--- ---  # 'I Am a Candidate.' The 2020 Race Begins  by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/)  ## Diane Tsai Feb 21, 2019 5:30 PM UTC   by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/)  ## Diane Tsai Feb 21, 2019 5:30 PM UTC With a likely unprecedented number of Democrats entering the 2020 presidential race, standing out as a candidate is imperative. For many, a campaign launch is a chance to introduce themselves to much of the country—an orchestrated process imbued with symbolism and calculated backdrops. Are they speaking to [tens of thousands in Oakland, Calif.](http://time.com/5514289/kamala-harris-2020-presidential-campaign/), in an [intimate space in Iowa](http://time.com/5499713/elizabeth-warren-iowa-2020-strategy/), or on [_The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_](http://time.com/5503918/kirsten-gillibrand-2020-president/)? In the video above, TIME correspondents Molly Ball and Philip Elliott talk through what each choice tells us about the candidates and the voters they’re trying to reach, as well as what we might expect from the potential candidates. 'I Am a Candidate.' The 2020 Race Begins ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5534664/i-am-a-candidate-the-2020-race-begins/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5534664/i-am-a-candidate-the-2020-race-begins/"},"headline":"'I Am a Candidate.' The 2020 Race Begins","datePublished":"2019-02-21T17:30:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:49:49.262Z","description":"For those taking on Trump, standing out as a candidate is imperative","url":"https://time.com/5534664/i-am-a-candidate-the-2020-race-begins/","keywords":["2020 Election","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte49088fdcbeeaad0/69894592db29870c79261de2/2020-campaigns-candidates-thumbnail.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Diane Tsai","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte49088fdcbeeaad0/69894592db29870c79261de2/2020-campaigns-candidates-thumbnail.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2020 Candidates","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2020-election/","name":"2020 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5534664/i-am-a-candidate-the-2020-race-begins/","name":"'I Am a Candidate.' The 2020 Race Begins"}}]}] ```