Capitol Report: Here are all of the Democrats running for president, as a dozen get ready for Tuesday debate in Ohio

This post was originally published on this site

MarketWatch photo illustration/Getty Images

These 12 Democrats have qualified for Tuesday’s debate in Ohio, but there are also seven other White House hopefuls.

The debate stage on Tuesday night in Westerville, Ohio, will look crowded, as a dozen Democratic presidential hopefuls take part in the matchup, breaking a record for the number of participants.

But the overall field remains even larger, remaining as of Monday at a still-high level of 19. It has contracted only modestly in the past three months, with seven politicians dropping out of the race for the party’s 2020 nomination.

Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the field in polls this week, though Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts briefly moved ahead of him last week in a widely followed average of polls.

The other Democrats seeking to take on President Donald Trump next year include Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent; Sen. Kamala Harris of California; and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Author and activist Marianne Williamson and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro also remain in the mix.

In September, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio became the most recent politician to exit the race, saying “it is clearly not my time.” His announcement followed departures in August by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

See: Bill de Blasio drops out of presidential race

In a RealClearPolitics moving average of polls on Monday, Biden had regained front-runner status, scoring 27.8% support vs. Warren’s 26%. Sanders, who is recovering from an Oct. 1 heart attack, drew 15.2% support, topping Buttigieg at 5%, Harris at 4.5% and entrepreneur Andrew Yang at 2.7%. All other Democratic candidates are below 2%. Ahead of the Sept. 12 debate, Biden was drawing support of 27% vs. 17% each for Warren and Sanders.

The dozen Democrats who have qualified for Tuesday’s debate are Biden, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, Harris, Yang, Castro, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer. The matchup is set to break the record for the number of candidates appearing on a stage at once, topping the prior mark of 11 that was set by a Republican debate in 2015.

Read more: Debate on Tuesday features a surging Warren and a recuperating Sanders

And see: Some 2020 Democrats are angling for the vice president slot — a gambit that rarely pays off

The first voter verdicts will come Feb. 3 with the Iowa caucuses.

Here is the MarketWatch list of contenders and the status of their deliberations, based on their statements:

MarketWatch’s Victor Reklaitis contributed to this report.