The road to the US presidential elections: the remaining Democratic candidates

We look at the candidates still in the race to become the Democratic nominee for November's election

From left to right: Democratic presidential hopefuls Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar participate in the seventh Democratic primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa. AFP

Joseph Biden, called the situation with Iran “a crisis of Donald Trump’s own making.” AP Photo

Amy Klobuchar said “Trump is taking us pell-mell into another war." AFP

Elizabeth Warren advocated withdrawing all combat troops from the region and Afghanistan. AFP

Bernie Sanders stressed “the need to work with the international community to reestablish the Iran Nuclear Deal”. AFP

Pete Buttigieg added that the Trump exit from the deal “set off the chain of events that we’re now dealing with as it escalates even closer to the brink of outright war." AFP

Tom Steyer said Donald Trump had no strategy in the Middle East. AFP

The road to the White House is under way but not without drama.

There are three candidates left in the Democratic race: Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Tulsi Gabbard

As Super Tuesday gave Joe Biden a much sweep of support in southern states and saw Bernie Sanders take the biggest prize of California, attention today turns to the states of Michigan, Washington, North Dakota, Mississippi, Idaho, and Missouri where every delegate will count in the closely contested race.

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Democrats still in the running

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders is a well known independent US Senator from the New England state of Vermont. The 78 year old has campaigned on a democratic-socialist platform, which gained significant traction during the 2016 Democratic primaries, when he ran against Hillary Clinton.

His policy agenda includes various progressive proposals, many of which have been embraced by the progressive bloc of the Democratic Party, like expanding healthcare, broadening the social safety net and making higher education free.

He has attracted a huge following, and comes under consistent attack from many other Democrats and Republicans. He is believed to have catalysed a progressive movement in the party.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden is the former US vice-president, serving as the 47th vice president from 2009-2017 under the Obama administration. Biden, 77,  is a former US Senator for the state of Delaware which he represented for 26 years. This is his third presidential campaign after he passed on a 2016 run.

Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard is a the first American Samoan and the first Hindu member of Congress. The 38 year old served in the Hawaii Army National Guard and is a Iraq War veteran. She is a US Representative and sits on the House Armed Services Committee. She met Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in 2017 and believes in ending US intervention and involvement in wars.

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Fallen Democratic candidates

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren is the first female US Senator for Massachusetts, serving since 2013.

She was formerly a law school professor specialising in bankruptcy law, and was appointed as assistant to former President Barack Obama and special adviser to the Treasury secretary in order to launch the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

She was also appointed to a congressional oversight panel overseeing the $700 billion Trouble Assets Relief Programme that was passed in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Senator Warren hasn't endorsed anyone yet.

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg was a Democrat before switching party registration to run for office in New York City. He was the former Republican mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013.

The 77-year-old billionaire has a new-worth surpassing $60 billion, and is the owner of Bloomberg LP, a global financial services, software, and mass media company.

He officially entered the race for the Democratic nomination on November 24 saying that his sole purpose was defeating Mr Trump.

He has portrayed himself as a moderate against progressive projects such as "Medicare for All" but with extensive experience and campaign funds to put toward key Democratic issues such as climate change and gun control.

He endorsed Mr Biden.

Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar is the first female US Senator from the state of Minnesota. The 59-year-old American lawyer and has served in the US Senate since 2006. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota's affiliate of the Democratic Party.

She has endorsed Joe Biden for the party nomination.

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. The 38 year old served as a naval intelligence officer in Afghanistan and worked as a consultant at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

The decision by the first openly gay candidate to seriously contend for the presidency — and among the youngest ever — came just a day after a leading rival, Joe Biden, scored a resounding victory in South Carolina. That sparked new pressure on the party’s moderate wing to coalesce behind the former vice president.

He has endorsed Mr Biden, a man that voted against gay marriage in 1996, the same year Senator Sanders voted for gay marriage.

Mr Buttigieg has spent the past several weeks warning that nominating progressive leader Bernie Sanders to take on President Donald Trump would be risky.

Tom Steyer

Tom Steyer, whose net worth reached $1.6 billion this year according to Forbes, has operated as a funding force in Democratic politics in recent years, bankrolling candidates and organisations that promote liberal causes, including the impeachment of US President Donald Trump.

The 62-year-old environmentalist and former hedge fund manager from San Francisco, California has spent the past three successive election cycles spending more than $100 million supporting Democratic candidates.

He was a fierce critic of President Donald Trump and portrayed himself as a political outsider blasting corporate money in US politics in July,

Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang is the son of Taiwanese immigrants. He grew up in New York state and attended Brown University and Columbia Law School.

The 45-year-old former attorney and entrepreneur launched Venture for America, a fellowship programme that aims to connect recent grads with startups, and on creating jobs in cities struggling to recover from the Great Recession.

He wants to give all Americans a universal basic income of $1,000 per month to address economic inequality.

He pulled out of the presidential campaign after the New Hampshire primary as with 86 per cent of precincts reporting, Mr Yang had only garnered 2.8 per cent of the vote.

Michael Bennet

Michael Bennet is a US Senator from the state of Colorado. The 55 year-old former superintendent of Denver Public Schools has served in the US Senate since 2009. The politician has a progressive voting record. Mr Bennet was forced to hold off on entering the Democratic race following a diagnosis and subsequent treatment for prostate cancer in April 2019.

He pulled out of the Democratic presidential campaign after the New Hampshire primary because he barely gained 0.3 per cent of the vote with 86 per cent of the vote counted in New Hampshire.

Deval Patrick

Deval Patrick is the first African-American governor of Massachusetts, serving from 2006-2015. The 63 year old announced a late-entry into the race for the Democratic nomination in November 2019. Mr Deval has previously served as US assistant attorney general for the civil rights division in the Bill Clinton administration.

Mr Patrick is likely to concede defeat and end his campaign after only receiving 0.4 per cent of the vote share with 86 per cent of the vote in New Hampshire counted.

Mr Patrick has reportedly written a maxed-out cheque for Joe Biden.

Other former candidates like Kamala Harris and Corey Brooker have also endorsed Mr Biden.