On Washington's most influential web platform, Politico, a nice report on what the Americans call "the invisible primaries", in view of the 2020 presidential elections. This is a selection process that will lead to the screening of possible democratic candidates who they will compete for the blue nomination. Nomination that will lead to the coronation of Donald Trump's official challenger. The most influential site dedicated to the politics of the capital gives readers the first democratic report card of 2018 signed by the expert Bill Scher, collecting the results obtained by the most influential figures of the progressive party over the past twelve months. Anticipating scenarios, guessing the winning horses, predicting the reactions of the voters, are extremely fallacious exercises, even for the most experienced specialists. Just think of the irresistible and unpredictable rise of former President Barack Obama or of Donald Trump himself, on whom no one would ever have bet. Having made the necessary methodological premises, Politico pigeons the results and characters of the democratic cadres in this 2017 just ended, starting from Bernie Sanders, the most loved politician by Americans to date. The unstoppable Vermont senator and former Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders was beaten in November 2016 by Hillary Clinton. Yet the great old man's ideas of progressive politics had managed to catalyze the enthusiasm of thousands of young people across the nation. Openly socialist, Sanders managed to strengthen his position after Trump's victory. As evidence of this, notes Politico, the senator was interviewed in 21 out of 52 Sunday talk shows over the course of the year. But it is not just about presidentialism. The truth is that Sanders has become increasingly influential within the party, despite the fact that he himself refuses to consider himself democratic tout court, preferring rather the definition of independent. Ideological choice that allows him to play the role of the "reformer" outside the party. While starting in an advantageous position, Sanders' field is not free of worries.
The Crusade
Determined to be successful and able to play all her cards was the Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the staunchest supporters of women in the ongoing US campaign against sexually despicable behavior and harassment of men in the workplace. There are those who speak of political opportunism, but the senator has garnered widespread acclaim from the American feminist world for saying that former President Bill Clinton should have resigned at the time of the scandal caused by his relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky. She was one of the most intransigent in the party to favor the resignation of Senator Al Franken, accused of harassment.
The Comforter
It is a character much adored by the Americans, especially for his extraordinary empathic ability. It is no mystery, the former vice president of the United States Joe Biden, manages to establish a very strong connection with people. Despite the denial of a possible candidacy, Biden did not stop for a moment during 2017. He founded two political institutes, one aimed at internal and the other to foreign. He has written editorials for numerous important publications, has toured the country with a book dedicated to his beloved son Beau, who was killed at 46 from a brain tumor. The only relevant cloud on the horizon comes due to a history dating back to the 1991s. During the hearing in the Senate for the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, in XNUMX the collaborator Anita Hill accused the judge of sexual harassment, in vain. Biden, then chair of the Senate Justice Committee, was recently criticized for failing to speak out in support of Hill.
The non-socialist populist
It is about the combative Senator Elizabeth Warren, left of the party. A leading feminist figure, her name regularly emerges as a possible Democratic candidate. Last year it started with a veritable invasion of T-shirts and gadgets with the slogan "Nevertheless, she persisted", despite everything, she persisted, or the sentence uttered by the Republican leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell who was trying to admonish the senator taking away the word. An indomitable spirit, often considered the anti-Hillary. Trump calls her "Pocahontas" mocking her claimed native roots.
The target
The California senator Kamala Harris it is also a star in the democratic firmament. African-American, brilliant, woman: the one who according to Politico offers "the possibility of the first black woman as president". On the left, however, they accuse her of being the candidate supported by the party's wealthiest financiers.
The "tweeters"
The explosive senator from New Jersey Cory Booker he is very active on social media, especially on Twitter where he has amassed 3,6 million followers. Better than him in the Senate only Sanders with 7 million and Warren with almost 4. Booker has made empathy and communication his strong point. Although he has a less exuberant profile, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who became the voice of the nation's conscience in firearms control, after the Newtown massacre in his state, also goes in the same direction.
The lenses but constant
These are not shimmering characters, yet constant in their path. Among them the populist senator Jeff Merkley, the only senator to support Bernie Sanders in the previous primary against Hillary Clinton. Obviously it will not be easy for him to win the title of "populist" of the party if he is competing with big names like those of Sanders or Warren. Again, the governor of the state of Washington Jay Inslee, head of the association of democratic governors that will allow him to travel and hold rallies and meetings around the country. Another character to watch is the governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe (Governor-elect Ralph Shearer Northam, his deputy, will succeed him). Close to the Clintons, he leaves Virginia with a growing economy and unemployment at an all-time low. The governor of Montana is also on the same list Steve Bullock and the senator Amy Klobuchar.
Those that slow down
Two prominent names: the governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and the Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan. The first is the most expendable name, but it is frowned upon by progressives. He winked at them, approving a plan that allows low- or middle-income kids to go to college for free. The story of his reaction to a journalist who pressured him on the allegations of harassment directed at one of his collaborators was not positive.