2020年民主党初选的巅峰时期有近30名候选人，在朱利安·卡斯特罗退出竞选后，初选已经被筛选到14名。
卡斯特罗的竞选团队在周四早上发布的视频信息中宣布了他结束白宫竞选。巴拉克·奥巴马总统领导下的前圣安东尼奥市长兼住房部长是唯一寻求民主党提名的拉丁美洲候选人。
“我还没有结束战斗，”卡斯特罗在视频中说。“我将继续努力建设一个人人都重要的国家，一个人人都能找到好工作、好医疗保健和体面生活的国家。”
卡斯特罗是自去年12月初以来第一个暂停竞选的候选人，当时卡马拉·哈里斯参议员突然退出竞选，尽管他被视为顶级候选人。在她离开后，卡斯特罗批评媒体在他们的选举报道中把“女性和有色人种候选人”推到一边。
“我们党的多样性是我们的力量，”他当时在推特上写道。
最近的离职留下了以下14名候选人参加竞选:麦克·班尼、乔·拜登、迈克尔·布隆伯格、科里·布克、皮特·巴蒂吉、约翰·德莱尼、图西·加巴德、艾米·克洛布查尔、德瓦尔·帕特里克、汤姆·斯特耶尔、伯尼·桑德斯、伊丽莎白·沃伦、玛丽安娜·威廉森和杨安泽。
尽管候选人的领域仍然相对较大，但民调显示，这场竞争是拜登、桑德斯和沃伦三位候选人的竞争。几个月来，三人组几乎一直领先于2020年的每一项民意调查。
最新的NPR/美国公共广播公司新闻小时/玛丽莎民意测验显示拜登领先，获得民主党选民和倾向民主党的独立人士24%的支持。桑德斯紧随其后，获得了22%的支持。沃伦获得了17%的支持。
这并不是说其他民主党人没有机会。但是在过去的几个月里，艾奥瓦州经历了飞速的发展。印第安纳州前南本德市长在美国有线电视新闻网/中飙升至第一名得梅因登记册11月份的民意测验。Klobuchar在该州也表现不错，最近几周她的竞选活动规模扩大了一倍。
也有候选人有资源产生巨大的影响。据估计身价540亿美元的彭博正在迅速扩大他的竞选活动，并发起了创纪录的1亿美元广告宣传活动。同为亿万富翁的汤姆·施泰尔在民调中攀升至足以领先一些职业政治家进入12月辩论阶段。
2019年12月19日，在加州洛约拉·玛丽蒙特大学举行的民主党总统初选辩论上，民主党总统候选人杨安泽、皮特·巴蒂吉格、伊丽莎白·沃伦、乔·拜登、伯尼·桑德斯、艾米·克洛布查尔和汤姆·斯特耶。2020年1月2日，朱利安·卡斯特罗下台后，14名候选人仍在民主党初选中。
但是即使是民主党初选的顶级候选人也很难在大选中击败唐纳德·特朗普总统。特朗普在共和党中的民调异常出色，来自德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州等关键州的调查显示，他击败了所有潜在的民主党挑战者。
此外，总统在2019年最后一个季度筹集的资金似乎比他的民主党挑战者都多。特朗普的竞选团队周四宣布，已经募集到4600万美元的捐款，这是2019年第四季度所有候选人的最高金额。虽然并非所有民主党人都宣布了筹款总额，但桑德斯可能最接近特朗普，该季度筹款3450万美元。
剩下的14名民主党人的下一步是提前投票的竞选。全国第一个爱荷华州核心小组将于2月3日举行，随后是2月11日新罕布什尔州初选、2月19日内华达州初选和2月29日南卡罗来纳州初选。
在接下来的几个月里，民主党还将举行四场辩论，第一场辩论将于1月14日在爱荷华州举行。随着民主国家委员会继续提高资格门槛，只有五名候选人符合参加2020年第一次辩论的必要条件。拜登、Buttigieg、Klobuchar、桑德斯和沃伦将出现在舞台上。
WHICH DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES ARE LEFT IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL RACE WITH JULIÁN CASTRO DROPPING OUT?
The 2020 Democratic primary field, which at its peak had nearly 30 candidates, has been winnowed down to 14 following Julián Castro's exit from the race.
Castro's campaign announced the end of his White House bid in a video message released Thursday morning. The former San Antonio mayor and housing secretary under President Barack Obama was the only Latino candidate seeking the Democratic nomination.
"I'm not done fighting," Castro said in the video. "I'll keep working towards a nation where everyone counts, a nation where everyone can get a good job, good health care and a decent place to live."
Castro is the first candidate to suspend a campaign since early December, when Senator Kamala Harris suddenly dropped out despite being seen as a top-tier candidate. After her exit, Castro criticized the media for pushing "aside women and candidates of color" in their election coverage.
"Our party's diversity is our strength," he tweeted at the time.
This latest departure leaves the following 14 candidates in the race: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang.
Though the field of candidates remains relatively large, the polls suggest the race is a three-candidate competition among Biden, Sanders and Warren. The trio has been leading nearly every 2020 poll for months.
The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed Biden in the lead with 24 percent support from Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents. He was closely followed by Sanders, who had 22 percent support. Warren had 17 percent support.
That's not to say the other Democrats don't stand a chance. Buttigieg has experienced a meteoric rise in Iowa over the past few months. The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor surged to first place in a CNN/Des Moines Register poll from November. Klobuchar is also doing well in the state and in recent weeks doubled the size of her campaign's operation.
There are also candidates who have the resources to make a big impact. Bloomberg, who is estimated to be worth $54 billion, is rapidly expanding his campaign and launched a record-breaking $100 million ad campaign. Fellow billionaire Tom Steyer climbed enough in the polls to qualify for the December debate stage ahead of some career politicians.
Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer at the Democratic presidential primary debate at Loyola Marymount University on December 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Fourteen candidates remain in the Democratic primary following the exit of Julián Castro on January 2, 2020.
But even the Democratic primary's top tier candidates may have a hard time defeating President Donald Trump in the general election. Trump is polling exceptionally well among Republicans, and surveys from key states like Texas and Florida show him defeating every potential Democratic challenger.
Plus, the president appears to have raised more money than any of his Democrat challengers in the last quarter of 2019. Trump's campaign announced Thursday that it has hauled in $46 million in donations, the largest amount for any candidate in 2019's fourth quarter. While not all of the Democrats have announced their fundraising totals, Sanders is likely to come closest to Trump, with $34.5 million raised in that quarter.
Next up for the 14 remaining Democrats are the early-voting contests. The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus will be held February 3, followed by the New Hampshire primary on February 11, Nevada's primary on February 19 and South Carolina's primary on February 29.
There will also be four Democratic debates in the next few months, with the first being in Iowa on January 14. Only five candidates have met the necessary requirements to participate in the first debate of 2020, as the Democratic National Committee continues to raise the threshold for qualifying. Slated to appear onstage are Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders and Warren.
