Could Elizabeth Warren bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans in 2020 election?

As 2019 swings into view, and the midterm winners have been inducted into office, now voters are curious about who’s going to run for the 2020 election. Rumors have circulated about several candidates, but on New Years Eve, Elizabeth Warren announced her exploratory committee for a presidential campaign run.

Warren is a Democratic Senator from Massachusetts. So far into the campaign, her policies focus around the middle class and economics as much as the Republican Party typically does. She says big companies are one of America’s largest issues and says the rules need to be rewritten to ensure companies aren’t cheating the system against the American people. As a former professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law, the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Harvard Law School, her credentials back up the expertise needed to rewrite business law in advocacy for the consumer and company employees.

She also believes there is corruption in the government, which isn’t an old idea nor one that hasn’t been expressed in many campaigns. Trump pushed to “drain the swamp,” and Warren intends to do the same, though without Trump’s rhetoric.

“But the heart of it is this question of corruption,” Warren said at her first campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa. “Every issue that affects us in this country right now — whether it is around the environment, whether it’s about gun safety, whether it’s about student loans, social security, pensions–they intersect this fundamental question of who government works for.”

The beginning of her campaign can be considered “moderate” for the Democratic Party. With these middle-ground ideas in mind, how will her policies affect voters who identify as independents? More importantly, how will Warren fair with swing-vote Republicans who don’t support Trump?

Lots of debate surrounded the midterms with questions about how the Democratic Party should market themselves in the elections. Should they project more moderate views to bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans?

Since the results from the elections, it’s clear the “moderate” Democrats didn’t make as much a “blue wave” as the staunchly liberal candidates did. Many have called 2018 “Year of the Woman” since so many of the Democratic candidates elected into office are a diverse group of women. But for the presidential race, if the Democratic Party intends to win, is someone with moderate values considered the best candidate? More importantly, could a woman win this next election?

With Warren’s announcement for presidential candidacy, 2019 is riding off the “Year of the Woman” and into a new saga. Plenty can be said about Hillary Clinton’s run for office, but despite personal opinions about Clinton, she seems to have set a precedence for women — an inspiration that shows female candidates can run for office and even take the public majority vote.

Granted, there remains plenty of controversy around her claim to viable Native American ancestry. While her claim is problematic for a variety of reasons, perhaps she will explain the issue and hopefully apologize. With Trump’s divisive rhetoric about racial minority communities, it is essential for candidates in the 2020 election to finally recognize and respect America’s wide range of diversity.

As candidates announce themselves this year, the race is certainly to be an interesting one against Trump’s campaign for re-election. With the country at a political polarization, hopefully better prospects will be provided for the 2020 election who both parties can, more or less, understand and agree.