2020 Democratic Presidential Primary

2019eventdead

The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary was the crowded year-long contest to pick the party's nominee against President Donald Trump, and its record-sized field turned it into an online meme fueled by viral announcement videos, two-night debates, and jokes about longshot candidates polling under 1%.

presidential memespolitical satire memeselection memesbernie sanders memesdebate memes

Overview

The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary was the party's selection process for a nominee to face sitting President Donald Trump1. What made it meme-worthy was the sheer size of the field, more than 20 major candidates entered, forcing the DNC to split its very first debate across two nights in Miami on June 26 and 27, 20191.

The race generated a steady stream of Twitter jokes, reaction images, and viral launch videos throughout 2019 and into early 2020. Recurring bits included a composite face mashup of every male candidate polling under one percent and running gags about how many senators were suddenly running at once3.

How It Spread

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined on January 15th during a Late Show With Stephen Colbert appearance5. Kamala Harris announced on January 21st via a Twitter video and a Good Morning America segment, and Beto O'Rourke's supporters pushed the #Beto2020 hashtag well before his official launch, with celebrities like Olivia Wilde and Alyssa Milano boosting it4.

By June 13th, 2019, the DNC confirmed the 20 candidates who cleared the fundraising or polling threshold, cutting Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, and Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton from the first debate1. Because the field was so large, NBC divided the lineup into two ten-person nights, a split that itself became a meme when reporter Reid Epstein tweeted the color-coded groupings3. In April 2019, Twitter user @AndrewPaulJoyce posted a composite image of every male candidate polling below one percent, which pulled over 6,100 retweets and spawned comparisons to a Parks and Recreation congressman and to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell3.

On July 25th, 2019, Tulsi Gabbard's campaign sued Google for $50 million, alleging her ad account was suspended for six hours after the first debate while she was the most-searched candidate on the site3. On January 19th, 2020, the New York Times ran an unusual dual endorsement for Amy Klobuchar and Warren, meant to cover both the moderate and progressive wings, which prompted its own mashup image callbacks to the earlier composite gag6.

Frequently Asked Questions

2020 Democratic Presidential Primary

2019eventdead

The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary was the crowded year-long contest to pick the party's nominee against President Donald Trump, and its record-sized field turned it into an online meme fueled by viral announcement videos, two-night debates, and jokes about longshot candidates polling under 1%.

presidential memes political satire memes election memes bernie sanders memes debate memes

Overview

The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary was the party's selection process for a nominee to face sitting President Donald Trump1. What made it meme-worthy was the sheer size of the field, more than 20 major candidates entered, forcing the DNC to split its very first debate across two nights in Miami on June 26 and 27, 20191.

The race generated a steady stream of Twitter jokes, reaction images, and viral launch videos throughout 2019 and into early 2020. Recurring bits included a composite face mashup of every male candidate polling under one percent and running gags about how many senators were suddenly running at once3.

How It Spread

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined on January 15th during a Late Show With Stephen Colbert appearance5. Kamala Harris announced on January 21st via a Twitter video and a Good Morning America segment, and Beto O'Rourke's supporters pushed the #Beto2020 hashtag well before his official launch, with celebrities like Olivia Wilde and Alyssa Milano boosting it4.

By June 13th, 2019, the DNC confirmed the 20 candidates who cleared the fundraising or polling threshold, cutting Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, and Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton from the first debate1. Because the field was so large, NBC divided the lineup into two ten-person nights, a split that itself became a meme when reporter Reid Epstein tweeted the color-coded groupings3. In April 2019, Twitter user @AndrewPaulJoyce posted a composite image of every male candidate polling below one percent, which pulled over 6,100 retweets and spawned comparisons to a Parks and Recreation congressman and to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell3.

On July 25th, 2019, Tulsi Gabbard's campaign sued Google for $50 million, alleging her ad account was suspended for six hours after the first debate while she was the most-searched candidate on the site3. On January 19th, 2020, the New York Times ran an unusual dual endorsement for Amy Klobuchar and Warren, meant to cover both the moderate and progressive wings, which prompted its own mashup image callbacks to the earlier composite gag6.

Frequently Asked Questions