A Bigger Primary Field Helps Biden

Josh Kraushaar: “In his landmark book The Paradox of Choice, psychologist Barry Schwartz offered a counterintuitive argument: People claim they want more choices in life, but when they get them, they become paralyzed in their decision-making. ‘We may be worse off with all these choices: We may lack the expertise to choose them wisely, we may lack the time to develop that expertise, and we may already be so overburdened with decisions that adding more will render us unable to make any,’ he wrote.”

“Welcome to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. The dynamic that Schwartz described plagues the Democratic Party, which is running a record 23 candidates for the right to challenge President Trump. Everyone from small-town mayors to big-state governors wants their chance at winning the presidential lottery.”

Dan Balz says the size of the field also might help Biden during the debates, making it difficult for other candidates to break through: “The size of the field … will limit the value of these early encounters, which will have to be held on consecutive nights to accommodate all of the candidates expected to qualify.”