JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — Democratic Presidential debates are scheduled to begin in the next few months, and the amount of candidates currently in the race might impact who gets the party’s nomination next year.
It’s possible more candidates could join the race on the democrats side, and Pennsylvania voters are expected to play a key role again come next November.
Former Vice-President, Joe Biden, announced last week the official launch of his third Presidential campaign, bringing the total number of democratic candidates in the race to 20.
“It’s just gonna be a little bit of a noisy race with lots of faces for a while,” Dr. Raymond Wrabley, Division Chairman of Political Science at University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown said.
Wrabley says some of the current candidates may not expect to win, but want to leave their mark on the race.
“Some of them really don’t have a lot of policy background and, you’re right, at some point then, if they get further in the race, as they get more scrutiny, they’ve got to do a little bit of catch up,” Wrabley said.
And you can expect many of the candidates to visit Pennsylvania.
“The nomination process will take place all across the country, but the election next November will really come down to a handful of states, and we’ll be at ground zero for that,” says Wrabley.
Pennsylvania played a key role in getting President Donald Trump elected into office. Many state voters have supported democrats in past elections, and candidates hope to turn the state blue next year.