Eye-popping number of Dems: I can beat Trump

Two dozen Democrats have entered the primary to take on President Trump, a historically high number that will create unique challenges for the party, the media and the candidates themselves.

The field includes six women and six people of color — though 18 of the candidates are male while 18 are white.

A former vice president, Joe Biden, is the clear frontrunner, but his challengers include seven senators, four members of the House and two sitting governors.

The mayor of the nation's largest city — Bill de Blasio — is in the race, along with two other mayors. De Blasio is a heavy, heavy underdog, but Pete Buttigieg, the major of the much smaller South Bend, Ind., is considered a dark horse candidate.

Oprah Winfrey’s spiritual adviser, Marianne Williamson, is also part of the field along with businessman Andrew Yang, one of the first Asian-Americans to run for president.

It's the largest presidential field for Democrats in recent memory, and a much larger number of candidates than in 2016, when the first debate included just five candidates. It resembles the 2016 field for Republicans, though Democrats have more candidates than the GOP had in the last cycle too.

The big field reflects an optimism in the party that Trump is ripe for the picking in 2020.

Trump lost the popular vote in the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton, and there's a sense among Democrats that the president was fortunate to be running against an opponent who was carrying sizable baggage — one who had to deal with Russian interference in the election and a nagging FBI investigation.