--- title: The 2020 Democratic Candidates Are Acting Like Friends description: The lack of rancor in the crowded field so far is striking. canonical: https://time.com/5670161/2020-democratic-primary-candidates-friends/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-11T18:48:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:43:28.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: The One Where All the Candidates Are Friends og:description: The lack of rancor in the crowded field so far is striking. og:url: https://time.com/5670161/2020-democratic-primary-candidates-friends/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3604cab9cf4b045d/698a02b38fd2eee02a360145/warren-booker-castro-laughing.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-2020-DEMOCRATS-DEBATE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The One Where All the Candidates Are Friends twitter:description: The lack of rancor in the crowded field so far is striking. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3604cab9cf4b045d/698a02b38fd2eee02a360145/warren-booker-castro-laughing.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The One Where All the Candidates Are Friends > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:43 PM UTCPublished: Sep 11, 2019 6:48 PM UTC  Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, US Senator from New Jersey Cory Booker and US Senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren laugh during a break in the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Miami, Florida, June 26, 2019. Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, US Senator from New Jersey Cory Booker and US Senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren laugh during a break in the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Miami, Florida, June 26, 2019. JIM WATSON--AFP/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:43 PM UTCPublished: Sep 11, 2019 6:48 PM UTC Joe Biden is the one most likely to [say,](https://www.gq.com/story/joe-biden-presidential-campaign-2016-2013) “How _you_ doing?” Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are the ones in an uncertain [relationship](https://www.bustle.com/articles/89271-this-definitive-friends-ross-rachel-timeline-will-clear-up-that-whole-we-were-on-a) with a breakup on the horizon. Marianne Williamson is the one who is definitely [Phoebe](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/arts/television/phoebe-buffay-friends.html). For a bunch of sharp-elbowed politicians competing for the presidential nomination, many of the 2020 Democratic candidates seem to be acting like they’re actually friends. Cory Booker once led a “Julián!” chant at a Nevada Starbucks in support of his rival Julián Castro, according to a Castro aide. Before she dropped out of the race last month, Kirsten Gillibrand would rush to hug her old friend Booker backstage at candidate forums, a former Gillibrand aide recalls. After the first Democratic primary debate, Elizabeth Warren texted Castro that he’d done a great job. Even though candidates are running out of time to separate themselves from competitors, the relative lack of rancor is striking. Maybe it’s that campaigns sense the Democratic base is wary of intraparty bickering after the acrimonious 2016 primary. Maybe they’re trying to compete for future endorsements or jobs. But staffers for five 2020 Democrats insist that after years of serving together in the Senate or working together in Democratic politics, many of the presidential contenders just genuinely like each other. Whether it’s real warmth or clever branding, most of the 2020 candidates have been acting more like frenemies than political nemeses. Warren and Kamala Harris [shared a hug](https://twitter.com/flywithkamala/status/1160263924501090305) at the Iowa State Fair. Castro [tweeted](https://twitter.com/JulianCastro/status/1123063297559924736) birthday wishes to Booker on “the big 5-0,” and voiced his [support](https://twitter.com/JulianCastro/status/1140752616202395650) for Pete Buttigieg’s decision to return to South Bend, Ind., in the aftermath of a police shooting. When Donald Trump Jr. shared a post suggesting that Harris—the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother—wasn’t black enough to be discussing issues facing African Americans, rivals leapt to her defense, with Booker [tweeting](https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1145080539734532097) that she “doesn’t have shit to prove.” Amy Klobuchar and Buttigieg [both tweeted](https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar/status/1171543306565824513) good-natured photos of themselves sitting in adjacent rows on a United flight. When a video of two toddlers racing to hug each other went viral this week, Castro’s communications director[ tweeted the video and captioned it](https://twitter.com/SawyerHackett/status/1171454206026244098) “@JulianCastro and @CoryBooker seeing each other at a candidate forum.” “Running for President is physically and mentally taxing and strenuous, and when you see people you’re friendly with out on the road, you’re experiencing the same thing,” says a top aide to Gillibrand. “It’s people being normal people, like ‘Hey, there’s someone who I like who is also doing this crazy thing!'” Some of the friendly vibe is born of years of collaboration in the Senate. Booker has [co-sponsored 38](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/kamala%5Fharris/412678/cosponsors) pieces of Harris’s legislation, more than any other Senator. Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders have been progressive allies for years. Harris, Klobuchar and Warren all attend a quarterly bipartisan dinner for women Senators. Last year, [Warren and Harris](https://www.facebook.com/SenatorKamalaHarris/videos/1018211135008046/) appeared in a video together explaining the student debt crisis. While the contest between Sanders and Hillary Clinton grew bitter in 2016, it’s not unusual for rivals in a competitive primary to play nice, at least for a while. In 2012, Ron Paul formed [a tacit strategic alliance](http://swampland.time.com/2012/03/14/why-ron-paul-may-cut-a-deal-with-mitt-romney/) with Mitt Romney. (Paul’s penchant for attacking critics of GOP front-runner Mitt Romney led one Romney ally to dub Paul the eventual nominee’s “deputy campaign manager.”) In 2016, Ted Cruz [heaped praise](https://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/ted-cruz-rains-praise-on-donald-trump-120920) on Donald Trump for months, hoping to scoop up Trump’s supporters when his candidacy eventually imploded. When it didn’t, Cruz became Trump’s fiercest critic. And not all the 2020 Democratic candidates get a friendship bracelet so far. A series of candidates, including Harris and Booker, have taken aim at front-runner Joe Biden; most recently, Tim Ryan suggested Biden was “[declining](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-ryan-joe-biden-declining%5Fn%5F5d754a06e4b0fde50c288667)” mentally. At the second Democratic debate, Tulsi Gabbard attacked Harris for her record as a prosecutor. But the question of friendliness (or lack of it) could help define the two candidates vying for second place behind Biden. One of the primary differences between Sanders and Warren—who are competing for progressive voters but have maintained something of a non-aggression pact to date—is how they interact with their peers. Sanders, an iconoclast and Independent, has a reputation as a solo artist. Warren is positioning herself as more of a team player. “Warren in particular has been keen to give credit where credit is due,” says Sawyer Hackett, press secretary for Castro, noting her support for Castro’s immigration policy and Governor Jay Inslee’s climate program. “It’s refreshing for any candidate to get earnest praise from one of their competitors for putting together a strong policy.” Sanders has long been critical of the Democratic Party, and [has slammed](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/sanders-warren-2020-election-1370530) what he called its “corporate wing.” Warren, who started off the second Democratic debate by shaking hands with each of her rivals as they entered the stage, has made a point of mostly refusing to criticize Democratic opponents. When asked to draw a distinction between her campaign and Joe Biden’s, she said “I’m not here to diss any other Democrat.” All the chumminess is unlikely to last. It could all end as soon as Thursday, when the top 10 contenders all [debate](https://time.com/5669734/september-democratic-debate/) together for the first time in Houston. But for now, the candidates seem to be dancing to the tune of an iconic sitcom theme song: “I’ll be there for you… cause you’re there for me, too.” **Correction, Sept. 12** _The original version of this story misstated Sawyer Hackett’s role within the Castro campaign. 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