With the recent news of former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s entry into the 2020 presidential race—and the very real possibility of Michael Bloomberg’s run—keeping up with all 18 of the candidates’ proposed policies is becoming more difficult by the day. (We’ve tried. Here are a few of our guides on where candidates stand on major issues.)
Fortunately, if you’re still confused as to what candidates are arguing about during those televised debates, the Washington Post recently surveyed most of the Democratic candidates in the 2020 race in seven major policy areas. These areas include their proposals to reform education, immigration, healthcare, foreign policy, and combating climate change—issues that don’t always get addressed during candidates’ brief moments in the debate spotlight.
Best of all, WaPo created a simple 10-question quiz so you can better understand which candidate you agree with most in terms of political views (and without having to sift through all of the survey results).
As you’ll see, each question comes with two to three choices. Once you select an answer, you’ll immediately see results for candidates who also support that view and a recent history of that particular policy’s rise in importance (questions include whether you support eliminating private health insurance or the electoral college). At the bottom, the quiz tallies up your results and ultimately finds which candidate you share the most views with.
These questions are not exhaustive but do address several differences among the candidates that might impact your thinking as we head into 2020. (Given the latest news of Patrick’s late entry, he is excluded from this quiz, as is Bloomberg. Fortunately, we’ve already compiled a few of their positions on major issues.)
You shouldn’t be surprised by certain questions and their results; supporting the elimination of private health insurance will obviously put you in the Sanders and Warren’s camp. But other questions, like the acceptable amount of paid family leave, prove far more polarizing.
For a more detailed look at all of the survey results—and what policies candidates are even tweeting about the most—head on over to the Washington Post’s website.