No. 21: Another Democrat Joins the Race

In the 2016 campaign, there were so many Republican candidates they had to run two-tiered debates to handle them all. The question for 2020 Democrats: Will two tiers be enough? Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on Thursday became the 21st major candidate to enter the race, reports the Washington Post. The Hill reports that Bennet is seen as a moderate whose biggest foray into the national spotlight might have been when he denounced fellow Sen. Ted Cruz on the Senate floor earlier this year for shedding "crocodile tears" over a government shutdown. The 54-year-old describes himself as a "pragmatic idealist" who thinks the party will hurt itself with a candidate who leans too far left. "We’ve got to nominate somebody who can beat Donald Trump," he said in New Hampshire recently. "That means we have a responsibility not to do ourselves in."

Bennet's entry into the race comes with a dose of personal good news: He had said he would run only if his surgery for prostate cancer went well, and it did. So who's in so far? A Chicago Tribune list:

1. Sen. Michael Bennet
2. Joe Biden
3. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
4. Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton
5. California Rep. Eric Swalwell
6. Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan
7. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
8. Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke
9. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
10. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
11. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
12. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
13. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
14. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
15. California Sen. Kamala Harris
16. Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro
17. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
18. Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney
19. Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam
20. Author Marianne Williamson
21. Former tech executive Andrew Yang

(More Michael Bennet stories.)