As we enter the third month of 2019, it is becoming increasingly clear as to the type of election we should be expecting this time next year. A surplus of new faces line the Democratic Party’s roster of declared candidates for the 2020 presidential election, but can too many faces be the downfall of the Democrats?

Many in the party seem to think so.

When former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he would not be running for president in an article on his website Bloomberg News on March 5, he implored the Democratic Party to unify behind a single candidate in order to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.

“It’s essential that we nominate a Democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat Donald Trump and bring our country back together,” Bloomberg said. “We cannot allow the primary process to drag the party to an extreme that diminishes our chances in the general election and translate into ‘four more years.’”

Bloomberg isn’t the only big name Democrat to announce their non-candidacy.

Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Former Senator and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have all announced they would not be running for the nation’s top office.

So far, 14 Democrats have announced they are running for president. Nine say they are still considering it.

In 2016, 12 percent of those who voted for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the primary ended up voting for Trump in the general election after Sanders lost the nomination, according to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study.

If the Democratic Party wants to get past the turmoil that culminated into Donald Trump being the president, they are going to have to put their differences aside and compromise on a candidate that is in the best position to beat him in 2020.

With so many experienced and qualified candidates, who are the Democrats going to throw their support behind?

Three names that come to mind, out of the ones that have officially announced their candidacy, are Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and California Senator Kamala Harris.

If the Democrats can consolidate their support to one of these candidates, they may be able to avoid many of the problems that plagued them in the last presidential election.

And the sooner, the better. The more time that is spent bickering by the Democrats, the more the Trump campaign can capitalize on the divisiveness of their opponents.

The Democratic Party cannot afford to look like they’re just going to give the voters the same cacophony of bickering that led to a Trump presidency. They cannot let the nomination process drag on again.