As predicted, last night’s CNN debate was essentially a back-and-forth between former Secretary of State (and current SNL cast member) Hillary Clinton and long-time Senator (and recent redditor) Bernie Sanders. But what about the other three guys on stage, just hoping to get more screen time than Joe Biden’s empty podium?

Even some of America’s top political pundits were confused as to the candidates’ exact identities:

Watching the Democratic debate. Wow, makes me wonder who will be the next president.? Strange candidates — Vanilla Ice (@vanillaice) October 14, 2015

On Monday, The Daily Show gave CNN flack for simply listing the lesser-known politicians’ names in its pre-debate ads—without bothering to include pictures—while dramatically repackaging the Clinton-Sanders showdown to look like the next Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

Given the bottom three’s polling numbers (each averaging less than 1% according to Real Clear Politics), it’s understandable that moderator Anderson Cooper didn’t want to give them an equal share of the debate time.

But as long as they’re all still technically in the race, we want to help the voting public stay informed—or at least be able to tell them apart. So we put together this visual guide to remembering who the other candidates are, with a little help from Reddit.



Jim Webb

The former Senator of Virginia is perhaps best known on Reddit for this gif, conveniently posted by a user named CANT_TRUST_HILLARY:

(Seriously, this is the top post when you search for “Jim Webb.”)

In the gif, Webb receives a reassuring pat on the back from Bernie Sanders. So the next time you hear someone mention “Jim Webb,” just remember: He’s the one who got the pat on the back from Bernie Sanders!

Notable quotes from the debate:

“Anderson, can I come into this discussion at some point?”

“I’ve been trying to get in this conversation for about 10 minutes.”

“And I would say this. I’ve been waiting for 10 minutes. I will say this.”

“Can I…”

“I hope I can get that kind of time here.”

“This hasn’t been equal time.”

“Anderson, I need to jump in [inaudible].”

“Bernie, say my name so I can get into this.”



Martin O’Malley

The former Maryland Governor and Baltimore Mayor is easy to pick out on stage—as the only, umm, “hunky” one. Shortly after last night’s debate, Reddit user Queeriosity posted this image highlighting O’Malley’s “DILF” status (“D” stands for Democrat, “F” for… fundraise?):

So the next time you wonder which one is O’Malley, look for the DILF (—who also continues to face questions about Baltimore arrest rates during his mayorship, with Anderson Cooper noting that over 100,000 arrests were made in 2005, despite the fact that Baltimore’s population was only around 640,000).

Notable quote from the debate:

“On this stage, you didn’t hear anyone denigrate women, you didn’t hear anyone make racist comments about new American immigrants … Unless you’ve become discouraged about our gridlock in Congress, talk to our young people under 30, because you’ll never find among them people that want to bash immigrants or people that want to deny rights to gay couples. That tells me we are moving to a more connected, generous, and compassionate place, and we need to speak to the goodness within our country.”



Lincoln Chafee

It’s a shame that CNN elected not to feature the former Rhode Island Governor’s face in its ads, because Chafee has one of those mesmerizing mugs that seem so familiar—but you just can’t place where from.

Luckily, user metabyt-es posted an uncanny double-doppelgänger suggestion, with this caption:

“My wife said, ‘Lincoln Chafee looks like that guy from Whose Line is it Anyway.’ I asked, ‘Which one?’ Her response: ‘Both.’”

Apparently, redditors agreed, upvoting the pic to the front page in a matter of hours and adding some analyses of their own.

Here are their best Lincoln lookalikes:

Steve Doocy (Fox & Friends)

Lincoln Chafee (left), Steve Doocy (right)—or is it the other way around? (≡Lastweek/YouTube)

Maher-O’Reilly Bipartisan Lovechild

That would explain the fact that Chafee has been a member of both political parties. Hmm…

Actor Mark Gatiss (Sherlock)

Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

Well, Gatiss certainly looks more like Lincoln Chafee than Benedict Cumberbatch’s brother.

Tom Hanks… In the Future?

The Wizard of Oz

Frank Morgan as The Wizard (The Wizard of Oz/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

So the next time you’re watching TV and you see someone who looks like an amorphous combination of Steve Doocy, Mark Gatiss, future Tom Hanks, the Wizard of Oz, and half the cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway, it’s probably Lincoln Chafee. Or Steve Doocy. Or Mark Gatiss. Just… take your best guess.

Notable Lincoln Chafee quote from the debate (which would also work as a response to those doppelgängers):

“I think you’re being a little rough.”