With Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg in front of the race at the time of print, it can still be anyone’s win.

Throughout the democratic debates and their campaigns, the democratic candidates are constantly competing to get the spot on the debate stage against President Donald J. Trump. It is essential that candidates have strong policies and are patriotic, but none of that matters if they can not achieve one thing: winning the democratic elections and defeating Trump in the 2020 Presidential elections.

Currently, it is down to the top five candidates: Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. Although anyone can still win, the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary can help us figure out who could come out on top.

Despite Iowa’s rocky voting process, Pete Buttigieg came out as the winner with 26.2% of votes according to the Associated Press, with Bernie Sanders close behind him at 26.1% of the votes. Then Warren, Biden and Klobuchar came close behind. It is safe to say Buttiegieg and Sanders had a strong start for the elections.

Now onto New Hampshire’s Primary, which occurred on Feb. 12. and went problem-free, unlike Iowa. The results were extremely similar to Iowa’s, with Sanders in first at 25.7%, and Buttigieg right there with him at 24.4%. After them stood Klobuchar, Warren, and Biden. So by looking at the first two states, there is a clear top five. And, if the same trends follow in the next few states, we could very well see Buttigieg or Sanders make it on the ballot.

Sanders is a longtime member of the political game, gaining his first political position as Mayor of Burlington back in 1981. He definitely understands the political field because of his years of experience. However, this experience could be ruined by his hatred for Trump as well as Sander’s heavy socialist policies, both of which will likely off more conservative voters. Too often Sanders is too focused on defeating Trump instead of doing what is right for his campaign. The stage could get very heated, and Trump could win. In 2016, Trump went after Hillary Clinton the whole time, and he most likely will not change this time around, and Sanders would fall right into that trap.

Buttigieg, on the other hand, is an extremely young candidate, coming in at only 38 years old. Some could see this as a negative trait because of the lack of experience compared to the older Trump or Sanders, but this could also be a feature that younger voters like since they want someone who is more connected with the current issues. And when it comes to debating, he does not appear uptight or reactionary on stage. He remains very diplomatic, logical and reasonable when he speaks. If Trump is becoming unhinged, all he has to do is stay calm and answer the questions.

However let’s not forget about one candidate, Andrew Yang, a serious threat up until he dropped out on Feb 11. Even though Yang got little to no time on the debate stage, when he did speak, it hit hard. Yang knew what to say, had the numbers to back it up, knew the right people, and remained composed like Buttigieg. It is just regrettable that Yang could not resonate with the majority of the voters, though Buttigieg and Sanders could definitely learn from Yang’s political tactics.

With 48 more states to go, this could be anyone’s win, but hopefully, voters will realize who’s the right candidate based on their policies instead of how much hatred they have for Trump.