2020 candidates on the issues: A voter’s guide to where they stand on health care, gun control and more
We asked the 2020 presidential candidates questions on nine topics including gun violence, health care, climate change and immigration. Each candidate was given the same set of questions to answer.
Candidates who are not featured did not provide a response;Â answers have been edited for length. Read the candidate’s responses to each question by browsing the links below.Â
- Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney
- Minnesota Sen. Amy KlobucharÂ
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Billionaire activist Tom Steyer
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- Author Marianne Williamson
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
2020 presidential election:A visual guide to the candidate’s positions on healthcare, climate change, guns and more
2020 candidates views on the issues
Michael Bennet
Do you believe the earth’s climate is changing? If yes, do you believe it is caused by humans?
Absolutely. Climate change is the greatest threat to our planet and our economy. And the fact that we elected a climate denier to the White House is a disgrace. I’ll make tackling climate change a priority on Day 1 as president.
Read all of Bennet’s answers here.
See what all the candidates have to say about climate change here.
Joe Biden
How would you address gun violence in America?
Every day, there are shootings in America that don’t make the national headlines. This nation faces a gun violence epidemic, and we have to take action. I have taken on the NRA and won – twice – and I will do it again. As president, I will ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require background checks on all gun sales, close other loopholes in the background check system like the “boyfriend loophole,†accelerate smart gun technology and more.
Read all of Biden’s answers here.
See what all the candidates have to say about gun violence here.
Cory Booker
What do you believe is the biggest health care issue facing Americans? How would you solve it?
No American should be forced to choose between groceries and prescription drugs, between paying their rent and seeing a doctor. Health care is a human right. I believe Medicare for All is the most efficient way to get to quality, affordable health care for every American. But I also know that we can’t wait to take action to increase access and improve affordability. That’s why as president, on the path to Medicare for All, I would take action to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, drive down drug prices and introduce real competition to lower costs and improve outcomes.
Read all of Booker’s answers here.
See what all the candidates have to say about health care here.
Pete Buttigieg
Should the U.S. expand or limit legal immigration?
America is stronger economically, socially, militarily and by every measure because of immigrants. One way I am proposing to expand legal immigration is to meet the needs of American communities through a new place-based Community Renewal Visa, as described in my rural economy plan. Additionally, we need to increase USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) personnel and resources to address the backlog of visa applications. We also need to create a system that is more flexible to the changing needs of our businesses and communities. That is why I support creating a commission that will update our visa numbers every year in order to allow the flexibility we clearly need in our changing economy.
Read all of Buttigieg’s answers here.
Read what all the candidates say about immigration and voting rights here.
John Delaney
What is your plan to address the growing national debt?
My plan is to limit annual budget deficits to approximately 2% of GDP, which will be lower than our annual rate of GDP growth. Ensuring that our economy grows more than the annual deficit will mean the debt-to-GDP ratio declines over time, reducing the debt burden as a percentage of our economy.
Read all of Delaney’s answers here.
See what all the candidates say on the economy here.
Amy Klobuchar
Should the government forgive student loans? If yes, why and for whom? If no, why not?
As president, Senator Klobuchar will work so that students can refinance their loan debt at lower interest rates, she will fix and strengthen the public service loan forgiveness program, and she will expand loan forgiveness for in-demand occupations. She also believes we must make college more affordable and supports a major expansion of Pell Grants and higher-education tax credits so we can help students and their families with the cost of higher education. She believes that all students who attended for-profit schools that defrauded students should be eligible for loan forgiveness.
Read all of Klobuchar’s answers here.
Bernie Sanders
What role, if any, should the government have in regulating large technology companies?
In nearly every part of our economy, the concentration of economic and political power is unprecedented and dangerous. If Teddy Roosevelt were alive, he would break these companies up. So as president, Bernie will nominate an Attorney General who will aggressively stand up to monopolies in all industries by breaking up existing monopolies and placing moratoriums on mergers in concentrated industries. We live in an era of unchecked corporate power. It’s time to take that power back for the people.
Read all of Sanders’ answers here.
Tom Steyer
If you are elected, how would you interact with North Korea? What relationship would the U.S. and North Korea have?
The best way to keep us safe is to show our allies and adversaries that a steady hand and cool temper is commanding the United States armed forces, and that our country has no intention of attacking others first. Those who’ve created these weapons have a responsibility to get rid of them. We must continue to work with our partners and adversaries to curtail the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reduce existing stockpiles. I believe that diplomatic measures through multilateral or bilateral channels must always be the first choice in engaging with regimes that seek to menace the world with the pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Read all of Steyer’s answers here.
Elizabeth Warren
Should marijuana be legalized federally for medicinal use? Should it be legalized for recreational use?
Yes. I believe we should legalize marijuana and wipe clean the records of those unjustly jailed for minor marijuana crimes. I’m a proud co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act. I also have a bill that says if states have already decided on legalizing marijuana, the federal government should back off. By outlawing marijuana, the federal government is putting communities of color, small businesses, public health and safety at risk.
Read all of Warren’s responses here.
Marianne WilliamsonÂ
Would you reenter the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran? Why or why not?
Yes. I would rejoin the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Every IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) report confirmed Iran’s compliance. U.S. withdrawal and sanctions violated the trust that had been painstakingly built. Rejoining the JCPOA will require healing from this rupture and rebuilding trust, both with Iran and our allies. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Saudi Arabia do not want the U.S. to improve relations with Iran. We must not be drawn into war by those who want us to fight Iranians for them. Instead I would increase diplomacy, decrease tensions and transform relations to create a context to address nuclear weapons, human rights and more.
Read all of Williamson’s answers here
Andrew Yang
How would you address the opioid crisis?
Andrew’s first step is to decriminalize personal-use amounts of opioids so that individuals can be referred to treatment instead of arrested and placed in jail. After that, utilizing fines and judgments against the companies that created this epidemic, we should fund treatment centers and give everyone who needs it access. The government was complicit in this, and so Andrew believes we have a moral duty to address it.