As 2020 Candidates Struggle to Be Heard, Their Grumbling Gets Louder [View all]

[brooklynite]

New York Times

“It’s a ‘Hunger Games’ situation,” Senator Amy Klobuchar told reporters over the weekend. “I’ll start with that.”

The bloated Democratic primary field is aggrieved, available and aggressively thirsty. Of the 23 candidates running, only eight routinely break 1 percent in national polls. Most have not yet qualified for the fall debates. And cable news channels, which have emerged as an early driving force in the race, have only so many hours of programming each day.

That has moved the campaign into a new, yet familiar, phase: the ritual airing of grievances. Weeks’ worth of pent-up frustration is beginning to trickle into the public arena, as a way for candidates to explain their lowly positions — both to themselves and to the voters.

The rules around participation in the primary debates are a particular sore spot for second- and third-tier candidates, who fear getting shut out of the biggest stage in the race.