Democratic Debate: Who are the 23 Democrats running for president in the 2020 race?
NEW YORK (WABC) -- As the first 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate takes place, we're taking a closer look at the players, a historic group diverse in age, gender and race.
Twenty-three Democrats have officially announced their candidacy, and 20 qualified for the two-night debate, taking place in Miami Wednesday and Thursday.
Some of them, you'd call "unknowns," and many you'd say have no chance of becoming president, but American learned in 2016 that a real estate developer from Queens -- who had never before been elected to office, not even school president -- can become THE president.
The current front runners in the polls, Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, represent the older portion of the pack, one-fourth of which is over the age of 65. Sanders, at 77, is four decades older than the youngest Democrat to run, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
More importantly, six of the candidates are women, and five are ethnic minorities.
This is the first Countdown of 2020. Make sure to tune in Tuesdays at 8 p.m. The series will feature a different guest to talk about the big political stories of the week.
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