Should a white man be the face of the democratic party in 2020?

Johnson, 27, a law student, said the large field was a great equalizer, and “if at the end of it we get an old white guy, someone who represents the status quo, it’ll be because they’ve proven themselves.”

Neal, a dental hygienist, made an agonized face at Johnson, her boyfriend. Wouldn’t something be lost, she asked, if the historically diverse slate of 2020 Democrats was passed over?

“Personally I’d love to see a woman,” Neal, also 27, said at the event Thursday night. “If people are being catty and holding gender or race against a candidate, it would break my heart.”

As former Vice President Joe Biden prepares to enter the 2020 race this coming week, Democrats have seen the strong diversity in their field — with candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., reflecting the multiracial and largely female base of the party — become somewhat overshadowed by white male candidates. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has a wide fundraising lead; he and Biden lead in polls; and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, have enjoyed outsize attention from voters in early primary states, extensive media coverage and viral success with online donors.

Interviews with several dozen Democratic voters around the country show how the party, which enjoyed victories in 2018 that were powered by female and nonwhite candidates, is now grappling with two complicated questions about race, gender and politics in the Trump era.

Is a white male the best face for an increasingly diverse Democratic Party in 2020? And what’s the bigger gamble: to nominate a white man and risk disappointing some of the party’s base, or nominate a minority candidate or a woman who might struggle to carry predominantly white swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania that both former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump won?

White men have largely ruled both the Democratic and Republican parties throughout U.S. history, even as they have declined to roughly 30% of the population, and many voters still have preconceptions of presidents as white and male. Biden and Sanders are starting off with other advantages as well: They are the best-known candidates at this stage, both with experience running for president, and they are well positioned to have the money and resources to compete through the 2020 primaries.

But as older white men, they are out of step with ascendant forces in the party today.

Women, minorities and young people are fueling much of its energy, and they are well represented by multiple well-qualified, politically savvy female and nonwhite Democrats who are running. Harris in particular has had a strong start in fundraising, and only Biden and Sanders consistently outpace her in polls.

The party also has a new primary calendar for 2020 that could help these candidates: The diverse Democratic electorates in California and Texas will vote earlier than usual, and candidates like Harris and Booker could also benefit from the sizable black vote in the early primary state of South Carolina.

Should a white man be the face of the democratic party in 2020?

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!