With the list of Democratic candidates for the 2020 Presidential Election growing by the day, it came as no surprise when Joe Biden, the former Vice President of the United States, announced his entry to the race on April 25. Biden is the 20th Democratic candidate and is expected to be the front-runner of the Democratic ticket and possible top candidate in general throughout the race.

Just 24 hours after making his entry to the race official, Biden’s campaign had already raised $6.3 million dollars, more than any of his other 19 running mates. This amount raised in such a short period speaks to his following and his potential for the duration of the race.

Biden began his campaign in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Not only is he a native of the state, but it is considered a must-win for Democrats in the 2020 election. Back in the 2016 Presidential Election, Donald Trump won the state of Pennsylvania, gaining twenty electoral votes. In 2018, however, votes favored the left, electing Democrat Tom Wolf as Governor and Democrat Bob Casey as Senator. This back-and-forth voting leads to an increased importance for Democrats to take back those twenty electoral votes in 2020, which Biden is fit to do.

Much of Biden’s following comes from his undeniably immense experience in political positions and the field as a whole. “Just to be in the house and assisting Barack when he was in the house, he would already have my vote for that alone,” said Ciarra Walker, who resides in Northwest Philadelphia and owns a small business.

Beating Donald Trump is, expectedly, the primary goal of the Democratic Party, and many find Biden to be be best-suited for the task at hand. “I think that he has the best chance against Trump, which is the most important part. Whoever gets the nomination doesn’t matter if they won’t be able to win the General Election, and I think Biden definitely can win it all,” said Abi Blasi ‘20.

Donald Trump didn’t hesitate to comment on Biden’s entry to the race. “I have known Joe over the years. He is not the brightest light bulb in the group, I don’t think, but he has a name that they know,” said Trump, who continued to bring Biden’s intelligence into question throughout the interview. He recognizes the importance of a familiar face in politics and believes that it will be the cause of Biden’s success.

With the New Hampshire Primary scheduled to take place on Feb. 11 of next year, Joe Biden and his fellow running-mates are working their hardest to prepare to gain as many votes as possible in their favor.