The Democratic field shaping up to run for the White House in 2020 is starting to look like it could be more crowded and contentious than the Republican lineup was in 2016.

There are more than 30 Democrats who have either declared they are running for president or have voiced an interest in running. The GOP had 17 major candidates in 2017.

The Democrats also plan to hold at least 12 debates: six in 2019, starting in June, and six more in 2020. The paucity of Democratic debates in 2016 was a sore point for supporters of US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in his challenge against eventual nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Iowa caucuses, which kick off the primary calendar, are scheduled for Feb 3, 2020.

Some candidates who already have announced are Julian Castro, 44, a former secretary of Housing and Urban Development and ex-mayor of San Antonio, Texas; and Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, 37, who served in a field medical unit of her state’s Army National Guard in a combat zone in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. Gabbard opposes a US military presence in Syria.

Former US vice-president Joe Biden, 76, could throw his hat in soon. Another strong potential prospect is US Senator Kamala Harris, 54, of California.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, 69, of Massachusetts, one of US President Donald Trump’s favorite targets, has formed an exploratory committee.

US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, 52, of New York, who started out as a gun rights supporter and has lately positioned herself as a champion of the #MeToo women’s movement, announced Tuesday that she will form an exploratory committee. She recently gauged her support on Wall Street, in contrast to Warren’s pessimistic view of the financial industry.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor, would be willing to spend more than $100 million of his own money in a presidential campaign, reports said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, 57, has been appearing on TV talk shows to tout health care for all in the city as he moves to claim the party’s mantle of progressivism and possibly parlay it into a presidential run.

And while New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 61, said he would complete his term after he was re-elected in November, he focuses much of his rhetoric on US President Donald Trump. Cuomo also shifted leftward in his Democratic primary campaign last fall against Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon.

Former US congressman Beto O’Rourke, 46, who ran an expensive losing campaign against Senator Ted Cruz in Texas in November, is still considered a Kennedyesque prospect despite the loss.

US Senator Cory Booker, 49, of New Jersey, who made a major speech in Iowa in the fall, has shown he might run.

Then there’s Sanders, 77, unapologetic when it comes to his argument for socialism, who may join the field again.

And finally, there is Mrs. Clinton herself, who hasn’t ruled out running but likely wouldn’t have the same sway over the party apparatus, namely the Democratic National Committee, which she had in 2016.

While Clinton, 71, gave some of the traditional liberal issues their due in 2016, her coziness with Wall Street was a talking point for “Bernie Bros”, who would be more at home in the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The Democratic field also will present a wide range of ideologies and generations.

There could be pressure in the primaries to support a more socialistic approach to government, which likely would be fodder for Trump and conservatives.

That tilt to the left is perhaps best represented by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, the freshman sensation US congresswoman from New York, who is getting more attention right now than any other current US politician, with the exception of Trump.

Last week, Ocasio-Cortez referenced a top tax bracket of 70 percent for those making more than $10 million a year and said such funds could go toward a “Green New Deal” to eliminate carbon emissions.

The ebullient politician representing parts of the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Queens has become a lightning rod for critics.

Ocasio-Cortez has 2.4 million followers on Twitter and leads all Democratic politicians in “retweets”. She is making centrist Democrats a little nervous, as she considered challenging Nancy Pelosi’s return as House speaker.

In 2016, Trump’s opponents took a moderate approach, which rendered them also-rans as he used withering insults and a dominating media presence to diminish his challengers.

Could a similarly bombastic approach work for a Democrat in 2020? A bold candidate could make a bid to separate himself or herself from the field, as Trump did on immigration (the border wall), trade and the judiciary.

That said, would there really be any more gripping theatre than a rematch of Trump-Clinton 2016? It would be TV rating gold.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com