By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph Post A crowded field vying for the Democratic nomination for president is a good thing, according to a leading local Democrat. Buchanan County Democratic Party chair Derek Evans says all the 20-plus candidates bring something to the table. “It’s interesting, the days after the debates, to see who was Googled the most. I saw something, I can’t remember who the candidate was, but this candidate was Googled the most last night,” Evans tells St. Joseph Post. “So, people are still feeling there way around and it’s changing by the day.” Evans says local Democrats are excited not by the quantity of candidates, but by their quality. Evans says each of the candidates brings something to the table. “The down side to that is when we have the debates where there are 20 people is that now we have folks on the campaign stage who, there is a very high likelihood they’re not going to make it further,” Evans says, adding they’re getting television exposure that could be dedicated to more viable candidates. “That’s the nature of the game. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that.” Evans sees a wide-open race and is confident the eventual nominee will be someone all Democrats in the area can get behind. “We’re not necessarily going to be saying, hey, we’re all in for Joe Biden or we’re all in for Elizabeth Warren,” Evans says. “We’re saying, we’re all in for protecting working people in Missouri and we’re all in for any candidate that is going to do that and we feel like all the Democrats are going to do that.” Evans says with more than 20 candidates in the race for the Democratic party nomination, the primary process should prepare the eventual nominee for the tough task of taking on President Donald Trump next year.

Local Democrat sees crowded presidential field as a plus