3. Bernie Sanders: We've been notably skeptical of Sanders in these rankings -- driven by a belief that the success of his 2016 campaign was fueled, in large part, by the fact that Hillary Clinton ignored him and never laid a glove on him. While we still think there is truth to that argument, and that 2020 is a totally different race for Sanders, it's impossible to ignore the grassroots energy that exists for him. One example: Sanders raised almost $6 million in the first 24 hours of his candidacy, an absolutely eye-popping sum. Sanders has what other candidates all want (and need): Organic grassroots energy for his campaign. (Previous ranking: 6)

2. Joe Biden: No one confounds us more than the former vice president. Biden continues to lead national polling and has strength in all the early states. Polling indicates that many of the qualities voters are looking for fit well with Biden's resume. He can probably pick up a number of endorsements when he declares. Importantly, there are more and more signs Biden will actually run. Biden, though, has weaknesses. He has a long record that can easily be attacked. Democratic voters are not enthusiastic about nominating someone over the age of 75. He could also be stale from not having run a campaign for a long time. We wonder how much of his polling advantage will evaporate once he is no longer just President Barack Obama's vice president and he is his own entity. (Previous ranking: 2)

1. Kamala Harris: The California senator has held down the top spot in our rankings for five straight months now. She continues to run a practically flawless campaign, a hard thing to do for someone who is doing this for the first time. The only potential hurdle for Harris is the nominating calendar; if she doesn't win, place or show in Iowa or New Hampshire, does that make her less viable in her must-win state of South Carolina? If she can make it that far, the map gets friendlier, with the massive treasure trove of California's delegates waiting in early March. (Previous ranking: 1)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/07/politics/2020-democrats-rankings/index.html