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It’s just shy of the year 2019, and already the campaigns for the 2020 presidential elections are shifting into high gear. Senator Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are all shifting their campaigns into high gear, according to the New York Times:

These four high-profile Democratic senators are poised to enter the 2020 presidential race in the next several weeks, advisers and people briefed by their associates say, after spending December finalizing the outlines of their political operations, selecting top campaign staff and conducting research into their own political weak spots. In some cases, they may first announce the creation of presidential exploratory committees to ramp up their fund-raising and hiring efforts, before launching their candidacies more formally in the following weeks.

Vox points out that such candidates are under pressure from progressive Democrats to build diverse teams, but the challenge they face in being truly diverse: “For all the progressive excitement around minority and female candidates, in the (way too) early days of the 2020 season, white men still maintain a sizable advantage where it counts: with voters in early-primary states and deep-pocketed donors.”

Finally, The Washington Post notes that the potential candidates face challenges in funding. They might set limits on their spending,

…responding to demands that they spurn outside assistance from independent groups or cease accepting donations from employees of specific companies, among other strictures. The fiercest battle so far has been over whether candidates should accept money from those employed in the oil and gas industry — one seen as acting contrary to the party’s position on climate change.

More politics.