes to revise the system of zoning of constituencies, which today, in his opinion, serves the interests of political parties, not voters.

By the end of last year, he raised $ 2,3 million in donations.

Why the state of Iowa?

Because he is the first. This is a small state, not very representative, 90% of the population is white, 5% are pensioners, reports "Voice of America".

In this state, when people vote, they do not predict who will become president, but still only 1 candidate who lost in both Iowa and New Hampshire, but was able to become president, it was Bill Clinton.

It is also important to remember, since this is the first state, the one who wins gets all the attention not only from the media, but most importantly - from the voters. Currently, almost half of Democrats have not decided on their candidate. So whoever wins Iowa could turn heads.

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